Yesterday I saw "13: Game of Death", the first Thai production film I've ever seen, and a profound thriller. Having been so impressed with Thai cinema, I've decided to try "Alone", which the plot synopsis described as less thriller and more ghost-horror.
The background story is very interesting and very disturbing. The entire subject of Siamese Twins is pretty peculiar to anyone who's never known such people in their lives, which is the majority of the world population. So any film about such a phenomena could have an eerie supernatural kind of scent to it (especially a horror film).
The idea of the dead sister haunting the living one, whether that is in fact what's been portrayed in the film or the surviving sister was just delusional (not a spoiler don't worry), while not too original - was presented in a dark and startling manner that would scare anyone. The ending is surprising and startling, and caught me completely off guard. As a horror freak, I like to test myself and see if I can guess endings and twists before they happen. I'm happy to say I completely failed this time, which made the experience all the better.
At a certain point near the beginning, we learn that the Siamese Twins had been separated through surgery. Then we see a scene that in my opinion should have been the cover picture of this film: a single swing seat, wide enough for two, but broken and detached from the chain on one side. That scene was so immense, emotional and sad, it really showed the artistic level of the director.
The movie has no "horror cheats" whatsoever. No one died on account of a vehicle that wouldn't start or a cellphone that had no signal. No naked women were shown, The only slightly corny bit was the ghost attacking the main actress while she was in the bathtub, a scene we've seen far too many times.
However, all in all - one of the best Ghost-Horror films I've had the scary pleasure of watching, and I'd recommend it warmly to anyone who's a horror fan and doesn't scare too easily.
Another excellent film from Thailand, and another point for Asian horror.
The background story is very interesting and very disturbing. The entire subject of Siamese Twins is pretty peculiar to anyone who's never known such people in their lives, which is the majority of the world population. So any film about such a phenomena could have an eerie supernatural kind of scent to it (especially a horror film).
The idea of the dead sister haunting the living one, whether that is in fact what's been portrayed in the film or the surviving sister was just delusional (not a spoiler don't worry), while not too original - was presented in a dark and startling manner that would scare anyone. The ending is surprising and startling, and caught me completely off guard. As a horror freak, I like to test myself and see if I can guess endings and twists before they happen. I'm happy to say I completely failed this time, which made the experience all the better.
At a certain point near the beginning, we learn that the Siamese Twins had been separated through surgery. Then we see a scene that in my opinion should have been the cover picture of this film: a single swing seat, wide enough for two, but broken and detached from the chain on one side. That scene was so immense, emotional and sad, it really showed the artistic level of the director.
The movie has no "horror cheats" whatsoever. No one died on account of a vehicle that wouldn't start or a cellphone that had no signal. No naked women were shown, The only slightly corny bit was the ghost attacking the main actress while she was in the bathtub, a scene we've seen far too many times.
However, all in all - one of the best Ghost-Horror films I've had the scary pleasure of watching, and I'd recommend it warmly to anyone who's a horror fan and doesn't scare too easily.
Another excellent film from Thailand, and another point for Asian horror.