P (2005) User Reviews

Showgirls meets Hammer Horror?

[Chris_Docker · 6/10 · 18 August 2005]

Showgirls meets Hammer Horror? There would be many ways to dismiss this British Thai movie, set in a seedy Bangkok go-go bar, and whose heroine turns into a nasty flesh-eating monster. Mainstream it's not, but for lovers of trashy independents it offers something of a curious mix that is almost a collector's item.

(The title of the film translates apparently as 'Ghost'; as a pun to fun-loving Thai viewers, P-Bar sounds like the Thai word for 'loony'.) Aaw is a nice pubescent girl in rural Thailand, doing her best to look after ailing grandmom. Granny is a white witch and passes on her magic to Aaw just in case it ever comes in handy. The rural photography is beautiful, especially when we consider the film was made on a budget of £180,000. The familiar tale of young girl hoodwinked into moving to the big city to support her elderly relative is part of Thailand's cultural malaise. She gets roped into prostitution of course, and it isn't long before she starts using the 'special powers' Grandma taught her.

Up to this point there is no serious suggestion of any horror elements. Ordinary Thai people tend to believe in magic as a day to day fact, even if they are devout Buddhists, and all we have seen is a pastoral tale, embellished with well-researched superstition and embroidered with lingering detail of initiation into the girlie bar trade.

Director Paul Spurrier spent five years working on the story to ensure that the seemingly trite details were authentic - research that apparently included not only looking into magic traditions but plenty of time interviewing sex workers to understand how they operate (he even cameos in the film as a bar owner). Some of the tales he told me after the film's Edinburgh Film Festival UK Premiere were both sad in their simplicity and amusing in their unexpectedness. A girl had told him how her clients had increased from 4 in a month to 30 the next month after she had gone back home to consult the shamen. The actual witchdoctor in the film was based on a character he met in N.E. Thailand; after answering many, many questions, the witchdoctor grabbed Paul's arm, pulling him ominously into the jungle, saying, "I have done something for you, now you must do something for me!" As the barefooted film director stumbled to keep up, the gravely stones underneath biting into his feet, the shamen looked up in surprised glee - "I always wanted to know that! I had been told that Westerners' feet are soft, and hurt when they walk barefoot in the forest! Now I know!" At one point in the making of the film, the director made himself unpopular with the local madam after asking one of the girls (who was about to go on a recruiting expedition) why she was happily misleading people in the way that she, years earlier, had been misled. Some critics have dwelt on the morality of the film, saying it is both exploitative and lukewarm in its condemnation. While that might be true, the madam answered, "You only hear from girls who think they've been tricked. You don't hear from the hundreds of girls who find rich western husbands working here and go on abroad to marry. I don't hear them complaining." Then there was the go-go girl who asked for a copy of the movie "to send back home to mom, as I don't have any nice pictures to show her where I work." Spurrier was ambivalent when questioned. He thought it was sad that girls were drawn into such a life, but that it was a fact of life for many, just like the magic traditions. It is also a backdrop for the story rather than a moral axe to grind, whether in protest or condoning.

The strange part is the sudden shift of genre into horror. There is no extensive use of CGIs - it tries, if anything, to remain true to the country's tradition (Thailand has about ten new ghost story films a year). It's simplicity recalls not only many other Asian attempts at horror but also early British films where we know the blood is not very real but choose to overlook such facts. That the abrupt change works quite well is a credit to the movie, reminding us more of the masterly film Audition than say the overladen From Dusk Till Dawn. Something evil has been growing inside of Aaw, because she has ignored the rules her grandmother taught her and she is becoming a puppet of the black magic she uses too readily. The transition from nightmares and drug-induced paranoia to the manifestation of evil is understated. Just as the sex-trade is accompanied by typical Thai modesty (no bare bosoms), the horror is shocking but not too shocking, almost as if it is meant to be 'entertaining' rather than genuinely upsetting.

