Still (2010) aka (Tai Hong) Movie Review
Written By: FR
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Directors: Poj Arnon, Chatchai Katenut, et. al.
Producer: Poj Arnon
Date Released: 28 January 2010
Cast:
Mai Charoenpura as Phii Dao
Akara Amarttayakul as Arm
Supakson Chaimongkol as Nuan
TAE as Gong
Uttaporn Teemakorn as Niranam
Wiradit Srimalai as Puu
Pimolrat Pisalayabuth as Pang
Kachapa Toncharoen as Phii Naknaen
Vasana Chalakorn as Crazy Hotel Lady
Ratchanont Sukpragawp as Thua
Arisara Thongborisut as Jawys
Rating = 2/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
Still is an anthology that consists of four short stories that were adopted by events occurring in Thailand. The first story is called, Flame. In this story, one man lives his days in regret after a horrible event that transpired in a nightclub, giving his girlfriend. The second story is called Imprison. This story centers on a prisoner who loses his sanity while in his cell. The third story is called Revenge. Revenge is about a mute and deaf drug dealer who murders a thief when she enters his apartment. The story becomes sorted when the man hides her body in the building’s water channel. The last story is called Haunting Motel. This last short story centers on three individuals who stay at a hotel that is run by an old lady. But when they stay at the hotel, they become haunted by a killer.
Gore Factor
There is not a lot of blood and gore. In the first story, the fire created some emotional and tense vibes. However, from s general point of view, there are few CGI and/or special effects that are incorporated in the four stories. There’s the third and fourth story incorporated some additional special effects and cosmetic work, however, there were few scenes which were memorable.
The Grave Review
Still (Tai Hong) (2010) is based on stories directly from news events that occurred in Thailand. The first story, Flame, is the central element of the film and is based on the incident on New Year’s eve which occurred on the eve of 2008 leading to 2009, whereby a fire burnt down the well-known club Santika (relabeled here as Santaka) in Bangkok. During this event, many people had died. Flame adapted this story and created one which captured the essence of the true events but also created its own version of what the event could have been as well.
Imprison is a story which could have been a great transition from the first film. In this story, a man is accused of committing arson on the nightclub, Santika. But as the story progresses, the concept deviates from the original events that took place at the nightclub. The man starts to question his own sanity and world and is haunted by other entities. This story is relatively uneventful, but had a lot of potential.
Revenge is a story about the relationship between the two protagonists that is not plausible, but the tragic ghost story is outright gripping. At first sight the episode seems to be conventional horror with Japanese influence. All in all part three is an interesting mixture of thriller, horror, drama and comedy and is convincing throughout – compared to the rest of the film, it is less cohesive, but on the other hand more creative and refreshing.
Haunting Motel is the last story and incorporates a more humorous twist on typical horror themed films. The chemistry between two men and an old prostitute confined to a haunted hotel makes this short story entertaining. Although this segment is not one which makes up for the other stories, it is one which is fun to watch.
What is nice about anthologies, is that these types of films present the viewer with multiple concepts. At that point, the viewer has option to decide which of the multiple films were better than others. In this way, there is always one film that will make up for the others. But, Still as a whole is unfortunately one which is mediocre taking all aspects into consideration.
For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives Still (Tai Hong) (2010) two graves out of five graves.
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