Art of the Devil (Thai: คนเล่นของ or Khon len khong) is a 2004 Thai horror film directed by Tanit Jitnukul. It has two titular sequels, Art of the Devil 2 (2005) and Art of the Devil 3 (2008), but these films feature a different story with new characters.

Art of the Devil tells the story of Boom (Supaksorn Chaimongkol), a young Thai girl who meets a married man named Prathan (Tin Settachoke) at a country club. The two soon begin an affair, and Boom finds herself pregnant. When she breaks the news to Prathan, he appears to settle for giving her a sum of money in exchange for her silence, reassuring her that he won’t leave her. However, he then wakes her up in the middle of the night, informing her that for that large an amount of money, he had the right to share her. While Prathan wields a video camera, his friends chase a terrified and screaming Boom out of the room and onto the beach, where they apparently gang-rape her.

After getting an ultrasound at the hospital, Boom shows up at the restaurant where Prathan’s daughter is celebrating her birthday and informs him that the sum of money he’d given her was not enough. He pulls her outside and hits her, tossing a wad of cash at her and warning her not to come near his family again. Furious, Boom enlists the aid of a black magic user to exact revenge on her ex-lover and his entire family, notably causing the eldest son to shoot his girlfriend and his little sister before turning the gun on himself.

After their deaths, Boom visits a temple and finds that if she donates coffins for the spirits, they will not bother her. She makes some offerings. While leaving the temple, she sees the ghosts of her victims in the back of a car and steps off of the sidewalk to get a better look, whereupon she is hit by a car. The accident causes her to lose her baby. Prathan’s first wife inherits his fortune. She and her four children move in to the house. Boom again uses black magic to kill this new family off. However, her motive this time is not for revenge, but in order to claim the inheritance. A young newspaper reporter becomes suspicious, so Boom arranges for his death, as well. Throughout this, the ghost of Boom’s dead daughter is seen around the house…

Wikipedia | IMDb

“If Art of the Devil is characteristic of what Thai horror can be, then I must be missing out. While far from perfect—or original for that matter—Art of the Devil is grisly entertainment, complete with messy, inventive kills, a derivative, but fairly engaging plot, and some gorgeous women.” David Johnson, DVD Verdict

“It’s certainly not the best Asian horror flick I’ve seen, but Art of the Devil was a rather engaging film overall.  It’s easy to grasp, well-paced, and once you’ve gotten past the cultural differences, comfortably accessible.  Not bad, not bad at all.” Carl Lyon, Monsters at Play

Art of the Devil 2 (Thai: ลองของ or Long khong) is a 2005 Thai horror film directed by Kongkiat Khomsiri, Art Thamthrakul, Yosapong Polsap, Putipong Saisikaew, Isara Nadee, Pasith Buranajan and Seree Pongniti (known collectively as the “Ronin Team”). It was released by Five Star Production.

A sequel in name only to a 2004 film (Khon len khong), this film is about a teacher, named Aajaan Panor (portrayed by Napakpapha Nakprasitte), who is humiliated by some students. She turns to black magic to exact revenge….

Wikipedia |IMDb | Amazon.co.uk

“The gore grips you right from the start, giving you a hint that if you can’t stand what you’ve just seen in the first few minutes, you won’t be better off for the rest of the movie.” Stefan S, (A Nutshell) Review

“Apart from an effective opening scene where some poor fool is besieged by fish hooks ripping from beneath his flesh, the first 45 minutes are taken up with exposition: dialogue, flashbacks, and setting the atmosphere. The big plus to this slow-moving momentum is that it creates a sense of dark foreboding; we know some really crazy stuff is en route. When the splatter does ensue, it is unrelenting and disgusting, and the film shakes free its methodical feel and rockets toward a blood-soaked conclusion—and a convoluted twist.” David Johnson, DVD Verdict

Buy the US DVD at Amazon.co.uk

Meat Grinder in (Thai เชือดก่อนชิม pronounced “Cheuat Gon Chim”) directed in 2009 by Thai film director Tiwa Moeithaisong and starring Mai Charoenpura.

