Phii khon pen (2006) User Reviews

promising but messy

[mapb · 6/10 · 24 December 2010]

The Thai horror films I've seen have all been pretty similar, neatly packaged (but effective) ghost stories heavy on the scares. This film goes for a much greater degree of complexity, but I'm afraid it may have overreached itself a little bit. Other reviews will familiarize you with the plot. I'll just say that the "twist" halfway through - that the entire movie up to then has been a movie in the filming process - is interesting, no doubt, but feels very unnecessary. The two segments have very little to do with each other, other than the first half serving as a gigantic red herring for the second. I will go ahead and reveal that the ghost responsible for the mayhem in the second part has no relation to the first part. In fact, it seems almost like the director had two very good ghost story ideas but couldn't make a full movie out of either, so simply decided to throw them together.

All that aside, if you're just after scares "The Victim" serves up its fair share. Even this aspect feels a little disorganized, though. There are a couple truly well-done, beautifully eerie scenes that really add to the atmosphere, but the movie is packed with rapid-fire scares that get very desensitizing very fast. I found myself actually wishing that they would slow down and build some tension.

As strange as it may sound, "The Victim" might do well as two short films. The theme of victim-hood certainly applies well to both halves. As two films in one, though, it's something of a mess. However, it still shows some really good ideas and even a certain touch of elegance, and might be preferable to many Asian horror flicks.

Messy Screenplay With Unexpected Plot Point

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 21 June 2008]

In Thailand, the aspirant actress Ting (Pitchanart Sakakorn) is invited by Lieutenant Te (Kiradej Ketakinta) to work for the police simulating murders to help the investigations. Her talent becomes recognized and she is invited to participate many cases and also in a soap-opera. Ting feels a great attraction for the brutal murder of the former Miss Thailand Meen (Apasiri Nitibhon), whose body had not been found, only parts of her tissue, and is invited to perform the case where the former husband of Meen, Dr. Jarun (Pitchanart Sakakorn), is the prime-suspect. Ting feels connected to the spirit of Meen, who helps her to solve the mystery and find the real killer, the lesbian plastic surgeon Fai (Penpak Sirikul) that was obsessed for Meen. However, in the world of cinema, fantasy and reality are entwined in another ghost story.

"Phil Khon Pen" is an original scary ghost story, with an unexpected plot point with another ghost story; unfortunately the messy screenplay is very confused and in the end I did not clearly understand who the killer in the real world was and the motives of the fiend. The creepy atmosphere in the first half is great; however, the plot in the second part with May, Shane, Joke and Kak is very difficult to be followed and understood. Maybe watching this movie a second time the story becomes clearer. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "A Vítima" ("The Victim")

Good, but a major blur at the end!

[vengeance20 · 6/10 · 10 June 2017]

Bought this second hand in CeX about a few years back but never got round to watching til now.

Finally I did. And to say, it was a good film, but got blurred after the 50min mark.

The film is about a young girl named Ting/May, who gets a side job by police to reenact murders & crime scenes. But 1 particular case, however, involves a woman, Meen. Who vindictively kills anyone involved in the reenactment or tries to use her murder as a way to get rich. The end however, well... it was confusing But here's what I think:

Now, this was what I thought it was until the 50min mark. Though the end however makes me think that Meens spirit takes the form of Ting/May after she broke the head dress decoration. Meen didn't want to move on but wanted to live again, so she possessed Ting/May. But I still think there was more to it, it got confusing as it dragged.

The scare scenes were good, the horror was also good, there was some really sinister things going on which I really liked & thought were entertaining. So there was some good, but I felt the film could've been a little less long & to be honest, the ending part after 50mins was a little unnecessary, a less confusing ending would've been better & not to dragged out.

But it was overall a good dark, thriller/horror film! 6/10

The Victim: Pretty weak Thai horror

[Platypuschow · 3/10 · 29 October 2017]

Myself and Thai cinema have had a mostly good relationship over the years, though I've usually expected not to I've often enjoyed their works.

