'Alone' 'Shutter' directors talk horror together

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 07/21/2007 11:35 AM  |  Life

When The Jakarta Post first met Banjong Phisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom at the Bangkok International Film Festival in early 2003, they were short filmmakers in their mid-20s who had just begun writing their first feature, Shutter.

The movie about ""ghosts in the photographs"" -- as they summed it up then -- became Thailand's biggest box office hit of 2004. This was followed by a string of successes worldwide. Shutter has been screened in more than 20 countries and is currently showing in the United Kingdom.

Three years later, the duo has returned with their second movie together, also a horror. Alone is a tale about a woman haunted by her deceased Siamese twin. The movie quickly gained rave reviews at home and made 35 million baht (US$1.09 million) over its opening weekend.

The directors and their leading lady, Marsha Wattanapanich, arrive July 21 in Jakarta for the Indonesian premiere of Alone, as part of its Asia tour.

The two directors spoke to the Post's contributing writer, Kenny Santana, via an email interview about all things horror; following is an excerpt.

Question: What makes a good horror film?

Banjong Phisanthanakun (BP): The plot, story gotta be fresh, new and intense so the moviegoers can share the feelings with the film.

Parkpoom Wongpoom (PW): The ending must be brilliant and unpredictable.

What frightens you the most in horror movies?

BP: Scariness of the kind that is unpredictable, cannot be expected.

PW: The (kind of) movie that lets the audiences free their mind and imagine, like we do not know what is there in the dark.

Is a plot twist always necessary in horror movies?

BP: For me, it is not to that extent of being a must-have. But a new good twist always is a good bonus for the film.

PW: For this genre, having a good twist will make a movie to be a more memorable one.

What attracted you to making horror films?

BP: I wanted to give (audiences) a frightening feeling that makes their hair stand (on end), just like how we felt when listening or watching a good horror film.

PW: It is the filmmaking process that we manage to make it the way we wanted it to be -- how the camera angle works, the editing process and all these for controlling the feeling of the audiences.

It is quite a challenge for me whether I can make them scared and feel it with our films or not. That's what really made me want to try.

How are Hollywood or European films different from Asia when it comes to making horror movies?

BP: Every region got its legend, with different beliefs. For instance, in Hollywood's horrors the stories will be about Satan, witches or anything related to Christianity. But for Asia, the story will be about the consequences of good/bad karma.

PW: I think its kinda hard to differentiate them now because we have mixed ... each other's horror stories in terms of movie making procedure. Maybe they're only different in the form of the ghosts.

How do you see the future of horror movies?

BP: It is probably in a cycle of rotation for film genres. Today, horror is everywhere so if any filmmaker can come up with a new concept, then he/she will be the one who gains the reputation for bringing horror back to the movie business. Just like what Ringu and The Sixth Sense did before.

PW: It is still a downhill graph for horror at the moment. However, it will not be disappear for long because there are always the big fans of horrors who are waiting for a good, new horror story.

What do you offer in Alone that no other horrors have showed?

BP: A scary, horrifying feeling that there is someone always next to you all the time, breathing over your neck and it never leaves you alone.

PW: It's a horror film about Siamese twins. Have you ever heard about (a similar film)?

Alone is premiering in Indonesia as a midnight double-bill with Shutter at 10 p.m. Saturday, July 21, at the Blitz Megaplex. The directors and Marsha Wattanapanich will be in attendance.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.