Buss (Mai Charoenpura) is a disturbed woman who hears voices in her head is tormented by visions. Having been taught some pretty dubious and unconventional food preparation and cooking skills by her mother, she decides to open up a noodle stall, using the body of a man left over from a riot as the main ingredient. Soon enough, the customers are turning up in droves for her delicious meals, and life is starting to look good after a nice young man takes an interest in her. However, her past comes back to haunt her, and as her mental state breaks down, yet more people end up on the chopping block or hanging up on meat hooks in her basement…

Meat Grinder was released in March 2009, just a few months before the ratings system came into effect in Thailand. After beef noodle shop owners and vendors protested, the movie was reportedly ordered to cut certain scenes.The UK DVD is uncut.

Wikipedia | IMDb

“Although Meat Grinder is obviously only a film for those with the strongest of stomachs, it is certainly nice to see some substance along with the splatter, and this elevates the film from being a mere gruesome freak show into something surprisingly engaging. A strange, though affecting mix of extreme gore and psycho character drama, it sees Moeithaisong continuing to carve himself a name as one of the top Thai genre practitioners and as a director to watch in the future.” James Mudge, Beyond Hollywood

“Despite lurid and deeply unsettling imagery, Meat Grinder has so much more meat on its bones than your average gore-fest and promises to be a truly visceral experience that improves with each nuance-revealing viewing – you might even find that it is the sorry plight of Buss, and not the violent acts she carries out, that lingers spookily in your mind.” James Gracey, Behind the Couch

Post by Will Holland

Sick Nurses (Thai: สวยลากไส้ or Suay Laak Sai) is a 2007 Thai horror film, written and directed by Piraphan Laoyont and Thodsapol Siriwiwat. It stars Chol Wajananont and Kanya Rattanapetch.

In a neglected hospital, seven sexy young nurses and a respectful doctor have been selling body parts of dead patients on the black market. But when one of the nurses falls in live with the doctor, she urges them all to get out of the scam. Threatening to go to the police, she is viciously murdered by the other nurses and dies uttering a vengeful curse. Seven days later, her tormented soul returns, and, preying on each of the women’s obsessions and weaknesses she exacts her horrifying revenge…

Wikipedia | IMDb

“I know it’s hard to convince anyone out there to give a long-haired Asian ghost movie a chance these days, but Sick Nurses really deserves one for those of you craving a little idiosyncratic giallo mixed in to their horror story. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on what this directorial duo is up to next cause Sick Nurses is one fine debut.” Johnny Butane, Dread Central

“Sick Nurses is the perfect antidote for tired genre fans, packing in more excitement and far out thrills than a dozen of its erstwhile peers. Hugely entertaining and slickly directed, it will hopefully find its audience on DVD around the world, as well as providing proof that Asian horror still has plenty to offer in the right hands.” James Mudge, Beyond Hollywood

Thai Poster

Buy Pulse + Sick Nurses on DVD from Amazon.com

Posted by Will Holland

My Ex (Thai: แฟนเก่า or Fan Kao) is a 2009 Thai horror film directed by Piyapan Choopetch. It stars Chakrit Yamnam, Wanida Termthanaporn and Nawadee Mokkhawesa. A sequel, My Ex 2 :Haunted Lover, followed in 2010.

Ken is a young superstar and the dream date of every girl. While he can attract any woman he wants, every detail of his life ends up in gossip columns and tabloid magazines. His two previous girlfriends, high-society girl Meen and innocent college student Bow, have already been exposed in the media. After dumping Meen, he is now dating actress Ploy and their every move is headline news. When news leaks that Ken will marry Ploy, the media goes into a frenzy and their dream life turns into a nightmare. It seems that someone is stalking them, day and night. But is it an ex-girlfriend, an obsessed fan or a vengeful paparazzi? Nimit, Ken’s agent, encourages his client to take a break at a beach house at a report. But the problem only escalates when people around Ken start to disappear one by one…