This horror effort is heavily influenced by the likes of The Ring (1998) and The Grudge (2002) but unlike them it doesn't come close to delivering.

Telling the story of an aspiring actress who finds fame through crime reenactments but becomes obsessed with one of the victims as a haunting/possession begins.

The movie does have its tense moments but they are handled so poorly that the impact is lost.

Interesting story, not the worst performances but the people behind the camera should perhaps go back to film school as those are the folk responsible for this lackluster mess.

The Good:

Some nice ideas

The Bad:

Deaths are ripped straight from The Ring (1998)

Badly directed/produced/edited

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Someone couldn't be bothered to come up with an original concept and just decided to remix several bits of Asian cinema

Better Than Expected Entry Into Thai Horror.

[massaster760 · 7/10 · 17 September 2007]

After watching multiple horror flicks from Thailand, I was very skeptical of Monthon Arayangkoon's The Victim. The success of Thailand's The Shutter has bred a list of copycats trying to imitate the success of that Asian horror classic. Some with good results, some with terrible outcomes (Ghost Game comes to mind). The Victim is neither a great film nor a bad film... but is entertaining and original enough to be a worthy use of 100+ minutes of your time.

The story centers on Ting, a wanna-bee actress, who one day inadvertently secures a job with the local police working as a actor in crime scene re-enactments. After successfully completing a few jobs, Ting is asked by police departments countrywide to assist with their re-enactments. Ting becomes well-known and is also looking at television acting, until a famous crime rips through the headlines. A woman named Meen, who is also Thailands runner-up for Miss Universe, is missing and presumed dead. After an short investigation the husband is accused of the crime. Ting knows that this high profile case will either make or break her as an actress and decides to study the life of Meen throughly and intimately. Unfortunately, she becomes too involved as strange occurrences start to pile up, Ting soon finds out she may be more connected to Meen than she ever thought possible.

One of the greatest selling points of The Victim is that the film was actually shot on location using real crime scenes and the reenactments are also based on true crimes. This helps give the film a bit more creepiness and scores major points in the originality factor(although the film itself does surrender to a few prevalent Asian horror cliché's). Also of note, is that the film's credits feature actual ghost sightings caught by the camera's during the filming.

Another strong-point of The Victim is in it's disturbing imagery. The film elects to take the road of the creepy atmospheric visuals, which are very indicative of Asian horror. There are a few "scary" moments in the film but those pale in comparison with the bloodily beautiful imagery in (for instance) the bathtub scene or the hallway scene (those who have seen this will know what I'm talking about). Monthon's direction in this aspect is spot on and this is one of the major reasons that I can recommend this film.

My major complaint about The Victim is how it seems to want to be too many things at once. A detective story, a romantic love triangle story, and a horror film. There's also a complete change in the film fifty minutes in which results in a MAJOR plot twist that will leave the viewer asking, "...What!?". The plot twist is so unexpected that it almost brings the film to a crashing halt. After which it sputters and coughs like an old engine until the last third of the film where it picks up again and finishes strongly (but also predictably).

Bottom Line- Asian Horror fans should dig this. Clichéd and disorganized, but plot wise it's different enough to be entertaining. It's also accessible to the average viewer, but this ones really for the fans.

Inside. Inside. Inside.

[Patient444 · 4/10 · 4 October 2014]

If it wasn't for the never ending end, I would have graded this a lot higher. But they actually got to irritate me, well, the audience, because it never seems to finish and they keep adding and adding and...enough already!!

If you do have a good idea you want to use, show the world what you created, wouldn't you like to make the most of it? Why drown in a sea of mediocre executions, that got lost in their own work. They had the idea, good actors, good acting, good development throughout the movie, why such a obvious wall? Either do something great and be remembered, or just postpone it till you're sure that your movie will be better than most's! Something that will be recommended by others, will get hinted between viewers, will have something to say! But no, I wanted to like it, but it made sure I won't.

Up to you if you want to give it a try, I was deeply disappointed tho.

Cheers!

When was I supposed to be scared?

