Mae Nak 3D

This movie is based on an old Thai ghost story which has essentially been brought back into the modern age. Keeping with tradition, "Mak" (played by Rangsiroj Panpeng) is a young man who lives in a small village in Thailand and happily marries a beautiful local woman named "Nak" (Bongkoj Khongmalai). Unfortunately, Mak is conscripted by the government to fight in a war and has to leave his pregnant wife behind. While he is away Nak dies while in labor along with her unborn child. Unaware of this tragic news, Mak returns home to find Nak patiently waiting for him. At least, that is who he thinks it is. Now, even though I am not an expert in Thai ghost stories, as a modest fan of horror movies I found this particular film to be quite interesting in that it had a decent combination of humor and tragedy mixed in with a really creepy atmosphere. Likewise, although this picture was filmed in 3D, the movie I saw lacked this particular attribute and from that aspect the special effects weren't particularly impressive. Not bad--but not that great either. In any case, while this might not be a top-tier horror film, I think that those viewers who are able to navigate around cultural boundaries might find this movie to be somewhat entertaining and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

This version of the Thai ghost legend was released in local theaters this week. This was after the success of "Pee Mak" here earlier this year. I have also seen "The Ghost of Mae Nak" (2005). I have yet to see an earlier film version called "Nang Nak," which was acclaimed world- wide during its release in 1999.

Mak and Nak get married. Just when Nak discovers she is pregnant, Mak gets conscripted to join the army. After the war, Mak comes home to see his wife and their infant child. However, oddly, everyone in town scared of his house and wife. He eventually realizes that the Nak he sees was just her ghost. It turns out Nak and her baby died in childbirth and she was now trying to keep her family intact even as a spirit. When the townspeople try to exorcise her spirit away from Mak, she becomes a terrorizing, angry, vengeful ghost.

"Pee Mak" was wildly successful because of its light-hearted comedy- horror approach and its charming and delightfully comic set of actors, led by Mario Maurer. The earlier 2005 version takes the legend into the context of a modern-day romance of a young newly-married couple haunted by Mae Nak's vengeful spirit.

This particular "Mae Nak" (not shown in 3D locally) is only about the legend itself, stretched out for more than one and a half hours. There was nothing original nor exciting about this version at all. The lead actors playing Mak and Nak looked good, but were dull and flat in their acting. The supporting actors were not any better. The ghostly visual effects (including the ones meant for 3D) were trite and terribly executed. The gore effects in the 2005 version were even better. The attempts at comedy were very lame.

There is nothing much to write about this awful film. My one-star rating says it all.