Pee Mak is the latest version of a ghost tale that has become central to Thai pop culture – it is believed to have been made into more than 100 films, television episodes, and other re-tellings. Even a hybrid version where the ghost turns out to be an American has been made. In 1999, emerging director Nonzee Nimibutr, with his classmate Wisit Sasanatieng penning the script, crafted this popular spooky story into a realistic horror, Nang Nak focusing for the first time on the ghost’s enduring love for her widower. The film became a national sensation, taking more than EU3,350,000 at the box-office. In the fifteen years since, the story of Nak has been adapted into a variety of other formats – two musicals, one animation, and two features, including one in 3D. But not all of them captured the audience’s imagination, until the arrival of Pee Mak. During its release in 2013, Pee Mak made the headlines every day, from a new record of daily admissions to the all-time box-office record, taking more than EU 12,435,650 by the end of its run. What made this legendary ghost – a young pregnant mother who dies in labour but returns to live with her husband – so popular among Thai audiences? It seems to have been a combination of refocusing the storytelling, the introduction of new characters, and the risky decision to turn it into a comedy.
The character of Nak is a household name which every Thai knows. The pregnant Nak is left alone in her remote house while the husband Mak goes into military service. She dies giving birth to her stillborn baby but insists on living with Mak after the war. Numerous interpretations have been made, since the story’s origin is unknown. It has been suggested that the story of Nak and Mak might have happened during the reign of King Rama III, around the 1820s period. Factual or not, a real shrine to Mae Nak’s ghost does exist today in Bangkok (at Mahabutr Temple in Sukhumvit 77). In earlier versions of the legend there were only a few characters – the ghost Nak, her husband Mak, a midwife, and a monk who tames the ghost at the end. In Pee Mak, four of Mak’s fellow soldiers – Ter, Puak, Shin and Aey – are added, providing roles for all four main cast members from Phisanthanakul’s episode of the 2009 horror omnibus Phobia 2. Before Nimibutr’s version, chase-and-run tricks and the disclosure of Nak’s death were the main focus. Nimibutr offered a new approach, by portraying Nak as a dedicated, loving woman and citing the real name of the monk who tamed her ghost. Pisanthanakun on the other hand plays it as a postmodern fantasy. Everything is unreal. In order to cast the Chinese-German-Thai Mario Maurer as the husband, Mak is made the son of an American missionary. And then it is why she is left alone in a remote house, when he is sent to the war. Characters resemble those from comic books. Normally a heartthrob, Mak becomes a man with black teeth (in the old days, Thai people often had black teeth due to their habit of chewing fresh areca nuts). Mise-en-scene ignores historical accuracy: Shin, one of Mak’s friends, has a Mohawk hairstyle, while Puak wears eyeglasses for his shortsightedness. Anachronistic elements, like Coke cans, appear in several scenes. The terms that Mak and Nak call each other – tua (equal to you) and khao (equally to me) – are teenage language that is used only in the present day. Imagine! Is it the 1820s or the 2000s?In Pisanthanakun’s hands these impossibilities become believable. Pee Mak could have become a trashy film if the director and his team had not meticulously crafted it with skill, creativity and courage. They know how to insert gags into the dialogue, control the under- and over-the-top performances, and to create the right pace. At the same time, they never forget to include what the audience wants to see in any version of Nak’s story. Despite numerous remakes, some things are still a must in the audience’s eyes. Thai people still expect to see the scene where Nak’s ghost stretches her arms in an inhuman way to pick up a lemon – the climax where Mak finally realizes his wife has died and become a ghost. Since Nimitbutr’s version, an emphasis on love is never left out. But while his version was a tribute to a woman’s love, Pee Mak is a dedication to a man’s love – another twist on the horror legend and the world of existence it ends.
Anchalee Chaiworaporn