Writer: Lai Swee Wei

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Watch this if you liked: "The Eye", "The Maid"

Ekachai Uekrongtham seems to have a deep interest in turning real life events into big screen and stage projects. He directed "Beautiful Boxer", the story of Thailand's famed transgendered kickboxer and "Chang & Eng", a stage musical based on the true story of the original Siamese twins. His idea this time for "The Coffin" is inspired by the true Thai ritual of lying in coffins to get rid of bad luck and prolong life. That's simply a perfect theme that is begging for horror movie adaptations!

It's about two main characters, Chris (Ananda Everingham) and Sue (Karen Mok) who have no relation with each another, besides experiencing the supernatural after participating in the popular Thai belief of lying in coffins. Chris, a claustrophobic architect, does it in the hope of saving his fiancee who's dying of terminal cancer. Sue, a nutritionist visiting Thailand from Hong Kong does it to save her own life after being diagnosed with a lethal brain tumour one week before her wedding. However, if you're expecting a lot of side-by-side teamwork from these two - don't.

It might come across as slightly awkward to have English dialogues in this movie, as one would commonly expect a full on Thai language film. However, it's just 20% Thai while the rest is in English. The reason is unclear; perhaps the director needs to accommodate big names like Karen Mok who isn't fluent in Thai.

There's a beautifully done narrative intro that also gives the audience a view of the symmetrical arrangements of hundreds of coffins forming concentric circles around a giant sitting Buddha. The beginning is slowly paced as you try to make sense out of the happenings without the help of dialogues.

The director cleverly attacks the audience with moments of shock when you least expect it. At other times, the scenes throughout the movie are melancholic and spooky. The music score seems repetitive and that could've been better.

In the end, both stories feed off a sense of appreciation to life. It serves to value your loved ones and also a reminder not to disturb nature's course.

Cinema Online, 23 October 2008