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 8 July 2013]

Usually the horror / ghost movies that come from the Thai cinema tend to be rather interesting and have captivating stories. "The Victim" ("Phii Khon Pen") however, didn't really live up to many others in the same genre from Thailand.

The story is about a young actress who comes into a streak of fame and fortune when she is hired to portray victims in a TV reconstruction show of criminal cases. However, her portrayal of those killed and forced to leave Earth prematurely draws the attention of a malignant spirit that lingers.

Story-wise, then "The Victim" doesn't really impress much with the storyline. I am not fully sure whether it is because of the script or if it is the editing of the movie that made it seem like somewhat of a half-hearted attempt at a ghost story movie.

Effects-wise, then "The Victim" does deliver a good amount of effects and CGI. It is not really overly scary, but it does make good use of effects, both mundane and CGI alike.

As just mentioned above, then "The Victim" isn't really a movie that will scare you or leave you afraid of the dark. Sure, there were some nice enough shock moments to make you jump out of your seat, but in overall, then the movie isn't really scary.

Pitchanart Sakakorn, playing Ting / May, did a good job with her given role, and really carried the movie quite well. However, she was struggling with an uphill battle, as the rest of the movie didn't really give her much to work with.

For a Thai ghost horror movie, then "The Victim" was fairly weak and bland, and there are far better and far scarier ghost movies available from the Thai cinema market. And the DVD release comes as scraped as they get; there is the play movie feature and chapter selection - nothing else! No extras, no nothing. That was just weak.

Convoluted and confusing ghost story

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 22 March 2013]

Most Thai films I tend to watch these days seem to be sub-par ghost stories that play heavily on that country's superstitions and fear of the dead returning to life; THE VICTIM is no different. It's an unashamed copy of the kinds of films that Japanese was doing so well half a decade previously, featuring a young actress who finds herself haunted by a vengeful female ghost which keeps popping up at just the wrong time.

Unlike in the superlative SHUTTER, THE VICTIM is content to emulate rather than innovate and the resultant movie just isn't very interesting. There are twists and turns galore in the ultra-confusing storyline which involves an actress who becomes involved in reconstructing crime scenes, and much is made of the origins of the female ghost, but none of it is particularly compelling; you watch just to try and keep track of what's going on rather than being genuinely gripped by what you see.

The acting is 'meh' and the direction sub-par, the horror limited to a series of unsuccessful scare and jump sequences that quickly become repetitive; they involve the heroine catching a glimpse of a scarred supernatural figure and this set-up is repeated over and over again until the very end. There's no real menace, just predictability on show, and THE VICTIM proves itself yet another forgettable Thai horror outing.

Beautiful!

[symeon_chiam · 8/10 · 27 April 2007]

Spirit of the Victim focuses on a lady, May (or Ting) - played by Pitchanart Sakakorn - which has an inborn skills in acting. The initial scene portrays an enthusiastic May in an acting class which unknowingly will take her to altogether a new dimension of life. While fooling around with her skills and showing it off to her uncle (who mans a local coffee shop), her talents were noted by a police officer - Lieutenant Te, played by Kiradej Ketakinta - who offered her a job to re-enact the events leading to death of victims whereby perpetrators and suspects denied allegations towards their crime. She acted with such randomness and talent that her inborn desire to play in each scenes were well-recognized by various police officers from different regions around Thailand. She was soon publicized in newspapers after reaping in a successful reenactment which allowed the police officers to catch the killer. From one scene to another, her task gets more and more complicated as well as recognized. She literally enjoyed her role as she portrays the anguished spirits who were killed mercilessly. Though initially unwilling to be part of such role-plays, she became convinced when the lieutenant explained to her that it would bring more help rather than a portrayal of mocking the dead victims and their spirits.

