Espíritos 2: Você Nunca Está Sozinho

The directors of the chiller "Shutter" created another terrifying horror film. This creepy film tells the story about the surviving half of a conjoined twin who starts to "see" her dead sister when she returns home to visit her dying mother. Through flashbacks we learn how the beautiful relationship between the sisters transforms in to a repressive bond that forced one of the sisters to ask for her mother's support for a separation. When one of the twins dies, she angrily returns from the dead to haunt her sister. Strong story, strong cast dealing with recognizable themes such as rivalry between sisters, romantic jealousy and good old family guilt. A cut above all other scary movies in recent years.

Thai writer-directors Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom have shot to prominence in the horror genre with their debut movie Shutter, which I had regrettably missed its theatrical run here, but more than made up for it by being the proud owner of the (now autographed) DVD. In my opinion, having mustered up enough courage to sit through horror movies now (and find them really enjoyable, at times comedic though), I've shuddered at some of this genre's movies which keep on harping on the same thing, and got dumbed down by weak execution. Not Shutter, and definitely not Alone.

If you think Banjong and Parkpoom are one hit wonders with their debut movie, then Alone will prove you wrong. Despite having counted on the usual lighting and shadow techniques, quick cut surprises and scares, and the pristine, well-crafted sound effects, it demonstrated that as long as you deliver the product with great technical skill and respect for the medium, it'll still be as enjoyable as watching it all for the very first time. Having a storyline which engages helps as well, and here the duo still seemed to have a thing or two for old photographs, this time showing the subject material of siamese twins, although not as grotesque as those shown in the Alone trailers.

While the storyline isn't really that original, with the surviving siamese twin having to encounter the supernatural return of her deceased other, and if you look closely enough there are adequate hints of the revelatory twist to come, what mattered was how the subject again was being introduced and crafted, how tension and suspense were met out, and how easy it is to spook audiences when all the ingredients turn out right. Despite having some premise set up for the obvious, I was still taken aback at one of the scenes, and it is this constant sense of what's coming, and the expected delivery, which will easily make this a successful spook film for the mass audience.

The duo had got the male heartthrob Ananda Everingham lead in their previous movie, and now the opportunity is given to the female gender - the beautiful and very photogenic Masha Wattanapanich, who plays the siamese twins Pim and Ploy. Starring opposite them in a Natthaweeranuch Thongmee kinda role, is Vittaya Wasukraipaisan as Wee, Pim's boyfriend. As Pim's mother (Ratchanoo Bunchootwong) is suddenly taken ill back in Thailand, the duo have to leave their careers in Korea, and journey back to the homeland, where the unexpected starts to happen. Pim's encounters with who she presumes is Ploy led to Wee thinking that she needs psychiatric help, but slowly, he too gets drawn into the web of supernatural intrigue.

And in all earnestness, I'd say Masha had nailed her role to a fitting T. Given that Pim and Ploy's characters are key to the movie, she managed to bring out the vast differences in the character of the two sisters (of course the teenage actresses who played the younger versions also helped loads). In shedding light onto the ongoing mystery, the expected blast from the past recollection and flashback helped provide a certain richness to the entire backstory for all the characters, and in doing so, played on a common theme, one that at times I like to ponder upon - which I cannot elaborate further other than saying, is ignorance sometimes bliss, and can you live a lie?

Alone is excellent stuff, even though the horrific moments might come few and far between, and there possibly was a sub-genre shift in the last 10 minutes or so. Nonetheless its numerous strengths easily outweigh the minute weaknesses, and in having delivered a superbly crafted tried-and-tested story, this could easily be a hit at the box office. Recommended for all you people out there who are itching for a good scare!

In Seoul, the Thai Pim (Masha Wattanapanich) is informed that her mother had a heart attack in her hometown. Pim travels with her boyfriend Wee (Vittaya Wasukraipaisan) to Thailand to give assistance to her mother. Once in her home, Pim is haunted by her Siamese sister Ploy (Masha Wattanapanich) that died in the surgery of separation when they were teenagers. Wee asks his old friend and psychologist to have sessions with Pim to supersede the trauma of her loss. But when Pim's mother is able to speak to Wee, she discloses dark secrets from the past of the twin sisters.

"Alone" is a creepy and scary horror movie and another great example of how magnificent is the Asian cinema in this genre. I do not know how many times I have startled with this film. The screenplay is fantastic and without flaws, and the story may be understood as a strong psychological drama (with the lead character insane and having visions, as the psychologist says, due to her guilty complex) or simply as a frightening ghost story. The direction and the performances are top-notch, with limited but efficient use of special effects. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Espíritos 2: Você Nunca Está Sozinho" ("Spirits 2: You Are Never Alone")

This's a new horror film from Thailand(not Taiwan : ), next to 'Shutter' and 'The Eye'(not Japan : )

The main idea of this film is "You can't escape your past, it will come back and get you...Karma...Sin effects your mind" Yeah, I LOVE this idea !!!

The lead character, Marsha Wattanapanich (Ploy, Pim) perfect for this role and delivers a very strong performance.

I can't recommend this film enough to any fans of horror, but I guaranteed, you will not be disappointed, it wroth your time. OK Watch and Judge for yourselves : )

If you like 'Shutter', you will like it : )

If this movie had come out a decade earlier, it might have been hailed as an innovator of Horror movies, that do put some drama into the mix. But since then, a lot of movies came out, that might spoil the fun you can have with this one. It's a shame, because it seems to check every point/scare a movie like this should have. But as it is, there is one big problem:

It is predictable. At least if you have seen a few horror movies over the last ten years, like I mentioned before. You will know where this is going after the first 10 minutes (the latest) and curse the movie makers for putting so many false scares in there, that are predictable too. Still I have seen worse movies, so if you don't mind being scared once in awhile and like your horror movies with a bit of drama mixed, you can still kind of enjoy this movie