The shortfalls are the derivative story lines, the overlong details of how to work in a go-go bar (especially when all the women look and sound almost identical) and the fact that this Thai-style, British-made movie is not well aimed at any easily identifiable western market (other, perhaps, than DVD). The light-hearted humour (girls exchanging insulting comments about a customer in Thai whilst giving the unsuspecting customer adoring glances and tones, or the giggly exchanges of how to butter-up a Westerner), and the fact that it is the first Thai horror film made by a British director, may endear it to all lovers of light-hearted gore. Most films seek either great artistic acclaim or the hugest profits possible; Spurrick may simply be someone who wants to earn a living as a filmmaker in Thailand. P won't make him a fortune, but it might make him enough to fund the next episode in what could even become a cult niche.

P: Should have been better

[Platypuschow · 6/10 · 11 March 2019]

It's hard to know what to expect when going into a movie simply called P! Based on it's appearance and my history with Thai cinema I assumed it would be yet another bland ghost story but I was mistaken.

The movie tells the story of a young girl living out in rural Thailand who struggling to make ends meet because of her sick grandmother. She is sent through to Bangkok for work but finds herself exploited within a seedy strip club. Becoming increasingly stressed she sets about using the magic taught to her by her grandmother, but things get gradually out of control.

I found myself interested early on, the film looks great and the performances are stronger than you'd expect for a Thai film. I was engaged in this poor girls plight and curious which direction it was going to go in.

When things kicked into gear I was met with both marvel and disappointment. The ideas were there, some of the visual effects were there, sadly the writing badly let it down.

When the credits rolled I was sad that once again a potentially good film had been squandered by a poor ending. It's not THAT bad, but to keep up with the rest of the film it needed to be something special and it simply wasn't.

Regardless P is an enjoyable enough Thai horror with great ideas, competence both in front of and behind the camera just bit of a weak finale.

The Good:

Decent looking antagonist

Solid story

The Bad:

Cutaway deaths

Disappointing ending

A different styled Thai horror movie...

[paul_haakonsen · 4/10 · 16 May 2017]

Granted that I knew nothing about "P" prior to finding it available on Netflix, I did of course give it a go, because I do like Asian cinema and also do like the horror genre quite a lot. And with a bunch of rather impressive Thai horror movies watched in the past, I thought that there might also be potential for "P" to be worthwhile.

And while "P" does start out as a rather interesting story with a good build up, it did seem that this movie would actually turn out to be a fairly good horror movie. However, that all went down the drain when the main character Aaw/Dau (played by Suangporn Jaturaphut) turned into a vampire. Yes, her dream manifest self turned into a vampire. I was ready to find something else to watch when I saw that, but I continued with the movie, giving it a chance to the end.

Sadly, the movie never recovered from that blow, and the lack of scares and the lack of a proper horror setting was also crippling to the movie.

Now, I will say that the setting of the movie was indeed quite interesting, as we see a rural girl come to Bangkok in order to procure money for buying medicine for her sick grandmother. But life in Bangkok becomes a life of a go-go dancer, and the struggling country girl resorts to using dark magic in order to get ahead and make the badly needed money.

The acting in "P" was also quite good, taking into consideration the nature of the movie. I was especially impressed with the acting performance of Suangporn Jaturaphut, who was the lead actress. She really carried the movie quite nicely.

I don't really understand why writer Preeyaporn Chareonbutra and writer/director Paul Spurrier opted for a vampire approach to Dau's transformation and transgression into evil. And to make matters worse, the vampire effects were just laughable at best. But at least it was a stray away from the stereotypical woman in a white dress with long, black hair covering her face.

"P" was a less than mediocre experience as far as Thai horror movies go. I managed to stick with it to the very end, hoping that the movie would pick up in pace and change to something better. Unfortunately, it did not...

Disappointing

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 15 March 2019]

P is another disappointing Thai horror flick that relies far too much on hokey jump scares and the like for effect; the result is laughable rather than frightening. The female protagonist starts out undergoing a difficult character arc, forced to dance in a sleazy club for cash, and it's this social aspect of the film which is by far the most interesting and relevant. The second half descends into the usual ghostly tedium with heavy use of CGI spirits and some gore effects. The acting is melodramatic and the direction, by a westerner no less, hackneyed.