Wikipedia | IMDb

My Ex is a creepy, surprisingly brutal little ghost-revenge-horror flick from Thailand and is expertly directed by Piyapan Choopetch. It has some genuinely disturbing moments, with a haunting car-wash scene and a horrible bathing incident involving some blood and a lot of aggressive hair. Unfortunately the writing is not fantastic and the plot is a little meandering, with some confusing dream-sequences that might’ve been real and a ridiculous ending that isn’t as shocking as it thinks.” Gorepress

“A number of gory death sequences and goosebump-raising spook scenes manage to alleviate some of the dullness, but the story is never gripping nor scary enough to make it worth a recommendation. The cheap cinematography, too, is uninspired and the music intrusive.” Joel Harley, Starburst

Post by Will Holland

SARS Wars (Thai: ขุนกระบี่ผีระบาด or Khun krabii hiiroh, also subtitled Bangkok Zombie Crisis) is a 2004 Thai horror-comedy film directed and co-written by Taweewat Wantha. The film stars popular comic actors Suthep Po-ngam and Somlek Sakdikul.

The story involves people who are infected with a fictional Type 4 strain of the SARS virus and turned into zombies. The outbreak is contained to one apartment building in Bangkok, and the Health Ministry is determined to keep it contained at all costs. But the building also happens to be the hideout for a gang that has kidnapped a teenage schoolgirl. She is to be rescued by a sword-wielding superhero crimefighter, who must not only contend with the criminals, but also the zombies in a race against the government’s plan to blow the building up…

Wikipedia | IMDb

“Overall, being determinedly self-referential and soaked in pop cinematic culture, SARS Wars is perhaps more likely to appeal to the fan boy crowd, though its flair and high action quotient make for exciting viewing, and the film stands out as one of the subgenre’s best, and certainly one of the better genre efforts to have come out of Thailand in recent times.” James Mudge, Beyond Hollywood

“The comedy and zombies are the major draw here. Both are amazing. You won’t bust a gut, but you will find yourself in a few situations where you’ll reel back in laughter. It’s a special sort of magic.” Brian Harris, Passport Cinema

Post by Will Holland

407 Dark Flight 3D (aka Dark Flight 3D, Thai: ４０７ เที่ยวบินผี) is a 2012 Thai 3D horror film, directed by Isara Nadee.

Ten years ago a young air hostess, New, miraculously survived a plane crash. New insists that a vengeful spirit caused that accident, but her belief unsettled those around her and she had to go through psycho-therapy. Now, she is ready to fly again. But on her first flight, New is struck by a disturbing feeling of Déjà vu. The plane on which she’s working looks familiar, and New realizes that it’s actually the same aircraft that crashed ten years ago, though it has been repaired and repainted. New is gripped by terror, but there’s nothing she can do because the plane has already taken off, along with the same vengeful spirits that reside in it. Up in the air, the passengers on her plane start to die one at a time & the spirits are determined to take her life this time.

Cast:

• Marsha Wattanapanich as New
• Peter Knight as Bank
• Paramej Noiam as Jamras
• Patcharee Tubthong as Gift
• Anchalee Hassadeevichit as Phen
• Thiti Vechabul as Prince
• Namo Tongkumnerd as Wave
• Sisangian Sihalath as Ann
• Jonathan Samson as John
• Kristen Evelyn Rossi as Michelle

The film’s 3D was handled by the Hong Kong company Digital Magic which made it the first Thai film shot in 3D. It was released in Thailand on March 22, 2012. On it’s first weekend, Dark Flight was the second highest grossing feature in Thailand only being beaten by The Hunger Games. The film grossed a total of $1,133,343 and $2,007,612 worldwide.

Wikipedia | IMDb

Posted by DF

“The 3D is a gimmick to compensate for the lack of thrills and scares. Any feeling of tension or suspense instead turns to frustration amid all the shrieking, confusion and 3D gimmickry.” Japan Cinema

“The characters are a bunch of clichés (a super effeminate male flight attendant, etc) who spend most of their time whining or screaming or running. Thankfully the movie at least looks good (well for the most part). The practical effects and ghost designs range from badass to average while the CGI is kind of cheap and nasty. The atmosphere is suitably dark and panicky but alas these positives were not enough to outweigh all of the negatives and so Dark Flight ends up being pretty mediocre indeed.” Silver Scream

My Ex 2 : Haunted Lover (แฟนใหม่) is a 2010 Thai horror film, a sequel to My Ex.

