The wave of fright flicks from the east isn’t limited to
movies from
and
is getting serious about its scares as well, as evidenced by films like Shutter and Dorm. Most recent on this list is The Victim, a movie inspired by actual criminal events, with many
of the scenes recreated in the film based on real crimes and shot on the actual
locations in
The film’s story centers on Ting (Pitchanart Sakakorn), an
aspiring actress who dreams of becoming famous. One day the police ask her to
help solve a murder case by portraying a victim in the reenactment of the
crime. Ting relishes the opportunity, and is quickly asked to recreate fatal
experiences of other victims. Now a local celebrity, Ting is soon invited to
reenact a very high-profile murder case; the victim is a former Miss
and the murder especially gruesome and peculiar. However, this reenactment is
not like the others, as Ting, to her horror, genuinely feels the terrible pain
and suffering that the murdered beauty queen endured. Frantically searching for
answers, Ting fears she herself is in danger of becoming the next victim.
Directed by Monthon Arayangkoon, The Victim plays with certain tropes of twisted reality programming
in a manner not entirely unlike the recent Captivity. The acting is somewhat
uneven and there are certainly some issues with pacing, but the film does exude
a menace, and is well photographed and pieced together. Housed in a regular
Amray case in turn stored in a cardboard slipcover, Tartan’s DVD release of the
movie comes with a small collection of TV spots and a special making-of
featurette, as well as the original theatrical trailer. Presented in anamorphic
widescreen, it comes with solid DTS 5.1 and Dolby digital 5.1 audio tracks in
Thai, and the requisite English and Spanish subtitles. To purchase the movie via Amazon, click here.
C+ (Movie) B+ (Disc)