One Fantastic Horror Film

[ebiros2 · 14 November 2011]

"P" or Possessed is beautiful, and raw movie about the life of a young Thai prostitute, and the horrific creature she ends up harboring due to black magic.

The visuals in this movie is very delicate and beautiful. All the girl actors puts in top notch performance that makes this movie one fantastic horror film to watch. There's vivid quality to each scene, and the scenery of Thailand is beautiful in this movie. It makes you feel as if you are "there".

It's difficult to describe the uniqueness of this movie. Not so well known in the west, but this is one of the best movie to come out of Thailand.

If you are a horror or Asian movie fan, you owe it to yourself to see this.

Unfulfilling

[rachelal-02851 · 5/10 · 29 March 2019]

Well that was just weird. Not bad. But left you feeling unfulfilled and kinda.... yup. Kinda.

P....Puke

[marcooleo · 1/10 · 27 December 2018]

Thai horror movies are usually very good. But this one is a disaster, the movie is from 2005 but the effects looks like from the 70's. Actually the bad effects destroyed the whole movie, not scarier than reading a horror comic magazine. If you want real good Thai-horror go for "Shutter" and "Alone" instead.

A really good Asian horror from British Director\Writer Spurrier. Scary, funny and quite creepy.

[PyrolyticCarbon · 7/10 · 26 August 2005]

From the opening I found myself transfixed by the settings and location. From the countryside setting of the opening I was fascinated by how beautiful the country looked. Gorgeous settings and some beautifully chosen locations. I found myself looking closely at many of the smaller details, from the tree carved and varnished into a seat in the village scene to the bus that arrives to take Aaw (Dau, the main character) to the City.

The title sequence struck me as interesting, and I have yet to find out if this was intentional or not, but it plays out like a series of comic book panels, or storyboard scenes. Perhaps there was some reasoning behind this, or perhaps it was just the way it turned out. However it does give a nice feel and a representation of broken moments while Aaw learns from her Grandmother.

This lush setting was then broken by the images of the city, a good transition scene showing the building confusion of Aaw as she gets lost in the sights and sounds of the City. At first the camera shows shots of new office blocks against old slums, street vendors and passing taxis, then the pace picks up and the roadside begins to blur. You pick out frozen moments at the roadside, a Louis Vitton shop, and then the senses are overrun and there's just a stream of passing light and noise.

Then the movie is taken over by the story of the City and the story turns to the plight of the girls of the go-go bar. What struck me throughout these scenes of the girls is how delicately they are portrayed. The girls themselves are never shown as being sleazy themselves, more manipulative. Apart from Aaw, now christened Dau for her new job, who has come to this world with her eyes firmly shut. They are actually shown in a good light, good in the sense of bleakness and the repeated idea that this is the end of the line, and there's nowhere else to go. It's interesting that the speeches that some of the girls give about the life they're in all show that they've accepted this life as the norm, it's only Dau that seems to have a problem with it.

The scenes at the beginning of the movie with Dau being "initiated" into this way of life are quite uncomfortable, and make you feel as sleazy watching them as the men with them. That should be almost, as Paul plays an excellently nasty person, and the scene he holds with Dau is steeped in a feeling of you're seeing too much, knowing this is just so wrong. It's that kind of emotive response from the audience that really makes a good scene, and that certainly delivers.

The girls are very good actresses, something I was surprised at was how natural they all seemed. In particular the relationship between Dau, played by Suangporn Jaturaphut, and Pookie played by Opal. They both are really strong together on screen and you really do believe that these two girls care for each other.

The story is written well and the ending very satisfying, although perhaps it is cut a little too harshly before the final sequence. You feel that there could have been a few scenes restored that were originally removed (in fact thirty minutes have been cut from the movie).

