4BIA (Banjong Pisanthanakun, Paween Purikitpanya, Youngyooth Thongkonthun , Parkpoom Wongpoom, 2008): Thailand

Reviewed by Charles Hedrick. Viewed at the Santa Barbara Film Festival

My first thought while entering the theater to see 4BIA, also known as See Prang, was “Oh my, what if I made a mistake and this is just like every other Asian horror film that I have seen?” However, I was pleasantly surprised by just how wrong I was. This film is actually four half-hour films, all directed by different people, and combined into one longer piece. This works well because, since all of the directors have different styles, there is something for everyone. Also, since each of the films are only a half-hour long, they are not so prone to including unnecessary scenes, which is something for which most Asian horror movies are notorious (Ringu, Tomie, The Grudge, etc.) Another great aspect of this film is the way that all of the movies, except for the last one, did not have to rely on “shock” scenes to catch and keep my attention. (By shock scenes I mean scenes that feature a very loud, sudden noise accompanied by a shocking image.)

My favorite film among the shorts is the third, called “In the Middle” (directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun). This film is about four guys who go on a camping trip; when they go river rafting, their boat flips over and one of the boys goes missing. Later that night when the remaining three are trying to fall asleep, the guy who went missing comes back.  However, something is not right about him. The reason that I liked this particular film is because of how believable the characters are. For instance, there is a scene right at the start where the characters talk about movies and one of the characters cracks a joke, and the other characters respond in a very realistic way. This film also has excellent ending.

As noted, these films do not rely solely on “shock scenes” to scare the audience, but instead include a lot of well thought-out suspense, and well-imagined plots. The only thing that could be considered a negative is that if you do not like one of the films, you will have to sit through about thirty minutes of something that you do not like. So while the whole “there is something for everyone” aspect of 4BIA is one of its strengths, it can also become its Achilles Heel. However that is the only warning I would offer, and you should not let it keep you from enjoying these films.