Alone (Banjong Pisanthanakun/Parkpoom Wongpoom, 2007)

THE SCOOP
Director: Banjong Pisanthanakun/Parkpoom Wongpoom
Plot: Deceased Siamese twin returns to haunt surviving sister.

Genre: Horror/Drama
Awards: -
Runtime: 95min
Rating: PG for disturbing scenes.

IN RETROSPECT
Horror films have never been my cup of tea. Unless they are done with some style like Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, or redefine the art of cinema like Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, or intrigue viewers like Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense, most are just copycats of each other. The horror genre cannot deviate much giving most filmmakers a limited scope to scare viewers. A good story is absolutely a must for an ordinary horror flick to rise above the mediocre rest.

Alone is another one of those Asian horror cinema that suffers from 'the Ringu' syndrome. Hideo Nakata's Japanese film was a phenomenon, revolutionizing horror in many ways, giving rise to countless spiteful offerings from everywhere in Asia. Alone is scary; I found myself shutting my eyes in fear. But that defeats the purpose of watching a film. Alone has some dramatic elements that are unfairly overshadowed by the horror aspects. A regretful unbalanced strategy by the Thai filmmakers.

There's a not-so-brilliant twist two-thirds into the film, obviously trying to prevent it from running out of steam. Alone is a film that doesn't quite engage the general movie-goer, even though it's satisfying for most horror fanatics. I believe many will not agree with my score for Alone, but it's the best that I can give. Lots of shocks don't make a horror picture great. Ultimately, less is always more.

SCORE: 4.5/10
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Last updated: 2010-07-04 21:31:00 by eternality_tan