The plot (no ‘Haunted Lover’ on the titles) takes the once original but now increasingly hackneyed approach of treating the first story as an actual film that we first meet our cast leaving a screening of, complaining that it was unrealistic and that the leading actor was a dick (correct on both counts). Amongst them is Atthama ‘Bowie’ Chiwanitchapan, who starred in the original film and here plays herself, and who is now cast in a new horror film alongside sister Cee (Ratchawin Wongviriya). Cee has caught her boyfriend Aof (Thongpoom Siripipat) at the cinema with another girl, Ying (Marion Affolter), but when he is confronted, he swears she means nothing to him and that he was just using her to borrow money. Ying hears this and hurls herself off the roof of a tall building. Vengeful ghost time, anyone?

Bowie and Cee head to an exotic island resort for filming, taking friends Ae and Bee (and yes, that’s right – the characters in this film are called Ae, Bee and Cee), where strange and spooky occurrences start to happen. Ae and Bee are scared off by a Thing under the bed (in a curiously inconclusive scare sequence) and Cee is constantly tormented by images of the dead girl. But are these genuine hauntings, hallucinations of guilt ridden dreams?

My Ex 2 is a little better than the original film, thanks to a third act plot twist that makes little sense in terms of the characters but nevertheless gives the film a little more edge. Unfortunately, getting to this point involves hanging around with characters so vacuous that they seem to be borderline simpletons, and no amount of false jump-scares or brief ghost imagery (very much of the clichéd Asian sort) can get around that. None of the characters seem real enough for you to care about them, and as with the original film, the men all come across as complete assholes while the women are such simpering fools that you really want to slap them into reality. Given that the message of both films seems to ultimately be that women need men to complete them, this is probably a feminist’s nightmare.

The final act of the film improves things considerably, but whether or not that is enough is debatable. Like it’s predecessor, My Ex 2 is too insipid to actually dislike, but you have to wonder just who are the people who are voluntarily coming back for more of this largely vacuous stuff ?

David Flint – Strange Things Are Happening

Wikipedia | IMDb

Headless Ghost (Phi hua khaad) is a 1980 Thai horror film. It stars Sorapong Chatri [Sorapong Chatree] and Setta Sirachaya. At the time of posting, the film is so obscure it isn’t even on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb).

The Coffin is a 2008 horror film co-production from Thailand, South Korea and Singapore starring Ananda Everingham and Karen Mok.

Wikipedia | IMDb | Official website

There is, apparently, a ritual in Thailand where people line up to lie in coffins and take part in mock burials, while wishing for some problem – be it medical or emotional – in their life to be fixed. It’s this essentially harmless tradition that inspires The Coffin, as two people find that while their wishes are granted, there is a price to pay.

Chris (Ananda Everingham) has a girlfriend in a coma, suffering with an incurable brain disease, while Sue (Karen Mok) is suffering from lung cancer and has fled from Hong Kong – where she is due to marry – to Thailand. Both take part in the ritual (in an opening shot that is truly breathtaking, as hundreds of coffins are arranged in circles around massive Buddha statues) out of desperation, but both find their requests have been granted – Chris’ girlfriend is cured and Sue’s cancer is nowhere to be found. But both are plagued with hallucinations – Chris starts to see typically Asian ghostly figures (white dress, long black hair) while Sue is visited by her husband to be – only to receive a call telling her that he has been killed. It soon transpires that in exchange for the lives that have been saved, someone else has had to die…

The Coffin is a lovely looking film, with remarkable, atmospheric imagery that director Ekachai Uekrongtham presents at a sedate pace, allowing the story to unfold slowly… a little too slowly, unfortunately. By all accounts, this film started out as a non-supernatural story about death and acceptance, and then had the horror elements grafted on when financing became impossible to obtain. And unfortunately, it feels very much like two ideas slammed together. The slow melodrama would be a solid tale in its own right, but it doesn’t really work in the context of a ghost story – and the horror scenes feel rather out of place, with jump-shock moments thrown in at random just to keep the viewer awake and to remind them that this is a horror film. It’s not awful – the horror scenes by themselves are effective, but the clash of styles – and the overly familiar supernatural scenes – don’t really help the film hold your attention.

