The Ghost of Mae Nak | DVD Review

Written and directed by British first-time feature director Mark Duffield, Ghost of Mae Nak brings an ancient Thai legend to Western audiences.

Unjustly denied love during life, a ghost named Mae Nak places an equally unjust burden on two present day lovers in an attempt to retrieve something that was taken from her. All those who interfere will die in very elaborate ways…

As stated, the film is based on an old Thai legend that’s been filmed no less than twenty times. Apparently, it’s one of those stories with a thousand variations, and Duffield seems to have felt that the previous nineteen versions did not do the legend justice. In any event, he’s managed to put together a solid film. According to Duffield, Ghost of Mae Nak is about good karma, bad karma. If you are a bad person in life, bad things will happen to you and vice versa. Premise-wise a little lame, but hey, you gotta start with something… Heavily steeped in folklore and superstition, Ghost of Mae Nak expands on mythological elements which seem particular to film’s from Southeast Asia. There are a number of odd but inoffensive directorial decisions such as rhyming the names of most of the characters – Mak and Nak, Tick and Tock, Noi and Choi – and in some cases using identical names to link past and present characters. In one sense, it lends the film a somewhat surreal quality (and perhaps makes it easier to follow) and in another, it’s a bit heavyhanded. Perhaps the film’s main distinction lies in it’s gratuitous scenes of kitschy violence. Treated more as comic gore, they end up saying more about Duffield’s sensibilities than they do about the story at hand.

There is a one+ hour featurette titled “On the Set Of Ghost of Mae Nak”, which consists of a seemingly random assortment of miscellaneous footage with a bare minimum of commentary or explanation. There’s also audio commentary in which the director discusses everything except the most obvious question – why is a british guy who admits to not understanding a word of the language directing an all Thai horror film? By any measure, an odd omission…

Basically, for a first feature the film’s pretty well rounded if a little uneven. There’s potential here and we’ll just have to wait and see whether Duffield can follow this up with something a little more solid.

Movie rating – 2

Disc Rating – 2