I was surprised at some of the special effects in the movie, the look of the spirit herself is supremely creepy, and in keeping with other creatures of Asian horror that may be more familiar. Also the scenes where the spirit enters the body and begins to eat from the inside are very well done and look to have been created with quite a budget behind them. Then there's a car crash scene which by no means seems small either in budget or in physical size on location.

There are some truly scary and creepy moments that I would definitely class as alongside more famous Asian horrors, I did jump once or twice, and carried an image or two to my bed that night, a superb affect for a movie to have. Some of the scare moments are excellently shot to provide just enough scare factor. Indeed the quality of the camera work throughout the movie is very good.

Let's not forget the comedy in the movie as well, there are a couple of pretty funny lines. For instance the Desk Clerk asks the Security Guard to visit a room as someone has complained about a Westerner "moaning loudly" in the room. "A westerner moaning loudly in a hotel room? That's unusual!". The subtitles are in perfect English and carry through the humour very well.

Something I wasn't so sure about was the comic element during some of the horror scenes. I'm not entirely convinced it was intended in some parts, although without a doubt the scene with Paul was funny and uncomfortable at the same time, yet others I was unsure whether to laugh. This is particularly true of a scene where a Westerner dies on a bed and blood shoots out from his ears, a few of the audience laughed and I was unsure if this was the desired reaction. It really did feel like a Hammer House moment.

Although the story did seem to leap through a few key moments in Dau's power misuse, and also just prior to the ending, I enjoyed the movie, even with the comic horror moments which I felt let it down slightly. There were some very scary and uneasy moments throughout, and the girls were very well acted and were portrayed with an unusual sensitivity for a Westerner. Combined with some amazing locations early on, this makes for an enjoyable movie, just don't watch it too late.

Pee and Pookie

[nal1217 · 1/10 · 16 July 2005]

I have come out of several years of lurking on these boards due to the sheer lack of intelligence that is communicated through the reviews that periodically appear on this film's IMDb space. I saw this movie courtesy of subway cinema's new york Asian film festival (which had an otherwise excellent selection of movies this year, see vital, snake of june, CHA NO AJI, Survive Style)and have regretted every day that a scene from that movie disengorges itself from the back of my mind, and becomes a vivid memory.

I'm sure that you can read a laudatory summary of the film off of Subway Cinema, which is probably why I made the mistake of dragging my friend to the film. The description built up the kind of horror film that I had longed for for a while, one that relies on sheer terror rather than cheap scares. P was in fact different. It relied on cheap laughs.

The incredibly annoying announcer described this movie as "Lesbians team up to fight monsters." Completely untrue. There is a subplot built up in this film to make it seem like the relationship between the girl and Pookie is actually going somewhere. More lies. This film seems like a short made for "Are you afraid of the dark?" The story is ridiculous, and only succeeded in eliciting laughter and confusion from the audience after they finally rescinded their attempt to view this film with any semblance of seriousness and try to forget the $9 that they wasted at the door. I almost wish paul spurrier was in the audience so that I could laugh at him and ask him why he wasted 5 years in thailand to make a bad softcore horror-cum-porn that belongs on the spice channel, which only succeeded to get the actress excommunicated from her family, and caused a minor stir at the belgium film festival. The only stir that this caused was a gurgle in the lower intestine as it couldn't extract itself from the sh*te that it is. Anyway, I hope I can dissaude anyone from making the grave mistake of seeing this film, it was truly one of my top 3 worst movie experiences, knocking out soulplane for the number 2.

Not perfect but still good

[josemg2003 · 7/10 · 21 July 2006]

This is not exactly a horror movie, it's more a sad story about a farmer girl who goes to the big town (Bangkok) and loses her way. This young girl is a nice person with a warm heart, the reason she leaves the camp is because her grandmother is ill and to move to the city is the only chance for getting a job. But she is cheated and must be a sexy dancer in a club for foreigners, so she will know the worst of the urban life very soon. The worst of the urban life and the worst of the rural life (the poor and wrong education she has received from her grandmother, mainly based on superstition and black magic) will destroy her innocence and a terrible monster will grow up inside her. Yes, you can call it monster, spirit, ghost... but for me it's a symbol of her lost innocence. You will find scary moments (this "ghost" looks terrible in some concrete moments) but I insist the film is more a drama than a horror movie in a strict sense, and maybe this is the reason some public can feel disappointed. In my opinion the first half is excellent but the second half is not so good although it still keeps the interest until the end. Sad, nice and with a great soundtrack. It's not perfect but I recommend it.

