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#MovieMonday: Bangkok Dark Tales Review: Go Ahead If You’re Looking For Cheap Thrills

2019-09-30 , 5:00 pm

There are two types of Thailand Horror Movies in this world:

The kind that scares the shit out of you…

And the kind that makes you go: “Wtf’s going on?”

Now, I’ve to say that when I saw the movie description for Bangkok Dark Tales, I had relatively high hopes for it. Three situations, three horror stories, and three creepy places, all taking place in the heart of Bangkok?

It was a sure clincher, I thought. Surely it won’t be like Pee Nak, I thought.

I mean, to be fair; the horror/comedy tag did kind of put me off. Because honestly speaking, the last Horror/Comedy I watched was Pee Nak, and I would really rather pee on whatever nak there is in my house than watch that show again.

The horror, and I don’t mean the scares.

And so, the question begets;

Will Bangkok Dark Tales be a film deserving of Thailand’s greatest horror accolades…

Or will it be something that makes me wanna pee on my nak again?

Without further ado, let’s find out.

Bangkok Dark Tales

As its title suggests, Bangkok Dark Tales revolves around three separate horror films, with a promise of Thailand’s trademark nerve-biting scares and perhaps a slight dosage of comedy nestled in between clips of people screaming their heads off.

If you’re gunning for an actual, official description, though, here’s what Popcorn has to say about it:

If you think “Bangkok” is a great city, I beg you to think twice – Prepare yourself for “Bangkok Dark Tales”, the film that’s made from 3 situations, 3 horror stories and 3 creepy places in Bangkok that you will never forget. The first story is about “Gam”, a businesswoman who has to work overnight on New Year’s Eve and sit next to her colleague’s worktable, the owner of which died a few weeks ago. The experience that Gam has to face that night; it changes her life forever. The second story is about an old cinema theatre that only allows ghosts to see the movie. It’s closed down permanently, and it never stops playing a certain movie. Things take a weird turn, however, when one couple accidentally gets into that cinema. Can the both of them escape in due time? The third story is about Bee, a Net Idol wannabe, and Ann, a woman who does not believe in ghosts. Both of them are in Bangkok for the 1st time. Having rented a creepy house, they soon find out that it’s a site where a brutal family murder had taken place. Who’s gonna survive that night, let’s find out. “Bangkok Dark Tales” is inspired by true events that have shocked the entire nation.

Directed by three directors, Anusorn Soisa-ngim, Alwa Rattanasit, and Thanvimol Aonpapliw, the 1h 32min Horror/Comedy film was released locally on 26 September 2019 and is currently being distributed by Cathay Cineplexes.

You can view the trailer for the movie here:

And while reviews are scarce thus far, IMDb has given it a solid 7.8/10.

Sounds promising, but does the movie truly live up to its hype?

Well…

#MovieMonday: Bangkok Dark Tales Review

It certainly started in a promising manner.

The first story, which revolves around a beautiful female boss and a mysterious Santa figure with an axe, certainly had me hooked. Reminiscent of classic Thai horror movies in its execution, the plot was expertly dealt out, and I was spellbound to the very last second. Granted, there were some moments that made me go ‘huh simi sai?‘, but as far as the movie’s concerned, the first story is a practical gem.

A gem that doesn’t extend to the rest of the movie, unfortunately.

In the second story, we witness a typical Tinder date: a man who looks way better in his photos hooks up with a beautiful, seemingly superficial woman, and they sneak off to a closed-off cinema theatre nearby for some ‘Tinder-spice’. Unfortunately, the cinema turns out to be haunted, and now they’ve way more to deal with than just the bulge in the guy’s pants.

Technically speaking, the story was undoubtedly executed in a clever manner. At the risk of penning unintentional spoilers, the start of the story is tied to the end, and you kind of get the logic behind the story as it proceeds. Alas, the story was kinda let down by how characters don’t seem to be acting how they should be, and how the scares seem relatively… half-hearted. Sure, the red lights were creepy…

But in the end, I’ve seen way better.

And that leads us to the last part of the movie:

A tale of a haunted house.

Long story short: a pair of modernised bimbos rent a house in Bangkok, unaware of its bloody roots. Strange things start happening, however, and the two begin fearing for their lives.

Honestly, this story is probably where the Comedy tag came from; compared to the other two stories, this piece is practically slapstick by Jeff Ross, really. However, the comedy sections drew little laughs from the crowd, a sure testament to the film’s comical abilities, really.

As a result, what ensued over the course of the story was a messy let-down at best, with several plot points drawing a blank from the crowd. In hindsight, this story should perhaps have been slotted in at first spot.

Leaving it for the last leaves a somewhat unenjoyable taste in the average cinema-goer’s mouth.

And So… Should You Catch It?

Well, to be fair, the soundtrack’s pretty game. And the heart-stopping moments did draw a flinch on my part, so the scare factor’s not that bad.

And so, here’s my verdict. If you’re looking for some cheap thrills at the expense of the storyline (especially towards the end), by all means, go ahead. But if you detest shoddily-written cinema pieces which seem geared to only spend your time…

You’ll be better off elsewhere instead. I know I was.

Rating: 2/5

#MovieMonday: Bangkok Dark Tales Review: Go Ahead If You’re Looking For Cheap Thrills

Bangkok Dark Tales

#MovieMonday: Bangkok Dark Tales Review

And So… Should You Catch It?

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