A COMING-OF-AGE THAI HORROR FILM!

"A ghost story of the first order...
The best Thai film since SHUTTER"
--London Mirror

    

original Thai title DEK HOR also known as LA PENSIONNAT

director: Songyos Sugmakanan
starring: Jintara Sukaphatana · Chalee Trairut · Sirachuch Chienthaworn · Pakasit Pantural

    

Due to his slipping grades, twelve-year-old Chatree has been reluctantly transferred to an all-boys boarding school where life becomes days of misery and loneliness. He is bullied and constantly scared with stories about dead kids and a pregnant girl who killed herself. Besides being a social outcast, Chatree befriends another student, Vichien. They become fast friends and soon Chatree learns that his new buddy has a deep dark secret.

This coming-of-age Thai horror film has been compared to SIXTH SENSE, STAND BY ME and DONNIE DARKO. Chatree learns about himself and grows. It is also a supernatural movie about ghosts and friendships, about sacrifice and childhood, about a father's sin and a son's journey into becoming a man, a better man. The secret to this movie's success is how seamlessly the director juggles the creepy atmospheric vibes [typical of Asian horror], with the tragedy of a child's inherent fears. The sterile shots of the dormitories, dining halls, pools, and washrooms help reflect the films feelings of alienation and loneliness. Feelings that all twelve year old boys with displacement issues will find familiar.

      

        

A Thailand film, English subtitles; widescreen, (uncut 111 minutes) in DVD encoded for
ALL REGION NTSC, playable on any American DVD machine;
Extras include original Thai theatrical trailer.