A Weak Finish

[mudoshin · 5/10 · 12 October 2006]

despite some of the accolades being thrown out to this movie, i'm surprised no one has expressed disappointment with the ending of the movie. taking away nothing from the fact that this was a good movie on the whole, the ending, however, was weak, contrived and incoherent. it might as well have had pokemon or the power rangers turning up to deal with the demon/ghost. how in the world did someone with a severe facial injury walk out of the hospital in that condition and knew exactly where to go? throughout the movie, all the people who were eaten by the demon/ghost died almost instantly in severe pain. how did someone who was already seriously hurt and weakened, run several blocks, up a bridge and then try to jump off from it? so did the demon die? or did it become embedded into the tree? i can't help but notice the similarity in this ending to the ending of the horror classic 'the exorcist', where you get someone who is willfully takes on the demon/ghost into her body in order to defeat it. the acting, at times, was amateurish and the camera-work had a 'soap opera-ish' and studio like feel to it. i think the script simply ran out of ideas on how to end the tale and it spoiled an otherwise enjoyable movie.

Surprisingly beautiful film, not just your typical horror flick. The lead is great!

[Boris-57 · 9/10 · 27 March 2005]

*** first & last paragraphs are without spoilers ***

At first sight the story's your pretty basic demon possession thing (P is the transliteration of the Thai word for Ghost). What made the film stand out however was the setting. The whole thing is seen from the perspective of an innocent girl forced to leave the countryside to look for money in Bangkok, where she loses touch with her past as she gets caught up in the Thai sex industry - and goes downhill (some have suggested a metaphor for drugs, but I think there are various paths leading downhill in the Thai sex industry). She refuses to accept her fate however, but her energy flows to her dark side, which soon darkens just a deeper shade of red...

More specific (***massive spoilers down here*** - for a summary go to the final paragraph) :

The opening scenes in rural Thailand where Aaw grows up in all innocence learning witchcraft from her grandmother are really full of supernatural promise in the nature of the place itself. It also sets the main character well - she's considered a freak by her peers, but fails to really rise above it, which makes her vulnerable to herself - shown by the fact that she's angry when pushed in the mud, after which a demon tries to grab her in the water; or that, when older, she scares three small kids spying on her (nicely mirroring what's about to follow). In order to pay for her sick grandmother, she has to move to Bangkok before she manages to complete her witchcraft skills. In other words, the classic - all power, but no strong enough will yet.

The action moves to the P Bar in Bangkok, where some of the most painful scenes take place, as Aaw gradually loses her old self - she is given a new name, Dau; she loses her virginity. Awkward to see, where Paul Spurrier plays the virgin loving sex industry white (very convincingly). The scene is brought so tenderly and subdued that it is all the more hurting. Very well done too (helped by the soundtrack) is the first floor show in the bar, which Spurrier manages to film in an entirely non-erotic way, but instead making the dancing poles look like a jail in which the women are meat. In fact, the whole film at this point could well be a social commentary thing with some very good cinematography.

Things for Dau then take a turn for the worse as she starts to use her magic on whoever hurts her, starting with Spurrier who gets punishment in a very fitting way. Next however is her rival at the club. Her "accident" is really great. Some good gore though very little is shown. But Dau fails to respect three sacred rules to obey when one uses black magic, thus opening her heart to... evil! - thereby gradually losing her final bit of self. The fact that her first error occurs when she acknowledges her feelings for her roommate Pookie (also a very good actress), is rather dubious I think.

