Ghost Lab

I must admit that I was expecting a tad more from the 2021 Thai horror movie "Ghost Lab" than what director Paween Purijitpanya managed to deliver.

For a ghost movie then "Ghost Lab" was sort of a mixed experience. On one hand then it was actually nice to see a Thai ghost movie that deviated from the usual archetypical, and often stereotypical, formula that many ghost movies from Asia follow. But on the other hand, then the movie's storyline just didn't really feel wholehearted, and the movie was definitely lacking in the scares department.

The storyline told in "Ghost Lab" was interesting enough on certain aspects, and I do like the aspect of men of science delving into the realm of the supernatural in order to prove something. And that worked out well enough in "Ghost Lab", at least up to a certain point, then the movie just became stale and lost its drive.

It should be said that the acting performances in "Ghost Lab" were definitely good, and the actors and actresses were putting on good performances to bring their characters to life - pardon the pun - on the screen.

Visually then "Ghost Lab" was adequate, I suppose. There weren't much of ghosts to be seen, so if you are expecting that, you'll be sorely disappointed. It should be said, though, that the special effects and CGI department did good enough jobs with bringing the supernatural elements to life on the screen. Luckily, then "Ghost Lab" was not a movie that was overly reliant on special effects in order to be watchable.

"Ghost Lab", as a horror movie, just failed to bring much of anything overly new to the genre. So writers Vasudhorn Piyaromna, Paween Purijitpanya and Tossaphon Riantong weren't exactly revolutionizing the Thai horror/ghost genre with "Ghost Lab".

But ultimately, "Ghost Lab" is adequate for a single viewing, if you have nothing better to watch. This wasn't a groundbreaking moment in Thai horror cinema, nor was it a particularly memorable or outstanding experience. I am rating "Ghost Lab" a mediocre five out of ten stars.

Working a shift at a local hospital, a pair of friends are convinced they've been witness to paranormal activity and set out on a determined quest to find out the truth about the paranormal world, forcing them deeper into a quest that the ghosts in the area aren't too fond of them discovering.

Overall, the film is quite a jarring and offsetting film. Much of this is due to a bizarre storyline that favors shifting the tone of the film quite frequently from scene to scene. The initial setup of the two working in the hospital for various altruistic reasons as one wants to be close to his comatose mother and the other more interested in the pursuit of the paranormal working there offers him provides a grounding to the characters early on. However, this melodramatic turn is broken up frequently to show that the two are indeed best friends through the use of childish, immature pranks and pratfalls around the hospital that showcase a decidedly more comedic bent to the presentation. While lighthearted and certainly of the variety that genuine friends would pull on each other, these scenes come off as quite odd when contrasted against the dramatic turns later on. Once they discover the ghosts have been visiting the hospital, all pretenses of comedy are dropped in favor of increasingly melodramatic confrontations between the two highlighting their descent into psychological madness and devotion to figuring out the truth rather than featuring a straightforward story. This factor becomes another drawback to the film that holds it back. When the switch occurs that brings the two into their quest for the truth behind the ghosts that they've been seeing, there's a decided lack of interest in what's going on that tends to make for a highly problematic and underwhelming feature. Despite turning the film into a series of enthusiastic and thoughtful conversations involving the physics of the situation against the psychological damage the quest is turning him, very little of this becomes interesting as the ghosts completely disappear from the film in favor of these conversations. They're so infrequent in place of these admittedly spirited debates that it's entirely possible to be bored during these segments while the conversations eventually bring a different change to their personalities by offering a highly dispiriting tone that is completely dull to sit through. This series of scenes here with the guys doing their discussions create a highly dispiriting downgrade against the type of sympathy that had been created beforehand with a series of revelations that we've all been aware of for the most part anyway that tends to alter our perception of the characters. These factors all combine together to lower the film somewhat. While there are some flaws, the film does have a lot to like about it. Most of these factors are based around the ghostly encounters that showcase the terrifying nature of the ghosts as their appearances are genuinely shocking. The initial encounter in the hospital where it utilizes the atmosphere of the darkened hospital to generate some really creepy visuals of the ghosts appearing out of nowhere to generate a sharp shocking sequence for a rather enjoyable starting point to the hauntings. Later scenes in the corridors of the hospital are just as effective, creating a feeling of genuine tension and terror that escalates nicely with the tension between them during their personal crises that is a fine cohesive balance. As the final half builds in intensity with the reveal of their purpose for being in the hospital and they get far more active, the energy and intensity pick up nicely with the encounters inside the hospital which are rather enjoyable overall. There's also plenty to like with the intensity of the conversations involving their search and the motivations for doing so that's painted as sympathy that's filmed quite nicely. Combined with the fantastic ghost make-up that helps their eeriness quite heavily, there are some great elements present here.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Language.

GDH 559's first film to premiere on Netflix, Paween Purijitpanya's 'Ghost Lab,' wastes intriguing ideas for cheap scares. Not without its moments of horror and suspense - and, surprisingly, heartpounding melodrama, but the movie fails to effectively convey promise of its story. The premise is captivating, but the execution and overall story leave much to be desired.

Overall good plot but if you are watching from a scientist point of view, you can't help but feeling a bit disappointed. Gla made such sacrifices, why not finish the experiment. What's the lesson here to learn? To give up? There were a few touching moments, but still they don't balanced out the feeling of incompleteness that was left at the end of the movie. The more I think about how Gla was the one that started the project, the more I felt anger by the fact that he was also the one that wanted to end the experiment. Can you imagine the wave that would create in the research world? The Lancet probably begging you to have the article published. So much cooler if it ends the other way!

Good plot. Bad acting and cheap scares. Wee's character is very bad at acting, his expression is poor. The twist is not worthy of what has been built.