Those of you who hate subtitles (there must be some out there) will be glad to hear that most of this film is in English – which is actually quite disconcerting for some reason, and clearly a sop to the international market. This does allow for the appearance of a remarkably wooden (and thankfully quickly forgotten) English character, but it seems weird in a film based so closely around a tradition that will be entirely alien to most Western audiences.

As a horror film, The Coffin is strictly second division in the Asian Ghost Story world; as a look at our fear of death (and the Final Destination-like premise that Death cannot be cheated), it’s more successful, though the horror scenes invariably unbalance it. Not by any means disinteresting, the film is a decent failure – but you may well find your attention wandering as it plays out its schizophrenic story.

David Flint – Strange Things Are Happening

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Love of Ghost - original title Phi-Sum-Oy – is a 1990 Thai horror film. The poster above, courtesy of Wrong Side of the Art, is the only trace of this rare film we can find online. It’s not even on the Internet Movie Database!

If you have any more information about this obscurity please let us know…

The Thai Ghost – original title: Mon Khun Ma Jak Long “It Came Out of the Coffin”) is a 1991 Thai horror film.

We have been unable to find any credits and the film is not on IMDb so all we can currently post is the artwork for the poster above, courtesy of Wrong Side of the Art!

Dead Bite – aka Gancore Gud (ก้านคอกัด) – is a 2011 Thai comedy horror film directed by Joey Boy [Apisit Opas-iamlikit], who also stars with Buddha Bless, Lakana Wattanawongsiri.

Plot Synopsis:

A hip-hop group led by Joey Boy becomes stranded on Mermaid Island. Unfortunately, the young rappers also discover that that is inhabited by zombies and flesh eating monsters…

Review:

“The action is choppy and for the most part too tightly framed to get a sense of what’s really happening, though there are a few decent shots of practical gore effects.  Joey Boy and his ensemble cast of musical cohorts are natural performers, and the scenes of them simply trying to survive are the strongest in the film.” Wise Kwai’s Thai Film Journal

“Contemporary B-movie madness at its most casual, off-the-cuff, and energetic, the slick production values, and enthusiastic gore effects make this movie feel like far more than the sum of its parts. This is a horror movie made by people who love horror movies, full of dope beats, and beaten-to-a-pulp dopes, and it ends with a sick wrap-around gag that feels like the kicker of one whopping, zombie-filled fish story.” Film Society Lincoln Center

BK Magazine interview with Joey Boy

IMDb

Pernicious is a 2014 US/Thai supernatural horror film directed by James Cullen Bressack (Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys) from a screenplay co-written with Taryn Hillin. It stars Ciara Hanna, Emily O’Brien, and Jackie Moore.

Plot teaser:

Three young, beautiful women arrive in Thailand to teach English for the summer, some with noble intentions and some just wanting an adventure, but none were prepared for the massacre that awaited them.

The nightmare begins when their new friends go missing, vivid bloody dreams haunt their sleep and a stolen statue leads them down a dark path into Thai folklore and magic that has been long forgotten. Their situation continues to become worse once they realise it’s not what that is haunting them but who: an eight-year girl, brutally murdered and sacrificed by her family decades ago who wants nothing more than to watch them bleed…

Reviews:

‘We get some real brutal deaths and some great practical effects.  Overall, Pernicious is a film for the real horror fans. If you are looking for a movie theater and popcorn flick then you are in the wrong place. However, if you want something sexy, bloody, and heinous then check this one out!’ Horror Society