Part of all the objectives of this movie is the same as other horror stories, that is the depiction of hatred and anger of the deceased when their earthly body could not be recovered. Their spirit lies restlessly in the world tormenting those who venture deep enough to disturb them, or sometimes at all, play a part in their misery. As May became more popular, it became obvious that any roleplay, no matter how difficult or complicated it would be, that she will be the first to be called up. It was not until the recent Miss Thailand (in this movie) and former 2nd runner up of Miss Universe, Meen (played by Apasiri Nitibhon) was found murdered in an inhumane and brutal manner and left to rot. Her body was not found, but part of her skin tissue was discovered - lodged in the longbath filter cover with prints all around her room that resembles that of Dr. Jarun (Meen's lover). As all the evidence pointed to Dr.Jarun (played by Chokchai Charoensuk), it was definite that he would be put to death but not without first being allowed a given trial and a reenactment as he denied the allegations. The actress who was supposed to play the role of Meen was a female police officer, and of course surprising enough to the viewers that it should have been May. May was called up by the lieutenant and was told that she was not the person chosen to be part of the roleplay. Frustrated, May prayed to Meen that if she were to allow her to be part of the acting, that she would act it out with all her heart's desire to reveal the guilty individual who killed her. The female police officer was found dead mysteriously the next day following the prayer and May was called up for the act.

As overjoyed as she is, she kept to her promise and sought out all forms of resources about Meen, ranging from her video footage of her dancing the Leika (traditional Thai dance) to her behavior - she put all her efforts into playing it to perfection. To sharpen her instincts to act just like Meen, she paid a visit to the death scene and was treated to a mystical horror dream when she fell into a deep sleep. She was given the heads up by Meen's spirit that her lover was not the killer, but it was someone else in which it was not revealed. Having the repetitive disturbance, she took matters into her own hands and found out about Fai (played by Penpak Sirikul), Meen's best friend (even before she took to the fame) and also a plastic surgeon. While retreiving information from Fai, the spookiness evoked further from the scene when Fai revealed to May the true story and demanded May to fulfill one of her desires as a return for the information. Having fast-forward further, Fai was revealed as a lesbian who is obsessed over Meen and now, May (which resembles Meen upon heavy make-up). Out of jealousy for Dr. Jarun and anger over Meen who chose Dr. Jarun as her lover and not her, she unleashed an evil beyond description to murder Meen. Attempting to murder May also, she was saved by the lieutenant who bust into the house just in time to fire a shot on Fai. What seemingly became a tensed atmosphere was relieved immediately when the build up storyline turned out to be just an act to reenact the murder scene as Fai was deemed as one of the proper suspect of Meen's death.

The movie was well crafted with an inch of a smart thriller inserted into the genre to bring about a lively spark of curiosity about the storyline. Viewers would find themselves heavily confused over the true nature of the story in the beginning and even towards the end. The movie is made in such a way that whenever the mystery begins to unravel itself, it proves to be false and that the venturing into more complicated method in solving the crime yields more scenario to allow the director to insert more craftiness and ingenuity in scaring his viewers. I would recommend this movie to those who are interested in a handful of scary detective movie. After all, the settings and the location of the film were real and the events reenacted in this movie of the death scenes are based on the local true happenings and not on legends.

Average Thailand Film,

[wallancengeowgreenlemon · 4/10 · 16 June 2022]

Very disappointing, I Don't get it, the main reason why main character are a lot scream, it was unfortunately the ending is very bad, so I Give this Film a 4 out of 10,ending was meh, plot was lazy, just skip over it, i never even watch this again, Total average,

horror with black comedy accents

[myriamlenys · 5/10 · 26 January 2020]

A young actress without much talent goes to work for the police, impersonating the female victim during the official reconstruction of serious crimes. Her screams and struggles are so heart-felt, that some of the murder suspects collapse on the spot. The actress, who is not an unkind soul, always prays for the deceased she was supposed to represent. Still, the border between the living and the dead is getting dangerously porous...

"Phii khon pen", I'll give it that, tries to do something original and interesting in the play-within-a-play department. It's an admirable ambition but the execution falls short, mainly as a result of massive screenplay failure. The movie suffers, and suffers deeply, from structural problems. This becomes especially clear near the end, where the resolution drags and wanders and meanders.

