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November 30, 2006
Letters of Death
Kein-Pen-Song-Tai
Kapol Thongplub - 2006
A.G. Entertainment 35mm Film
More chilling than my first Thai movie seen in Thailand, is this news about the Bangkok Film Festival less than two months before it's scheduled opening. I'm planning to attend the festival, although it appears that it may be in a form different from that which was announced in October.
As for Letters of Death, it's a fairly entertaining bit of Thai horror that sticks to the formula. In this case a group of young people, all former classmates, discover that their fellow classmates have been killed under mysterious circumstances. A letter that each receives provides some clues as to who is behind the violent deaths. The film offers a few jolts, particular when one of the victims is trapped in an errant elevator. The scene is effective in a movie theater alternating complete darkness with brief flashes of light. Otherwise most of the death scenes are easily anticipated including what seems to be the obligatory death of a hot chick in a bath tub.
I saw the film at the best multiplex in Chiang Mai, the Major Cineplex, which is at the Airport Plaza Mall. It's a very nice theater, in a sensibly laid out mall, and a great improvement over its closest competition. Unfortunately, the theater is about twice as far away, and when the stores close at the mall, leaving the mall means walking through the parking garage to find your way out. I'm slowly learning how to navigate my way through this small city that is chock full of traffic at most hours, but has precious few walkways for pedestrians. And if my transliteration of Thai names and titles is off, please keep in mind that even the street names are never always spelled the same here.
Posted by Peter Nellhaus at November 30, 2006 11:42 AM