Bangkok showbiz expat Paul Spurrier returns to directing after a decade’s absence with another exploration of ghostliness, this time creating a naturalistic, lonely and silently horrific atmosphere.
Made on a shoestring budget and with a two-man crew (only the director and his wife),
The Forest starts with the arrival of a new teacher, Preecha, in a remote northeastern area of Thailand.
After a decade, Preecha has just left the monkhood to search for a new meaning of life. His aspiration is abruptly dashed by the clichéd hardships and hopelessness of life in the northeast, told to him by the schoolmaster. Along with his inspiration, the teacher meets a mute and lonely girl, Ja, who is often bullied by a group of classmates.
Ja in fact can speak, but she does so only with her drunk father and a mysterious boy, Boy, whom she meets in the forest. While their friendship grows, several strange incidents take place in the village.
The boy kills a man and eats him. When he learns that Ja is being bullied by the village headman’s daughter, Boy takes revenge, leading to the burning down of the forest by the village headman. Who is this boy? Ja finally finds the truth from her own quiet father – something more tragic than anyone expected.
But Teacher Preecha, despite his failed attempts to stop the headman’s cruelty, finally employs his Buddhist knowledge to bring these two young spirits toward their ultimate lives.
Spurrier has improved his directorial skills since his directorial debut P – a reckless overexploitation of the international success of Thai ghost films. This time, his cinematic talents are revealed in the realm of contrast. At first the film seems to be laden with arthouse elements: a controlled minimalism, reserved performances, natural modes of lighting and sound, well-designed cinematography, and a lack of special effects.
The excellent cast includes internationally known Thai actors including Asanee Suwan (Ekachai Uekrongtham’s Beautiful Boxer), and Vithaya Pansringarm (Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives). All of the villagers and students are amateurs.
The best parts of the film relate to the beautiful shots of cinematography and the sound effects which create a natural setting – so outstanding that even the sound of the wind and silence are heard. But Spurrier does not forget to construct the emotion of sadness and loneliness felt by the characters.
But when the horror kicks in, the film immediately shifts into the popular mode of horror cinema, with shocking blood and guts. Fortunately, the contrast heightens the audience’s terror even more. This technique seems to work well with Spurrier’s limited budget and minimalist style.
Interestingly, The Forest helps create a new cinematic grammar in Thai horror – the technique of silent brutality.
The Forest is one of several recent Thai mainstream works that try to combine elements of art and popular cinema in one film, but in this case the film shows a greater understanding of arthouse chemistry.