Thai horror directors dish out something Spooktacular

SINGAPORE — The archetypal illusion of a vengeful female spirit coming back from the dead to haunt her unsuspecting victims is no doubt an overused horror truism. But somehow it works in the box-office smash Thai horror movie Alone (2007), which revolves around a pair of conjoined twins who are forcibly separated. One of the twins, however, fails to survive the risky operation and rises from the dead (while dressed to the nines in floating gossamer) to haunt her twin. The film, which pays homage to Agatha Christie’s Elephants Can Remember, is so terrifying that Alone got pegged as one of the most spine-chilling scream flicks of the decade.

It is the centrepiece of this year’s Spooktacular scream-fest at Sentosa. That’s right, Fort Siloso has been transformed into the sinister village of Laddaland where three Thai horror flicks (Alone, Countdown and Three Swimmers) have been recreated with the help of three film-makers from GTH, the studio which took Thai horror movies to a whole new level. Producer Yongyoot Thongkongtoon, Paween Purijitpanya (director and screenwriter of 4bia and Phobia 2) and Parkpoom Wongpoom (director of Shutter, Alone) took time off their busy schedules to discuss all things scary.

Video: YouTube/SentosaTV

Spooktacular is on Oct 11, 17, 18, 24, 25 and 31, and Nov 1, 7pm to 1am. Tickets available at https://store.sentosa.com.sg

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Q: How long have each of you been in the horror industry?

Yongyoot: I’m always in and out of the horror scene, those two have more experience than I do!

Paween: 8 years

Parkpoom: 10 years

Q: What’s the difference between creating a horror house and working on a horror film?

Yongyoot: It’s about the precision and accuracy. When you make a movie, you can take as much time as you want, editing the things that you wouldn’t want. However, for a haunted house, you have to make sure the elements are in the right place. For example, if you place the sounds at the wrong place, the suspense is lost. You only have one shot to get it right with a horror house.

Paween: The two are completely different art forms. For movies, you would usually create the storyline, which requires a lot of planning before executing it. On the other hand, you have to create the same ambience with haunted houses, and make sure the participants feel what you need them to feel, just like they were in the cinema. You need to be able to carry the feelings from a cinema over to a haunted house. That’s the perfection of the haunted house, because you cannot remake the effects. Everything has to be spot on!

Q: Why is making horror flicks interesting?

Paween: I make many movies, not just horror. There’s a lot to play around when it comes to horror, and I feel like I can keep making them better. In Thailand, we believe in karma. Many traditional old folk tales are based on karma beliefs and when you tell these stories, people are very interested!

Parkpoom: I was once in the audience of my own show and witnessed a couple of people get incredibly scared. It gave me a sense of amazement that my shows could make someone so scared, and that’s the motivating factor for me. Did you watch Pee Mak? It’s a real story and having watched it as a child, it first piqued my interest in horror.

Q: Can you remember the first horror movie you watched?

Paween: I can’t remember the first one I’ve ever watched, but the one I can still remember watching till this day would be The Evil Dead!

Parkpoom: I guess for the both of us, the one that comes to mine immediately would be The Exorcist.

Yongyoot: Oh, don’t forget The Omen, 666! But the 1976 version, of course.

Q: Out of the three of you, who’s the biggest scaredy cat?

(Yongyoot and Paween both point to Parkpoom): It’s a unanimous decision! It’s usually the biggest scaredy cat who makes the best horror movies!

Parkpoom: It’s true, I can’t turn off the lights when I sleep! (laughs)

Q: Many people peg hotel rooms as one of the scariest places to be in. Do you personally find hotel rooms creepy?

Paween: This is our sixth trip to Singapore just to construct this year’s Spooktacular, and I was initially scared because Fort Siloso is known to be haunted. We stayed at Siloso Beach and I was thinking the whole time if it were possible for the ghosts of Fort Siloso to cross over to our hotel!

Parkpoom: We’ve been to many hotels in Singapore, most of them are designed in the vintage style and look quite old. We would open the cabinets and there would be old dusty phonebooks. I kept thinking there was something hiding under our beds.

Paween: Actually, the first time I got here, I did have a ghostly encounter in my hotel room. I can’t say where, but Parkpoom and I were roomies. I woke up in the middle of the night and saw a tall man standing by the end of my bed. He then jumped up onto my bed and held me down, so I couldn’t breathe or call Parkpoom for help. But when I finally managed to wake Parkpoom up, he refused to help me because he was so scared!

Parkpoom: Yeah, and by the time it was all over, Paween managed to go back to sleep, but I was too scared to even close my eyes.

Q: Do you think men and women are equally brave when it comes to watching horror movies?