Then the film loses a bit of the atmosphere that set it out from your usual ghost flick, as Dau turns into a straight vampire (actually a phii borb - a classic organ-eating Thai ghost) and goes butchering white sex tourists and whoever stands in her way - some nice gore at times, and organ-diving might become a national sport. The beginning of it, where it's still unclear whether it's real or not, is well done, but towards the end, while the film never loses momentum, the story seems a bit lost. Especially the final solution reminded me of the original Exorcist, i.e. the exorcist dies himself, and the real salvation is brought by someone letting the demon go inside and then killing herself.

The end is rather depressing - she's alive, but without demon all her rebellion against her situation is gone and the final scene shows her doing a genuinely erotic but soulless floor show - Aaw gone forever and Dau to live the miserable life of meat for sale. What I found a bit disturbing is (though this certainly couldn't have been Spurrier's intention) that the whole film can be seen as "try to resist the fate the Thai sex industry has installed for you just causes a real mess, so you'd better keep that demon calm and accept your karma and swing around that pole". It depends on whether you look at the Barb possession as being Aaw's rebellion or rather her path downhill.

*** End of spoilers ***

But don't be mistaken, this is a very good film (despite being maybe a bit less imaginative towards the end) with some exquisite acting by unknown actors. Especially the lead, Suangporn Jaturaphut (in her first role!) is simply a revelation. It's definitely worth your theater visit, with its well-told straightforward story and beautiful images - and if that's not enough, just go to check out Suangporn.

Boring ghost story almost saved by its dark, sensual elements

[fertilecelluloid · 7/10 · 25 August 2007]

"P" means ghost in Thai, so this is a story about ghostly occurrences.

Dau (Suangporn Jaturaphut), a beautiful, young Khmer girl, travels to Bangkok to work as a prostitute so she can earn money to look after her grandmother. Her grandmother is a superstitious type who may or may not be a witch. She warns Dau to never trade magical secrets, never eat raw meat, and never walk under a clothesline. Of course, Dau does all these things and creates a demonic, murderous doppelganger who kills while she sleeps and causes havoc at P, the club where she works.

The first half hour of this movie is close to perfection. Dau's situation is presented with great visual panache and we are led into the dark world of prostitution in Bangkok. Unfortunately, once the ghost story is introduced, the film loses its seductive, sensual power. Although there is a strong focus on friendships between the women, the trashy, horror set pieces pop up at predictable intervals and dilute the dramatic tension. The film has a "Nightmare On Elm Street" feel at times mixed with "The Exorcist", but it is never scarier than an episode of "Goosebumps".

Strangely schizophrenic, "P" softly condemns the exploitation of Thai women by foreigners, but goes out of its way to be an erotic poem to the incredible beauty and sensuality of the women. Sequences in which the women dance and parade their gorgeous bodies are highly arousing and beautifully shot by Rich B. Moore, Jr., who does a knock-up job all 'round. The young lead, who doesn't look too much older than thirteen, is a revelation here, turning in an extraordinary performance and conveying both a naive awareness of her erotic power and a complex sense of her loss of innocence.

It's sad to say, but "P" is ultimately capsized by its predictable, boring horror elements and almost saved by its dark, sensual, more intimate aspects. What a shame. It could have been so good.

So bad

[james-631-101540 · 2/10 · 6 October 2019]

It's on Thai Netflix at the moment.

Genuinely one of the worst films I've ever seen.

Clearly the embodiment of the directors weird fetishes with some bad horror thrown in to the mix.

Surprisingly interesting and dark film, with light social commentary added in

[thomvic · 14 October 2011]

'P' is a film that explores the misuse of magic and when it can backfire and the need to resort to it to gain an upper hand over rivals or people who have hurt you. This is a strange film to have a horror theme but that is not to say it doesn't work - it works quite well in the surroundings the film has set up.

The film tells the story of Dau, a poor girl living in rural Thailand whose grandmother has taught her the arts of witchcraft. There are three rules apparently that can make a spell backfire on the person if they break them:

1. Never cross under a clothes line 2. Never eat raw meat 3. You can share the knowledge of the spells but do not accept any form of payment

Dau goes to work in a brothel in Bangkok in order to make money to send to her sick grandmother and ends up being in the usual competition with the other girls. So she decides to put some of her useful magic knowledge to good (or bad depending on how you want to look at it) use to gain an upperhand on some of them.

