Shutter (2004 film)
| Shutter | |
|---|---|
 The Thai movie poster. | |
| Directed by | Banjong Pisanthanakun Parkpoom Wongpoom |
| Written by | Banjong Pisanthanakun Sopon Sukdapisit Parkpoom Wongpoom |
| Produced by | Yodphet Sudsawad |
| Starring | Ananda Everingham Natthaweeranuch Thongmee Achita Sikamana |
| Cinematography | Niramon Ross |
| Edited by | Manop Boonvipat Lee Chatametikool |
| Music by | Chartchai Pongprapapan |
| Distributed by | GMM Grammy |
Release date | September 9, 2004 |
Running time | 97 min. |
| Country | Thailand |
| Language | Thai |
| Box office | $6,989,456[1] |
Shutter (Thai: ชัตเตอร์ กดติดวิญญาณ) is a 2004 Thai horror film by Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom; starring Ananda Everingham, Natthaweeranuch Thongmee, and Achita Sikamana. It focuses on mysterious images seen in developed pictures.
The film was remade in 2008 under the same title.
Plot
After celebrating at a drinking party with his close friends, Tun (Ananda Everingham), a photographer, and Jane(Natthaweeranuch Thongmee), get into a car accident. Jane hits a young woman. With much fear and bewilderment, Tun prohibits her from getting out of the car: they drive away, leaving the poor girl lying in the road.
Tun begins to discover mysterious white shadows and what appear to be faces in his photographs. A suspicious Jane thinks these images may be the ghost of the girl they hit on the road. Tun, who has been experiencing severe neck pains since the accident, visits a specialist. While a nurse attempts to measure his weight, to his dismay, he weighs approximately 120 kilograms. While collecting his medication via the counter, he hears a woman's voice that accuses him of being a liar and he runs away, traumatized. Unconvinced of the existence of the supernatural, Tun dismisses the idea of being haunted although his friends are also being disturbed by this mysterious girl.
Jane begins to investigate in the school's lab and discovers that the girl was Natre (Achita Sikamana), a shy young woman who had attended the same college as Tun. After confronting Tun, Tun admits that he and Natre were in a relationship, which Tun had kept secret from his friends. Natre loved Tun dearly and threatened to commit suicide when Tun abruptly broke off the relationship. Tun witnesses his friend, Tonn, committing suicide by jumping from his apartment balcony. Tun discovers that his two other close friends from college have also committed suicide. Believing that they have been coerced into doing so by Natre's ghost, Tun becomes convinced that he will be next.
The haunting of Tun by Natre's ghost escalates, so he and Jane visit Natre's mother. At her house, they discover the decaying body of Natre in her bedroom. They learn that Natre had committed suicide by jumping off the roof of a hospital, but her mother could not bear to have her cremated. Tun and Jane spend the night in a hotel, where Tun wakes up and is confronted by Natre's ghost. Tun tries to escape but is pursued; ultimately, while trying to get away, he falls off a fire escape and is injured. Natre's funeral is held the following day, after which Jane hopes that everything will return to normal.
However, on returning to Bangkok, Jane collects some photographs. One of the films shows a series of shadowy images of Natre in Tun's apartment. Investigating further, Jane finds a set of negatives hidden behind the bookcase. She develops the negatives to find photographs in which Tun's friends—the ones who committed suicide—are sexually assaulting Natre. Utterly disgusted by her findings, a teary Jane questions Tun. Tun admits that he witnessed the rape but did nothing to stop his friends, and that he was the one who had taken those photos. He says he did it out of peer pressure and has never forgiven himself, but Jane leaves him.
Knowing that he is still haunted by Natre, Tun takes a series of Polaroid photographs in his apartment in an attempt to find her. Having no success, he throws the camera across the room in a rage, only for it to go off, taking a photograph of Tun. Giving Tun a rude shock, the Polaroid develops, showing Natre sitting on Tun's shoulders, the truth behind his ongoing neck pain. In the ensuing confrontation, a disbelieving Tun jumps from the window, trying to escape from Natre.
The final scene shows a badly bandaged Tun slumping over in a hospital bed while Jane visits him. As the door swings closed behind Jane, the glass reflection of Tun features Natre still sitting on his shoulders.
Reception
Critical response
Based on 25 reviews, it holds a 56% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Public response
The film has 7.1 out of ten stars on IMDb[2] and has received a 81% rating from the audience on Flixter[3] The film opened at #1 at the Thai Box Office grossing $867,800 and remained at the top in it's second weekend grossing $607,300. [1] The film grossed a total of $2,584,600 in Thailand becoming the 5th highest grossing film of the year. [1]
The film was nominated for the 2005 Golden Kinnaree Award for best film at the Bangkok International Film Festival and has won various awards at smaller festivals around the world. The movie was especially well-received in Thailand and Singapore.
Remakes
In addition to the 2008 American remake, a Hindi remake of the film called Click, starring Shreyas Talpade and Sadha, was released in 2010.
References
- ^ a b c "Shutter". Boxofficemojo. Retrieved 2011-12-18. Cite error: The named reference "Box Office Mojo" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0440803/
- ^ http://www.flixster.com/movie/shutter-they-are-around-us/