FrightFest Movie Haiku - P

www.pbar.info


Dir: Paul Spurrier


Cast: Suangporn Jaturaphut, Opal, Supatra Roongsaurang, Paul Spurrier


She dances in bar

careless use of magic spells

spirit wants raw meat


Having championed this film back in June, and subsequently interviewed director Paul Spurrier for Eat My Brains, I was desperately hoping that P was going to be as interesting as it sounded. This is a Thai film with a difference in that whilst it was made by a Thai crew for a Thai audience, the director is actually British – the first time a Westerner has made a Thai language movie. So what would Paul bring to the Asian ghost story genre, and more importantly, would another creepy long-haired Asian girl dominate his film? Thankfully, no, this is a little different in its approach. As Paul himself says, it’s largely a drama which just happens to have a few horror elements in it, the central story coming from the close relationship between new bargirl Dau (Jaturaphut) and the more experienced Pookie (Opal). Dau has moved to Bangkok to earn money for her sick granny. She's been trained in magic since an early age, yet forgets some of the basic rules, so conjuring the spirit within which feeds on human flesh. Can her new friends save her? Voyeuristic or not, life in a Bangkok strip bar has never been portrayed so accurately, and without passing judgement on either the girls that work there, or their regular customers. The first half of P – like Audition – is largely shock free, but this allows us to connect with the characters before the ‘khee’ hits the fan. The fact that the spirit is based on common Thai folklore gives it an authentic feel, and the performances seem completely natural – Jaturaphut, in her film debut, deserves special praise in the role of Dau. Spurrier handles the horror elements tactfully, using only the bare minimum of CGI to enhance Dau’s features as she’s possessed by the flesh-hungry ‘phii bawb’ spirit. Actually, it’s an outstanding achievement for Spurrier, who not only wrote and directed P, but also starred in it, edited it, worked as first DP and composed the music! The film – shot in beautiful cinescope – looked superb up the Odeon’s big screen and it will be a travesty if this is not picked up for international distribution. The campaign starts here!

soulmining rating: ****