Premika (2017) by Siwakorn Charupongsa

Director: Siwakorn Charupongsa
Year: 2017
Country: Thailand
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Ghosts, Horror/Comedy

Plot:
Following a devastating accident, a young woman who's heart was placed inside a karaoke machine starts haunting a group of potential performers lining up for a gig at a remote hotel, and after learning how to stop her set about trying to appease the vengeful spirit to escape.

Review:

By and large, this is quite an enjoyable effort. This is mainly due to the generally high amount of comedy featured throughout here where the majority of this is genuinely hilarious. The wordplay is a major contributor to the laughs, mixing together rapid-fire delivery of joke-after-joke incredibly well, from a rapid-fire onslaught of jokes about the ugliness of a pair of potential performers to the inability to recognize a series of tree-roots has grabbed them instead of a ghost they believe has attacked them. The meta-ness of the dialog by commenting and making fun of the situation at hand also shows up throughout the film as the wholesale commentary on the role of the music industry provides plenty of laughs. Poking fun at the inability of most performers to actually be capable of singing on-key or knowing the proper lyrics has plenty to like here as well, and coupled with the typical Thai slapstick causes this to be genuinely funny.

Despite the comedy, there are some genuine attempts at scares in the film. A scene of the bumbling photographers mistaking the silhouette of their boss approaching them in the pantry for a ghost plays off an urban legend about the slowly approaching being and several gags about the ghost popping up in mirrors or cell-phone screens offer some unexpected jump-scares. Even a recurring series of scenes where the victims are tricked into performing harmful tasks against themselves under the influence of the ghost score nicely as well. Full-on scenes of the dismembered body of the ghost coming to life and haunting victims offer the intention of straightforward scares despite going over-the-top with the gore gags for laughs, furthering the comedy angle as well.

Also playing nicely into the horror scenes are the karaoke duels that are featured throughout here. Either taking place inside a hotel room or out in the forest surrounding the building, these scenes are the highlight of the film. Filled with gaudy, bright colors, blaring techno music and tons of cheesy decorations, the idea of a ghost utilizing a possessed karaoke machine fills the goofiness quotient of the storyline which really helps set that atmosphere rather quickly. The way it manages to introduce the scenes out in the forest, complete with costume changes for each of the tracks and a brutal, grisly series of deaths handed out to each of the participants who fail her request, fill the running time with plenty of exciting moments that make for a truly fun film.

For all that's right with the film, there are a few flaws. One of the main issues here is the rather unnecessary use of flashbacks that don't really need to be featured at all. It doesn't need to have useless flashbacks to the group at school with their own issues and problems, from a couple trying to cope with the loss of a child they had as teens to a band breaking up over the intentions of one to go solo instead, which severely derail the energy and momentum of the rest of the film. There is no real reason to have these issues in the film at the point where it's wrapping up its main storyline which is a big issue. As well, the typical antics usually featured in their comedic films is a rather big hurdle to overcome. The goofy one-liners, ridiculous mugging for the camera and the insane amount of slapstick featured here manages to be featured to such an extent that those not used to such elements in their films, in addition to the already-wacky storyline, can be overwhelming here. The lousy CGI for the special effects, utilized for bloodshed and wounds, doesn't help matters either which is a big problem to overcome. Otherwise, there's not a whole lot wrong with the film.

Overview: *** 1/2/5
While the film does have a few minor issues apparent throughout here, none of them are truly detrimental enough to fully lower this from the more engaging and endearing positives which elevate this one nicely. Give this a chance if you’re willing to embrace the wacky antics on display or are just a fan of these wild comedic Asian horror efforts, while those that find themselves put off by any aspect of this should heed caution.

This review was originally published on Asian Movie Pulse and is gratefully reprinted with their cooperation.