‘Pernicious feels like a Japanese ghost story, in the vein of Ju-On or Ringu or any number of others. But at the same time, it manages to pull off a slasher feel as well, kind of along the lines of Hostel or Turistas, but the pretty girls in this movie, the ones in their underwear and covered in blood, play the opposite roles than you might be used to (somewhat, at least). Combining those two subgenres is no easy task, but the scares are here in full force right alongside a good-sized helping of well executed blood, guts, and gore.’ HorrorNews.net

‘Pernicious is a carnival for the eyes; with the aforementioned beautiful women, insane special effects, and haunting Thai setting, you’ll find yourself swept away in the story and in love with your favorite female lead. Sure, there are a few warts, but what it all boils down to is: How much were you entertained? Pernicious is very entertaining. It’s a wildly exciting watch from beginning to bloody end, and you’ll have a lot of fun with the characters and story. Pernicious is certainly worth a look.’ Scott Hallam, Dread Central

Wikipedia | IMDb | Officlal site | Facebook | Twitter

Slice – original title Cheun – is a 2009 Thai serial killer film directed by Kongkiat Khomsiri. It stars Chatchai Plengpanich and Arak Amornsupasiri.

Plot teaser:

The police are unable to find or stop a serial killer who targets men and dismembers their bodies. When the next victim is the son of a politician, the police turn to ex-hitman Tai (Arak Amornsupasiri) for help in hunting down the serial killer. Tai is then sprung from prison and works with the police to find the killer before the killer slices again…

Buy Slice on DVD from Amazon.com

Reviews:

“Slice is a bleak tale of actions and consequences which plays out to a fittingly tragic conclusion, and for people who enjoy visceral horror with a bit more emotional charge to it, this is a worthwhile movie.” Horror Extreme

“I highly recommend this film to those who aren’t offended by the disturbing aspects of it. It’s an enjoyable watch with some major twists that really got my attention.” In Nervous Convulsion

“This is a movie that never lets the audience calm down and go back to that normal state of non-thinking, non-controversial relaxation. When some shit happens here it happens big, and it won’t take long until something even worse happens. The stuff in this movie is something that never, and I mean never, would happen in an American movie.” Ninja Dixon

IMDb

WH

The Krasue (Thai: กระสือ), known as Ahp (Khmer: អាប) in Cambodia and as Kasu in Laos, is a nocturnal female spirit of Southeast Asian folklore. It manifests itself as a woman, usually young and beautiful, with her internal organs hanging down from the neck, trailing below the head.

This spirit moves about by hovering in the air above the ground, for it has no lower body. The throat may be represented in different ways, either as only the trachea or with the whole neck.The organs below the head usually include the heart and the stomach with a length of intestine, the intestinal tract emphasising the ghost’s voracious nature.

In the recent film Krasue Valentine, this ghost is represented with more internal organs, such as lungs and liver, but much reduced in size and anatomically out of proportion with the head.The viscera are sometimes represented freshly daubed with blood, as well as glowing. In contemporary representations her teeth often include pointed fangs in yakkha (Thai: ยักษ์) or vampire fashion. In the 1973 film Ghosts of Guts Eater she has a halo around her head.

Krasue has been the subject of a number of movies in the region, including My Mother is Arb (Khmer: កូនអើយ ម្តាយអាប). Also known as Krasue Mom, this Cambodian horror film has the distinction of being the first movie made in Kampuchea after the absence of locally-made movies and the repression of local folklore in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge era.

The Krasue is also found in the popular mythology of Malaysia and Indonesia, where it is called the penanggalan, hantu penanggal or leyak, among other names. This spirit is also part of Vietnamese folklore as ma lai via the minority ethnic groups of Vietnam’s Central Highlands. In the Philippines there is a similar ghost, manananggal, a local spirit that haunts pregnant women.

Origins:

In Thailand, there is a legend locating Krasue’s origin in Angkorian Khmer culture. It tells of a certain Khmer princess becoming the Krasue in centuries past after having been executed by burning. The marriage to a powerful Siamese nobleman had been arranged for this Khmer lady following the defeat of her people in war. She was very distressed, however, for she was in love with one of the conquering soldiers, a younger man of a lower status.

