« Bodyguard 2 | Main | Here be Pirates! »
March 14, 2007
Haunting Me
Hortaewtak
Poj Arnon - 2007
Five Star Production 35mm Film
Imagine the stupidest Thai horror-comedy combined with with outtakes from Wigstock. That pretty much describes Haunting Me. I'm not going to expect every film starring guys in drag to be as good as Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Even Vegas in Space had inspired moments. Even if by Thai standards there aren't the apirations of Beautiful Boxer or even Iron Ladies, I would have hoped to be even slightly amused. Obviously there is a culture gap as I was surrounded by an audience that couldn't stop laughing at the sight of four middle aged cross dressers simply sitting in a room, shrieking as loud as possible. The film is my introduction to Poj Arnon, a guy who admittedly knows how to please Thai filmgoers.
The film takes place in an apartment building haunted by two ghosts. One of the ghosts is a chubby would-be ladyboy who accidentally has killed herself falling on a bar of soap, knocking her head against a toilet bowl. The other ghost is of a young woman who was murdered by a group of male students in the apartment, following her gang rape. The film follows the four mature ladyboys in their attempts to fight against ghosts and various evil spirits.
Parts ofHaunting Me are parodies of Thai movie cliches - the lonely ghost, the ghost seeking revenge, the one guy who can vanquish many foes with his martial arts skills, and the evil sorcerer. The spoof of Brokeback Mountain must have seemed like a real howler in the writing stage - the two sheep herders actually have goats, and engage in a threesome with the chubby ghost, seen as shadows inside the pup tent. One of the "women" actually mentions Brokeback Mountain just to make sure the audience gets the joke. For those who care, the scene is the first of at least two Thai Brokeback parodies this year.
As a comedy about guys with female identities, Haunting Me is neither divine nor Divine. The funniest part of the film was the pre-credit advisement that the film was made for entertainment purposes, and that the offensive language used by the characters should not be used by the audience. Otherwise, to coin an expected cliche here, as a film about guys in drag, Haunting Me is a . . . well I'm sure you've figured it out.
Cross-published in Twitch.
Posted by Peter Nellhaus at March 14, 2007 01:43 AM
Comments
My girlfriend's been bugging me to see this. Maybe I can talk her into seeing 300 instead.
Thanks for taking one for the team.
Posted by: Curtis at March 14, 2007 09:08 AM
I want that language warning added to a Tarantino movie. :)
Peter, I am posting a blatantly off-topic comment because I'm worried my email did not reach you! I wanted to make sure you knew the DVDs are here, and I am MOST grateful and excited to see them.
Posted by: Campaspe at March 14, 2007 06:21 PM
Curtis: I'm not sure how much better 300 will be, but good luck convincing your girl friend.
Campaspe: I did receive your email. I am looking forward to seeing your take on those films. Mr. Campaspe may find them to be of interest as well.
Posted by: Peter Nellhaus at March 14, 2007 09:56 PM