The Unseeable

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Horrorphile - June 2008

Pen Choo Kub Pee (The Unseeable)

June 11th 2008 00:33

From respected Thai director Wisit Sasanatieng (Tears of the Black Tiger), and playing as part of the 55th Sydney Film Festival, comes a languid ghost story, The Unseeable (2006), set in a haunted house on the outskirts of 1930s Bangkok.

Young pregnant peasant woman, Nualjan (gorgeous Siraphun Warranajinda), arrives at a grand house, surrounded by lush green gardens, looking for work and shelter. Her husband had left on a mission and never returned. Although the housekeeper, the older Miss Somjit (Tassawan Senewong) is very strict and rather menacing, Nuan quickly finds an ally in sympathetic maid Choy (Visa Konska).

Siraphun Warranajinda as Nualjan

Nualjan is warned to stay well clear of the estate’s main building where the rich owner, the aristocrat Madame Ranjuan (Supornthip Chougrangsee) resides. But Nualjan is curious, and we know what happens to those snooping cats. At night, much to her already anxious temperament, she discovers the mansion and grounds are host to a potpourri of poltergeists and silhouetted figures.

Supornthip Chougrangsee as Madame Ranjuan

After Choy acts as midwife to Nualjan’s sudden birth the maid then offers to bury the umbilical cord as a protection against hungry vampire spirits. Additionally Nualjan is instructed to leave her baby with Madame Ranjuan to soothe her grief at being too old to conceive her own.

The Unseeable Tassawan Senewong and Siraphun Warranajinda

Tassawan Senewong as Miss Somjit with Nualjan

But there is something much stranger and very wrong with the bigger picture. It becomes apparent to Nualjan that Madame is playing host to her own secret lover, and at night her cries of pleasure can be heard whispering along the corridors and through the garden. There is also a strange young child that keeps evading Nualjan and her questions, despite wanting to play. And a creaky old lady with a baby doll. And there’s that silhouette of a man digging in the garden at night …

Nualjan keeps finding herself in the garden at night

Then one day Nualjan’s elusive husband turns up at the grand house, and the terrible secrets start to expose themselves.

The strange old lady who wants her baby back

The Unseeable's mystery drama unfolds at a very leisurely pace (perhaps too unrushed for this genre), but it looks and feels sumptuous; an olive-earthy hue permeates the cinematography, and the atmosphere of the main location feels like a beautiful pantomime set. The performances are good, but nothing amazing; however the actors themselves, like the rest of the production values, are very easy on the eye.

Nualjan hears whispers and cries in the night

Madame Ranjuan imagines herself as forever desirable

Although the movie wanders along slowly dropping hints and suggestions, some literal, others symbolic, it’s not until the last fifteen minutes or so when the suspense and tension levels are raised to something more palpable. In fact there’s a terrific sequence, almost a montage, where Nualjan is confronted by all of the “unseeable”, and it reminded me of the eerily evocative look and feel of Italian director Lucio Fulci and his movie The Beyond (1981).

Ghostly figure climbing down the house

The Unseeable is a quietly spooky tale of ghosts, here, there and everywhere. There are some quite memorable images of the supernatural. The story relies on a twist in its snaky tail, but by the time it arrives, you’ve probably already latched on. Still, the ride, though a little too deliberate and contrived in places, still provides enough beguile and curiosity. And the denouement, in all its classic eternal doom, is worth hanging in there for. Ghosts are forever staring at reflections and chasing their tails.

For Nualjan the journey will never end ...

The Unseeable Sydney Film Festival screening times:
Friday 13 June 8.50pm - Greater Union 8
Sunday 15 June 8.30pm - Greater Union 8

Here's the very effective Thail theatrical trailer (no English subs I'm afraid, but hey, it still works):

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews

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Comments

4 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Damo

June 11th 2008 01:56

For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics

This looks like fun.
Definitely seems to capture the SE Asian imagery well.
Typical old scary house that you find everywhere,
Typical lush vegetation where sound can play tricks on the mind.

Comment by Cibbuano

June 11th 2008 02:24

20/20 Filmsight
Science News
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak

sounds interesting - this is one I had planned to miss. Asian ghost stories creep me out, big time.

Comment by David O'Connell

June 11th 2008 06:10

Screen Fanatic

Looks like a good one Bryn, I wouldn't mind seeing this - it certainly interesting from a visual standpoint at least. Hopefully it gets a national release at some stage.

Comment by Bryn

June 12th 2008 23:22

Horrorphile

Hi guys ... yeah, this one kinda crept up on me ... I found the pace pretty slow and wondered if I was losing interest ... but then it picked up and I really enjoyed the last twenty minutes or so ... Not sure about any kind of local theatrical release though.

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