Eventually she was caught with her lover and the offended Siamese aristocrat sentenced her to death by burning. Shortly before the execution the princess got a Khmer sorceress to cast a magic spell over her to allow her body to be unharmed by the flames. The spell was powerful, but its effect arrived too late, when most of the body of the princess had been burnt except for her head and some of her viscera. Thenceforward the non-charred remains were cursed to continue living as the Krasue ghost. A modern version of this particular Phi Krasue’s legend was enacted in the 2002 Thai horror film Demonic Beauty.

There are other oral traditions that say that this spirit was formerly a rich lady that had a length of black gauze or ribbon tied around the head and neck as protection from the sunshine. This woman was then possessed by an evil spirit and was cursed to become a Krasue. Other popular legends claim that origin of the spirit may have been a woman trying to learn black magic that made a mistake or used the wrong spell so that her head and body became separated.

Past sins are also related to the transmission of the Krasue curse; women who aborted or killed someone in a previous life will become a Krasue as punishment. Other folk stories talk about a person being cursed to become a Krasue after having consumed food and drink contaminated with a krasue’s saliva or flesh. Popular imagination also claims that the transformation into a Krasue is largely restricted to the relatives of women practicing witchcraft “Mae Mot” (แม่มด) or “Yai Mot” (ยายมด), especially their daughters or granddaughters. Often women acting strange in a community are suspected of becoming nightly a Krasue by other members of the village.

Description in Thai folklore:

The Krasue is under a curse that makes it ever hungry and always active in the night when it goes out hunting to satisfy its gluttony, seeking blood to drink or raw flesh to devour. It may attack cattle or chicken in the darkness, drinking their blood and eating their internal organs. It may also prey on pieces of cattle, such as water buffalo that have died of other causes during the night. If blood is not available the Krasue may eat feces or carrion. Clothes left outside would be found soiled with blood and excrement in the morning, allegedly after she had wiped her mouth.

The Krasue also preys on pregnant women in their homes just before or after the childbirth. It hovers around the house of the pregnant woman uttering sharp cries to instil fear. It uses an elongated proboscis-like tongue, forced into a woman’s vagina, to reach the fetus or its placenta within the womb.

This habit, among other unmentionable things that this spirit does, is believed to be the cause of many diseases affecting women mainly in rural areas during their pregnancy. In some cases it may catch the unborn child and use its sharp teeth to devour it. In order to protect pregnant women from becoming victims before delivery, their relatives place thorny branches around the house. This improvised thorny fence discourages the Krasue from coming to suck the blood and causing other suffering to the pregnant lady within the house. After delivery, the woman’s relatives must take the cut placenta far away for burial to hide it from the Krasue. There is the belief that if the placenta is buried deep enough the spirit cannot find it.

The Krasue hides the headless body from which it originates in a quiet place because it needs to join it before daybreak,living like a normal person during the day, although having a sleepy look. To crush the still headless body of the krasue is fatal to the spirit. The flying head will return after hunting but rejoin with the wrong body which will lead it to suffer torment until death. If the top part of the body fails to find the lower half before daybreak it will die in terrible pain. The Krasue will also die if its intestines get cut off or if its body disappears or gets hidden by someone. Some folk beliefs hold that the creature can be destroyed by burning it. The main foes of the Krasue are mobs of angry villagers. They may catch the Krasue and kill it or watch where she goes before dawn and destroy her body.

Modern popular culture:

Countries where the Krasue tale is popular have adapted it to film:

Krasue Sao (Ghosts of Guts Eater, 1973), Thai: กระสือสาว which features a fight between two Krasues;

Itthirit Nam Man Phrai Thai: อิทธิฤทธิ์น้ำมันพราย made in 1984;

Krasue Kat Pop Thai: กระสือกัดปอบ (1990);

Krasue Krahailueat (Bloodthirsty Krasue), Thai: กระสือกระหายเลือด, made in 1995;

Tamnan Krasue Thai: ตำนานกระสือ (Demonic Beauty) released in 2002;

Krasue Valentine (2006) by Yuthlert Sippapak;

Krasue (The Gluttonous Fear) Thai: กระสือ made in 2007, with Jedsada Roongsakorn and Sirintorn Parnsamutr;

Krasue Fat Pop (Thai:กระสือฟัดปอบ, 2009) with Chutima Naiyana, in which Krasue fights against Phi Pop

Fullmoon Devil (2011) Thai: กระสือ by Komson Thripong.

