4bia (See Prang)
Sub-Genre- Thai Horror/Anthology
In Attendance- Me.
Cast Members of Note- Laila Boonyasak, Maneerat Kham-uan, and Apinya Sakuljaroensuk. I have no idea who they are either.
What's it about?- 4bia (pronounced phobia) is a messed up and creepy little flick. It's basically 4 loosely connected stories told anthology style.
Story1 (Happiness)- For the record, I think I just shit my pants. Also, I'll never text again. "I'm somewhere cramped." "I'm in the picture right beside you." "I'm outside of your building. I'm coming right up." Never... texting... again!
Story2 (Tit For Tat)- I totally thought this story was going to be about boobs, and boy was I wrong. Instead we get story about a geek who uses black magic to kill his bullies, with the help of some CGI creatures that look like the mutards from I am Legend. The end was cool though.
Story3 (In the Middle)- Four gay Thai guys go camping and fight over who gets to sleep in "The Middle." Mmm Hmm. A tickle fight breaks out, killing one of them, and then things start to get really creepy... Titanic references, a gay rafting trip, creepy ghosts with dead eyes... this wacky story has it all. Faboulous!
Story4- A hot Thai stewardess has to fly alone with the corpse of a bitchy princess... and all hell breaks loose! Really it's just a chick trapped in a plane with a pissed off corpse.
The Good- Minimalism. Mood. Atmosphere. They work in horror films. 4bia has all of that and more, and though some of it falls flat, it's still a solid effort that should please people that like Asian horror. This was a pretty decent effort.
The 1st story here is downright creepy; barely any dialogue helps set the mood and makes things rather claustrophobic. The 2nd is a bit odd and kinetic, with some good gore but not many frights; the 3rd is more funny than anything, although the ghost fx were creepy; and the 4th was interesting, but kinda lame like a cheesy old episode of Twilight Zone or something.
On a fun trivia note, the third story is directed by the guy that did Shutter; the original, not the suck job American remake.
The Bad- CGI is seldom a good idea in horror movies, and especially when you're going for a quiet and creepy atmosphere. Bad CGI is even worse; just ask Will Smith how bad I am Legend sucked once the cartoon monsters showed up.
The Downright Horrendous- Couldn't you just tape your eyes shut rather than pull them out of your own head? And seriously, what kind of determination does it take to be able to do that to yourself? Good god.
The Gory- Lots of people fall to their deaths; a girl rips her own eyes out; people drown, get set on fire and hit by cars... not much gore, but some of it is cool when we do get to see it.
The Naked- No hot Thai nakedness, not even so much a naked Thai girlie-boy (thankfully), and that's what they're famous for.
Best Line- "I'm inside your apartment now." or "We're still friends, right?"
What did we learn?- Text messaging is creepy. Also, don't bully the odd kids in school. Also, gay camping trips always end in drama. Finally, never work for royalty.
Rating- C+ An above average flick with some nice elements going for it, you might be pleased if you give it a chance. The one thing you can be sure of beign that it's "Asian" horror is that you will at least get atmosphere and story over cheap scares and twist endings.
Final Thoughts- I love Asian women.
