Rating: 3.5/5
Hooptober X | 3/34 | Countries 3/6 | Thailand
Photography does not capture reality — it depends on how it is framed, what is revealed, and what is concealed
Tun and Jane drive home after drinking with some friends, and they hit someone with their car. They drive off, leaving the person they hit behind
They go to Jane’s college graduation — Tun, a professional photographer, goes to take a photo of the senior class and sees a pale woman in the viewfinder, but when he pulls down the camera, she isn’t there
When he gets the photos developed, he notices white smears in the prints and the negatives — shapes he didn’t see when taking the photos. Also, Jane begins to have nightmares in which a Ringu-like figure emerges and stalks her
The experiences drive them to explore spirit photography — the fakes for money vs. the unexplainable ones — the urban legends vs. the signs from beyond. When their friends begin having similar experiences, we suspect that there is more to the story and Tun’s past
Nearly 20 years after the release, it’s hard not to feel like I’ve seen some iteration on this before. It doesn’t help that Hollywood gorged itself on Asian horror remakes
However, being shot on film and never trying to be too clever, the film is weirdly cozy — until it absolutely isn’t, especially the horrifying ending — and proves that you don’t have to reinvent the genre to make a good horror film