Krasue also appears in erotic movies such as Krasue Rak Krasue Sawat (2014) Thai: กระสือรัก กระสือสวาท and Wan Krasue Sao (2013) Thai: ว่านกระสือสาว.

Krasue, as Ap (also spelt Arp or Arb), is present in the Cambodian horror films Neang Arp (Lady Vampire) (2004), Tiyen Arp (Heredity of Krasue) (2007), Arb Kalum (The Sexiest Krasue) (2009) and Phlerng Chhes Arb.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Witch with the Flying Head (1977) includes a Krasue spitting flames and firing laser beams and was dubbed into Thai as Krasue Sawat (กระสือสวาท), meaning “Lovely Krasue”, and Indonesia’s Mystics in Bali (1981) also feature local versions of Krasue.

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This ghost appears periodically in Thai television soap operas (ละคร). Krasue, a popular lakhon aired between 20 December 1994 and 21 March 1995, as well as the more recent Krasue Mahanakhon (กระสือมหานคร). A Krasue has been also comically featured in a Sylvania lightbulb commercial for Thai audiences and in a more recent dietary supplement ad. A rather ugly-looking Krasue has a role as well in the animated movie Nak.

Representations of Krasue, often humorous, are very common in Thai comic books. Since this ghost is a popular subject in some places of Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand, there are even costumes, dolls, key-holders and lamps in Krasue form.

Wikipedia | Image credit: The Gentleman’s Blog to Midnite Cinema

‘She never leaves you’

Shutter (Thai: ชัตเตอร์ กดติดวิญญาณ) is a 2004 Thai horror film by Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom. The film was remade in 2008 under the same title.

Main cast:

Ananda Everingham, Natthaweeranuch Thongmee, and Achita Sikamana.

Plot:

After celebrating at a drinking party with his close friends, Tun (Ananda Everingham), a photographer, and Jane (Natthaweeranuch Thongmee), get into a car accident. Jane hits a young woman. With much fear, Tun prohibits her from getting out of the car: they drive away, leaving the girl lying on the road.

Tun begins to discover mysterious white shadows and what appear to be faces in his photographs. A suspicious Jane thinks these images may be the ghost of the girl they hit on the road. Tun, who has been experiencing severe neck pains since the accident, visits a specialist and is dismayed to find that his weight is double his regular weight. Unconvinced of the existence of the supernatural, Tun dismisses the idea of being haunted although his friends are also being disturbed by this mysterious girl…

Reviews:

“The use of sound, while a tad irritating in that they cheat (you can startle anyone, during any movie, by suddenly turning up the volume 500% when they least expect it), is nevertheless efficiently done enough to be effective. And the ghost, while looking very generic as can be, offers the audience one minor detour from conventions — she likes to stalk her victims while upside down. Other than that, she’s no different from the 500 other Asian ghosts with long black hair.” Beyond Hollywood

“Still, it delivers all the usual scares (ghost appears in the background, hero spins, she’s gone; an image of the ghost in a photo seemingly comes to life, etc.) so it follows the template closely enough to give the film enough merit (and by merit I mean, the remake is due this year). These movies are a dime a dozen, but if you haven’t seen any of the others this one is no better or worse a place to start.” Horror Movie a Day

“What is unique here is the way they really say alot about the culture and understanding of death from the Asian point of view. It also reaffirms the nature of wrongful deaths and the retribution of scorned spirits. And speaking of scorned spirits….Shutter proves to be one of the most effective in this realm next to “Ju-on”. The appearance and materialism of Natre as a ghost is so well placed at times, it leaves a haunting residue after watching.” HorrorNews.net

Trailer:

Wikipedia | IMDb