If these problems could have been fixed, this could have been a good or even a very good horror movie. To begin with, the movie has a wicked sense of humour. (Watch the scene where the victim about to meet her doom praises the quality of her washing : "Smells so fresh, so clean !" It's a ferocious spoof of traditional ads for washing products.) Moreover, some of the images and concepts are genuinely beautiful or frightening. The idea of a cursed dance crown is especially unsettling... Finally it needs to be said that actress Pitchanart Sakakorn is particularly charming as Ting / May.

Viewers interested in a similar subject matter can take a look at "Je fais le mort", a mix of mystery thriller and comedy. In "Je fais le mort" a male actor with a good opinion of himself begins to comment on the investigation he's participating in. (Wrote a small review there too.)

Fun and exciting Thai ghost story

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 9/10 · 29 October 2012]

When an aspiring actress is hired by the police to help them film reenactments for various murders, she becomes haunted by the ghost of her most recent assignment and must stop the ghost from running havoc through her friends and her personal life.

This was a rather solid and enjoyable Asian ghost story. It has what is generally found in most of these types of films in a rather impressive visual style for the scares, and this has some good ones. Some of the better scenes include the ghostly assistance in the bathroom during her rehearsal, a creepy attack in a bathroom as well as the big highlight of her confronting the main one in a hallway making a cry for help, only to back away and be confronted with a horde of them clawing at her before the other ghost attacks her amidst the scrum. The fact that it gives off a spectacular twist in the second half makes it all the better, due to it being so perfectly executed in regards to how the storyline is presented that there's just a lot to like about what happens, even if it is somewhat cliché and doesn't really speak of any originality. Even still, that main sequence with the movie-within-a-movie revelation comes off nicely, yet that only happens to bring about it's flaws as it begins a terrible time of making sure we understand what reality we're in as it flips between three different story lines and trying to explain them all grinds the film to a halt and doesn't really feature a lot of good stuff afterward as opposed to the front-half, yet this is still entertaining enough as it is.

Rated UR/R: Graphic Language and Graphic Violence.

Terrifying!

[totalovrdose · 8/10 · 14 February 2015]

It's the audience who are victimized in the Thai horror film The Victim, where viewers are forced to endure the unsettling atmosphere, coupled with frequent scenes of in your face terror. Plenty of chills are provided, from not only the visual imagery, but the use of sound, voices from unseen lips often alerting characters and viewers alike to the next insidious occurrence, while the score, with its heightened level of music, although stereotypical of many horror features, encompasses every moment something supernatural appears.

Corridors, homes, vehicles and apartment complexes are reduced to unsafe locations, and though none of these are exactly original when in contrast with other like features, the film maintains the constant feel of imminent danger, and unlike in some films where there are brief moments when the audience can relax, content nothing dreadful will come of the protagonists, this luxury is one viewers are never afforded here. The use of camera is as equally outstanding, especially when from the point of view of apparitions chasing hapless victims to their impending doom, the suspense during these segments been utterly heart pounding.

Though some scares are predictable, as are some of the plot elements, the make-up effects bring the ghastly images to life, and when special affects are utilized, these too increase the fear, although on more than one occasion they stand unsteadily between realistic and fake. The possession elements in the film feel uniquely entertaining in contrast with a wealth of other features in the genre, and this would have been better presented if the developers had not been intent on incorporating so many ideas. Instead of genuinely flowing, some instances feel unreasonably forced, although never do these impact nefariously on the horror aspects.

The Victim moreover does contain a certain amount of violence, although never does it feel as though the plot is reliant on blood to keep the audience enthralled, while at the same time, a number of death scenes might leave viewer's remembering similar moments from The Ring.

This aside however, the opening premise of the feature doesn't originally prove to be as thoroughly entertaining, and I personally was initially unsure if I should find it laughable or insulting that the reenactment of murder scenes brings on fits of hysterics from our lead character, who giggles like an immature schoolgirl. Furthermore, the film provides a number of unforeseen twists and turns along the way, however the film's handling of these moments is less than admirable. Where some features may hint at a possible surprise, The Victim fails to do so, and thus when they occur, it is less of an 'ah ha!' moment, once everything has come together, and more of an 'oh... really?'.