Parkpoom: I think it’s about the same for both guys and girls, but the only difference is that guys are forced to put on a calm composure in front of the girls. There was once a guy seated in front of me watching my movie, and he managed to maintain his brave facade the entire movie, only till the last moment. Then he threw his popcorn into the air and dumped it all on my lap. Hey, free popcorn!

Q: What are five crucial things that makes a scary movie great?

Paween: Well, the most important factor that would make or break the entire movie is the storyline. Other factors include the right actors and actresses, amazing special effects, a wholesome sound, proper production and realistic props.

Q: Speaking of that, why is there always a woman with long hair in horror films?

Yongyoot: Well, think about it this way. If someone’s going to scare you, but he’s bald and fat, would you be scared?

Paween: Yeah, imagine! If he has a head of nice hair, all Don Juan, would you be scared? No way!

Parkpoom: True, but I believe that when a girl holds a grudge, it’s way scarier than a guy holding a grudge. Girls can get really mean, don’t upset them!

Q: What is your biggest fear?

Yongyoot: Lizards with their tails chopped off. Especially when the severed tail wiggles around, it’s disgusting!

Paween: I’m really afraid of geckos. They are *huge* lizards. I had to have geckos in one of the scenes of my previous movies, so to challenge myself, I attempted to catch them single-handedly. I succeeded. But if you force me to do it again, I probably won’t!

Parkpoom: Honestly, I’m just really afraid of sitting on planes. I cry at the slightest turbulence.

Paween: That’s true, on the flight here, he was holding my hand so tightly! Like a lover.

Parkpoom: (laughing) There was once, I had to sit next to a female staff from the company on a flight. I hugged her arm throughout the entire journey and refused to let go.

Paween: He’d probably make a terrific movie of ghosts on a plane.

Q: Where do you get your inspiration from?

Yongyoot: Inspiration can honestly come from anywhere. From daily life, newspapers or even from sitting in this room. But to make the inspiration morph into a good storyline, that’s truly the hardest part. It’s really about making the audience believe the situation can actually happen to them, it’s about making it realistic.

Q: Why do you think Thailand has a reputation for being haunted?

Yongyoot: See, Thailand is a really old country. It’s been through a lot and horror stories get built up over time. Tourists really help spread the word around.

Paween: We aren’t sure if there are really ghosts out there, but Thailand is different from other countries in a sense that when someone passes away in another country, we don’t take the body, do the necessary stuff and it’s over. For us Thais, when someone dies, we spin a tale around the dead person, we talk about the supernatural occurrences that the spirit brought to our home. For example, if the person who passed away was fierce, the story would be about a violent spirit that would tear stuff up.

Q: Could you share any travelling tips and taboos that people should abide to when travelling in Thailand?

Yongyoot: There are many temples in Thailand, so make sure you respect the place when you go there. Dress up, cover up, or they won’t let you enter.

Paween: Well, there is an intersection at the crossroads where accidents often occur. You’ll see a shrine placed there to honor the people who have died. You should put your hands together and bow as a form of respect, just for your own safety.

Parkpoom: Thai people don’t like people messing with their heads, so don’t go around touching our heads or playing with our hair. Also, don’t walk under objects that you would usually step over. Like chairs, stools or pieces of string.

Q: Have you ever seen a ghost?

Yongyoot: Thankfully, I’ve never seen one before. The small things that people peg as supernatural, I just see them as scientific.

Paween: I’ve met ghosts before but I’m not as scared as I should be, because nothing was actually caught on tape. I said something that disrespected them. I was on a road trip from Bangkok to another province in Thailand, joking with my friend about what would happen if our car were to break down by the side of the road. I said that any ghosts would probably be scared of me. Suddenly, a ball of grey smoke appeared in front of the car and entered it. I also saw a man and a woman leaning forward, waving. Everyone in the car saw it.

Parkpoom: I’m scared, I don’t want to see them please!

Q: Do you carry amulets to protect yourself?

Yongyoot: Nope, nothing! I’m good.

Paween; I carry a Buddha amulet. For my most recent movie, which is about an ancient traditional Thai ghost, I had to talk to a monk before embarking on the film. He told me that I should meditate for a week before starting on my film, just as a form of respect.

Parkpoom: I don’t carry anything but when I travel, I would let someone else know where I’m going. Just in case!

Q: Is there a dream project that you are hoping to work on?

Yongyoot: Spooktacular 2015! (laughs)

Paween: I have to start making more movies, so there will be more material for Spooktacular 2015! We’re soon running out of horror movies for Sentosa to use!

Parkpoom: I’m actually working on a horror series right now. It’s titled The Daughter. I’m still working on the script, but it should be done and released by the end of next year. Basically, it’s a slew of different ghosts for each episode. It revolves around a family who goes on a roadtrip and gets into an accident. Their daughter goes into a coma, but when she wakes up, her parents realise that it isn’t their daughter that came back…