Shutter (2004)

Many years ago, in my early teens, horror was one of my favourite genres and See No Evil was my favourite movie. That's how I ended up with a girl crush on Rachael Taylor which ended up with me watching another of the terrible horror movies she starred in, Shutter. It's only recently, after I started blogging, that I discovered it was a poor remake of a Thai movie, also named Shutter (Thai: ชัตเตอร์ กดติดวิญญาณ), and I decided I would check it out.

The film tells the story of a young photographer, Tun (Ananda Everingham), and his girlfriend, Jane (Natthaweeranuch Thongmee), who, on their way home after a wedding reception, accidentally run over a young girl (Achita Sikamana). Tun persuades Jane to flee the scene and they drive off. Everything seems to be fine until Tun develops his next roll of film and he finds some mysterious shadows in the photos.

Since I've seen the remake, even though I didn't remember every single thing about it, I already knew how the story would develop, I was aware of the horrifying turn it would take, and yet Shutter kept me glued to the screen from start to finish as the story is "beautifully" told, it's filled with fear, dread and suspense, and slowly drags you into its mystery as it does with its characters.

The film also has solid characters. Tun and Jane are interesting and believable, they have a nice development, and are very likeable, so much so that you genuinely feel sorry and anxious when they find themselves in danger.

It's not only the script though that gets the job done there; the two leading actors indeed do a very good job. In addition to being eye-candy, Ananda Everingham gives a convincing performance as Tun, and carries the film well; Natthaweeranuch Thongmee provides a solid performance as Jane; Achita Sikamana is quite impressive in her small role.

GMM Grammy, Phenomena Motion Pictures

At last, when it comes to horror, and frightening the audience, the directors, Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom, clearly know what they are doing. They deliver an incredible, intense atmosphere throughout the entire film, with the help of a nice camera work, a good use of lighting, and a creepy musical score. The film does rely a lot on jump scares to frighten its audience, more than it should have, but at least they are effective.