Ghost of Mae Nak (2005) Reviews

• Haunted by a Legend

  claudio_carvalho2007-04-11

  In Bangkok, the groom Mak (Siwat Chotchaicharin) is scared, having successive nightmares with a ghost woman, Mae Nak, an ancient Thai legend. He meets his beloved fiancée Nak (Pataratida Pacharawirapong) to visit an old house in Phrakhanong with the unscrupulous real state agent Angel (Meesak Nakarat) and they decide to buy the property. After their wedding, two small time thieves break into the house and steal their gifts and other objects. When Mak sees the criminals on the streets of Bangkok selling his goods, he chases the burglars and they run their van over Mak, who gets into a deep coma. Mae Nak protects the young couple against Angel and the burglars, but in return she holds the soul of Mak. Nak finds the remains of Mae Nak in an ancient cemetery, and with some monks, they exorcise Mae Nak from Mak and release her spirit. "Ghost of Mae Nak" is an interesting ghost story, which seems to be based on a Thai legend; at least the film provides this explanation in the very beginning. The screenplay is flawed but the greatest I hole is the lack of explanation why the ghost of Mae Nak, after one hundred years, haunts Mak, inclusive leading the young couple to buy her house. Further, the character Kong is absolutely unnecessary in the plot. Pataratida Pacharawirapong is a very beautiful young woman and good actress. Siwat Chotchaicharin is not so convincing, his performance is weak, but he shows a good chemistry with Pataratida. Meesak Nakarat is perfect in the role of the scum Angel. I liked this creepy movie and in my opinion the IMDb Rating of 4.6 is a little underrated. My vote is six. Title (Brazil): "Atormentados" ("Tormented")

• The ghost with the most.

  mrsimonosborne2005-09-11

  The legend of the ghost of Nang Nak is a part of Thai folklore, the story of an 19th Century 'angry ghost' who lived in a bucolic palm-fringed village outside of Bangkok named Pra Khanong.. By 2005, Pra Khanong is part of the dirty old metropolis, the giant grey concrete slab of Bangkok. No longer a place for a rural ghost. I have never even been there - there's no compelling reason to go. It is ten minutes from where I live, but it is just another part of inner city urban blight nowadays. This movie works because it treats Bangkok not as a glitzy tourist venue, full of pachyderms, tuk tuks, ladyboys and long-tail boats, but a functioning, ordinary, third-world city in which regular Thai people live with limited budgets and modern fears. Into this is transported a semi-Gothic, semi J-Horror story, that derives from the old mythology. Thai movies are often unsophisticated, self-referential and burlesque. This one doesn't fall into that trap, perhaps because it is Directed by a Westerner and doesn't play to stereotype. I liked it.

• Truly creepy

  dongillette12006-11-27

  This film was, without a doubt, one of the creepiest, scariest films I've seen in Asian cinema--or any cinema, for that matter. It leads the viewer along a plot line that looks ho-hum and standard for any thriller but then, when you least expect it, it takes you on a ride you never saw coming. Much of the acting is just a little "over the top" which is typical in a lot of Asian horror films, but the lead actress, newcomer Pataratida Pacharawirapong was as believable, beautiful, and emotional as any actress in any horror film I've ever seen from any country. From the cinematography, I found myself also wishing to re-visit Southeast Asia and check it out more thoroughly. There were no shots of Bangkok's crowded, dirty streets or sex outlets (which are what you'll see in 99% of the films shot in Thailand) but there were a lot of culturally interesting shots. Overall, this film is a must-see for any horror fan.

• Pretty good .. but not for the obvious reasons

  boblskee2006-04-01

  I am Malaysian and am not very familiar with Thai folklore. I do know that we share some common demonology and maybe folk beliefs about black magic. Anyway, I just watched this movie (with pretty bad Malay and Chinese subtitles). Fortunately I watched Nang Nak a few years back and it gave me some background of the legend that formed the basis of this modern day tale. The story itself is simple enough and there were some gory scenes, like the part where the shaman's assistant got halved by the glass pane (ok .. that's the end of the spoiler) but what I really liked about this film is the pretty authentic way in which it depicted Bangkok. Many Western directors make the mistake (or maybe it's deliberate) of romanticising the Orient with people walking the streets in ethnic costumes and wild animals (ok .. maybe domesticated ones) roaming the streets. The main story itself is straightforward but well told and the premise is interesting to say the least. The fact that the 2 main characters share the same nicknames as the main actors in the Mae Nak Pra Khanong legend did give me an idea right from the start how the story was going to unravel itself. Nonetheless, still a good show :)

• good work

  wrlang2007-01-15

  Ghost of Mae Nak is an interesting Thai film that appeared to be originally done in English. Mae Nak and her husband Mak had true love around 1900 and lost it before they were ready. Mak has to go off to some tribal war and when he returns to his Nak he learns that she is a ghost who died with their baby in child birth while he was gone. I think there is more to the story than is shown, but Nak gets upset at the villagers when they convince Mak that she is a ghost. Nak places a curse on the village and people start dying. The priests exorcise the ghost and keep her spirit in a piece of bone from Nak's forehead. Then comes 21st century Nak and Mak and they get caught up in the ghost Nak's haunting trying to find out what ghost Nak is looking for. The acting is good, but the directing leaves some things to be desired. This is not an American film, it is a foreign film done to their standards. It has some good special effects and is technically an A- film.