Supernatural shroud

The director of ‘Beautiful Boxer’ brings a spinechilling thriller about the paranormal to Bangkok’s screens

By Parinyaporn Pajee
Daily Xpress

Singaporebased Thai director Ekachai Uekrongtham who’s best known for his sentimental musical “Chang & Eng” and for his acclaimed directorial debut, 2003’s “Beautiful Boxer”, has turned to the supernatural for his latest movie.
His horror flick, “Long Tor Tai” (“The Coffin”), which opens today in Thai cinemas, brings together Thailand’s hottest actor Ananda Everingham and Hong Kong babe Karen Mok, and is based on the real Thai ritual of lying in a coffin to get rid of bad luck.
Ekachai is well aware that the local horror genre tends to be associated with ghosts and gory entrails.
“I may have made a horror film but that doesn’t mean I will you giving you rubbish,” says the director, whose second feature, “Pleasure Factory”, explored Singapore’s red light district.
Ekachai recalls how deeply affected he was when his father died suddenly just one night after “Chang & Eng” opened in Bangkok.
“Horror films are usually about death but they can also makes you think about life. Sometimes, you need to get in touch with death so that you can rearrange the priorities in your life in a much calmer way,” he says.
Death in horror movies, he says, is always driven by love. The protagonist Chris (Ananda) lies down in the coffin because he’s scared of losing the one he loves while Su (Mok) is scared of dying like other members of her family who have not survived the battle with cancer.
Ekachai says he’s enjoyed working with his leading actors, as well as with Napakapa Nakpasit, and brushes away criticisms that Thai moviegoers may be getting fed up with seeing Ananda in yet another film this year.
“I’m not going to stop using him simply because he is so popular. I work with Singaporean actors all the time and they are good, but a truly talented actor makes all the difference.”

XTRA:
Get your tickets now
>> The movie goes on release today.
>> The local version will be slightly different from the international version.