Phobia

For fans of supernatural films from the Far East, Phobia should be a special treat. Four of Thailand’s hippest new directors each deliver a tale of the macabre and of blood-curdling terror.
The first story, Happiness, concerns a teenage girl who is housebound due to a broken leg received in a taxi accident. Her only connection to the outside world is via her mobile phone and thus she does what many do, regardless whether housebound or not: running up the phone bill by making new contacts via text messages. One evening, she receives a friendly message from a mysterious guy and after several texts to and fro, the girl emails him a picture of herself. She then receives an image of her mystery admirer, but it is an image that slowly but surely makes her blood freeze…
Happiness brilliantly builds up the tension and it’s particularly effective because it’s completely dialogue-free and with only the teenage girl as the protagonist. As for the ending, talk about twisted romance!

The second story Tit For Tat is about a group of dope-smoking school bullies who get a taste of their own medicine when their latest victim, a fellow student, embarks on a gore-drenched killing spree fuelled by black magic and revenge. This one could have been better but is somewhat ruined by schlocky special effects and a ‘college kids get bumped off one after another’ scenario that we’ve all seen before in various variations.

In The Middle is a clever and self-referential horror-comedy that sees four male youths on a camping and white river rafting trip posing the question: “Why are ghosts always females with white faces and long dark hair?” Not only are they wrong in their assumption as they are about to find out, but going on the trip in the first place was the wrongest decision of their lives…

The final tale Last Flight is the most terrifying of the lot and not recommended if you’re scared of flying. The sole stewardess on a flight taking home the body of a deceased princess is haunted by the woman whose marriage she wrecked and accidentally killed. Tense and claustrophobic, the episode is a tale of paranoia, guilt, utter fear and scares that come up as unexpected as mid-air turbulences. Superb in its use of minimal shock tactics, but all the more effective when they happen.

Phobia is refreshingly different from all the usual slasher fare the horror market is far too often swamped with!