Pitchanart Sakakorn is Ting, a struggling actress who aspires for more, when Lieutenant Te (Kiradej Ketakinta) of the local police force overhears her discussing her latest role. In his uniform, Lieutenant Te appears confident and dependable, although when we first meet him, his unimaginative attire renders him very common in appearance, and judging by the tone exhibited by the feature up until that point, I had difficulty attempting to fathom if he really were an officer, or if this was just some random pick-up line. At the same time however, the story-line's depiction of his character seems unnecessarily obscure, Lieutenant Te appearing in a number of scenes, before disappearing for a while and reappearing again later, as though the writers occasionally forgot he were even a member of the plot.

Accepting the Lieutenant's offer, Ting finds herself growing exponentially popular in her new role with the police, alongside finding a steady stream of income. When Meen (Apasiri Nitibhon), a former Miss. Thailand contestant is brutally murdered, Ting dedicates all of her skills to portraying her during her last moments, with such gusto that even the spirits take notice. Now, overcome with vivid images, and discovering segments of her recent activity are inexplicably missing from her memory, she is forced to realize that obsession can go both ways. She adamantly wanted to portray Meen, but now, it seems, Meen wants to adamantly portray her - permanently.

Frequently scary, to the point that you will once again be frightened of not only the dark, but ghostly aspirations too, although The Victim's opening could have employed less emphasis on humor, and the conclusion could have been executed to a higher standard, this particular Thai horror film is legitimately spooky, and if you don't mind occasionally shaking your head in disbelief, then you should definitely procure a copy.

Twisted Haunted Dimensions of Misdeeds

[kluseba · 8/10 · 6 January 2022]

The Victim is one of the best Thai horror movies that deserves more attention, recognition and respect. Released by cult label Tartan Asian Extreme, this great movie comes along with several highly intriguing featurettes offering unusual looks behind the scenes. This film deserves to be discovered in depth and to be explored over and over again.

It convinces with quite a few twists in its meandering plot that should keep viewers intrigued until the very last scene. The locations such as abandoned hospitals, cheap hotel rooms and filthy back alley operating rooms have also been chosen with care and add an ominous atmosphere to the movie. The characters are intriguing as well and the actors and especially actresses really shine in this film. The lead character is a curious but naive young actress with a heart of gold, the movie's most important victim is an enigmatic beauty pageant with a strong sense of justice and the film's nemesis is a malignant, obsessive and twisted character whose dreadful traits are gradually unfolded. Further highlights include decent light and sound effects supported by a moody score. The film also involves an interesting marketing strategy as several looks behind the scenes report that the movie crew actually recorded real ghosts while shooting the movie. That idea might sound humorous to Western cineasts but many people in Thailand actually do believe in supernatural events and might therefore think that this film is indeed haunted. This topic certainly offers some food for thought and intriguing discussions.

The movie itself revolves around young actress Ting who struggles to make ends meet. As she is describing her difficult decision to a family member, she is coincidentally discovered by a police officer who decides to hire her to impersonate different crime victims. It's actually common in Thailand to re-enact crimes and bring criminals back to the locations of their misdeeds. Ting excels at her new job and even becomes a minor celebrity. Things however take a more sinister turn when she decides to simulate the murder of former Miss Thailand Meen. While police officers believe that she was murdered by her estranged husband whom she wanted to divorce, Ting starts to feel, hear and see supernatural things and believes that the victim is trying to contact her to tell her that the husband is innocent. Ting starts to investigate the murder herself without fully realizing that she is exposing herself to significant dangers. This mysterious case is about to drastically change the lives of Ting and everyone around her.

At the end of the day, The Victim is a movie that convinces with a twisted plot, features some decent to strong acting performances and oozes with atmosphere. Anyone interested in Asian horror movies and Thai culture should give this underrated movie a fair try. Grab a copy of the Tartan Asia Extreme release and make sure to check out the quirky behind the scenes featurettes as well.