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DVDs -
Reviews
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Reviewed by Lisa Fore
Genre: Horror
Released: 9 September 2004
Rating: R for language and some violent content
Directors: Banjong Pisanthanakun, Parkpoom Wongpoom
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Starring: Ananda Everingham, Natthaweeranuch Thongmee, Achita Sikamana, Unnop Chanpaibool
Studio: GMM
On DVD: March 27, 2007
Features
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Original Trailer
Interview With the Director and Cast
Behind the Scenes
- Car Crash
- Suicide
- Ladder
- Real Picture From Location
Tartan Asia Extreme New Releases
- A Tale of Two Sisters
- The Red Shoes
- The Maid
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Unfortunately the sight of a female ghost with long hair usually starts American audiences (five years after the initial shock of Verbinski's The Ring) into fits of yawning, but Shutter has a reasonable advantage over similar ghost tales with quick pacing, an extremely competent creep-out factor and unnerving plot twists that make it well worth your time. There are basic points that you'll have figured out as you go deeper into the film, however the things you don't see basically bitch-slap you hard in the end, and that's all I ask for from a film.
THE STORY
While driving home one night after the wedding reception of one of his closest friends, Tun (Anada Everingham) and his girlfriend Jane (Natthaweeranuch Thongmee) accidentally hit someone crossing the street. Horrified and concerned, Jane wants to see if the person is alright, but when he spots a car coming close by Tun shouts that they drive on.
Sometime later, while taking pictures of a graduating class, Tun notices a horrible-looking female face staring out from between the graduates — and directly at him. When he develops the pictures, he notices the profile again, and the one-dimensional face suddenly turns to glare at him.
Sporting a small neck injury since the accident, Tun finds it growing more persistent, but his doctor finds no serious physical cause. Things naturally go from bad to much, much worse as strange experiences in his darkroom along with horrifying nightmares starring Jane and the entity from the pictures become a constant; his closest friends are dying around him, and a bizarre encounter with his best friend forces him to remember the secret Tun has hidden away...
THE BOTTOM LINE
Writers/Directors Pisanthanakun and Wongpoom weave an intriguing story of guilt and obsession, starring the Thai/Australian stunner Anada Everingham (the Thai version of Johnny Depp... in a word, YUM), as the wonderfully easy-going turned horribly-tormented photographer, Tun, who is literally surrounded by people who would do anything for him...and expect the same level of loyalty in return.
Shutter is an enthralling supernatural thriller, easily sitting near the top of my favorites because of the uncomfortable moral choice it presents the audience...you can easily sympathize with Eveningham's Tun, because he's one of those double threats --an absolute feast for the eyes who's 'just one of the guys' -- and the whole time you have to keep in mind that he's going to convince Jane to drive away from a hit and run, which he seems fine with afterward.
Overall Rating: 4 1/2
Originally published in dystopia Magazine's Asian Edition (Issue 607).
(c) 2007 dystopia Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
VIDEO | Original Trailer
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 20 November 2008 09:24 )
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