The performances in the film are pretty decent with the leading actress being very convincing in terms of the cute girl trapped in a world she doesn't really want to be in. The film also gives light social commentary on the lives of these girls who work in such places - they are in it for the money and it also shows how foreigners (mainly white guys) come in simply just to be entertained and to have sexual acts with them. In fact, the bar the girls work in is a bar for foreigners.

Out of the three rules, the first one doesn't really make sense to me - the other two made more sense as the film progressed but I don't see how going under a clothes line will cause any harm - but if it is the rules it is the rules.

The film perhaps gets less scary once you know what is going to happen with Dau once the supernatural elements kick in and it sort of goes into slasher territory but it is part of the fun. In fact, the first 40 mins or so feels more like the film is a story about a sex worker than a horror film but it spends time developing the context of its story so that was pretty well done.

It is a good film if you're a horror fan and it is weird to see this combined with elements of prostitution in its story - some parts don't work as well but overall it is pretty solid.

Tragically bad. Inept in almost every way possible.

[normanrichardson · 1/10 · 22 August 2005]

This was shown as part of the 59th Edinburgh International Festival, though for reasons best left to the powers that be. A lot seems to have been made of the fact that it's the first Thai language film, made with Thai actors & crew, but directed by a westerner. Needn't have bothered to be honest, as this film is dull, dull, dull. Why hint at something, why shroud an idea in mystery, why subtly invoke a feeling, when you can hammer the point home with terrible voice overs, obvious shots and over the top scenes> Nothing is left to the imagination as time and time again director Spurrier clumsily churns out endless clichés. No hinting, no guessing, it's all up on screen, no need to use our imaginations. Wonder when the 'scary' bit is coming? No you wont, 'cause the soundtrack will get more and more intimidating, rising to a crescendo of ominously. Hell, I'm making up words to describe how bad this is. Wonder whether the conjured demon is real or imaginary? Why tax yourself - it's really is a snake, and yes it's really is biting his crotch, and there's blood splattering everywhere. it's a strange, uneasy film for several reasons. It's supposed to be a horror film, but it's not scary - the jolts are signposted & obvious. It might be a scathing attack on the seedier side of Thailand, yet the director has a sleazy, lubricious style when it comes to showing barely pubescent teens. Maybe it was casting himself as the virginity-taking westerner that planted the seeds of doubt in my head. Or maybe the whole thing was just pants. Uninspired, insipid, repetitive, hackneyed - all candidates for best description, but dull seems most appropriate and honest. It's all been seen before, probably better, often with more thought, rarely with less imagination or flare. Sorry. Thumbs down on every count. Truly dire.

This film upsets me

[funguspi · 1/10 · 27 November 2005]

I will be short...This film is an embarrassment to everyone except its cinematographer. The very fact that it is a critique of the sex tourism industry seems valid until we are "treated" to a lingering dance scene. The plot is ridiculous no one except the most ardent fan of BAD horror will get anything out of it. And for the love of God please stop saying this film is a tale of innocence lost or even of female empowerment because it is quite clearly not (childish fumbling lesbians, what the hell?). this was by far the worst film at the Edinburgh festival (that i saw anyway), someone even collapsed halfway through the film probably because they couldn't take any more of it. this may seem like an overly critical rant but i genuinely cannot find a redeeming feature of this film except for perhaps if you take it as pure comedy. In short this film is best watched on a cocktail of class A drugs.

An adult film for pre-teens - AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!

[SONNYK_USA · 3/10 · 25 June 2005]

'P' (or Club-P) should really be called 'L' for lame. Every festival has a disappointment and this is the one that fails to live up to its much-hyped logline: "Thai lesbians fighting monsters." Rather, this is the tale of a Khmer country girl who's grandmother has taught her a little witchcraft along with a few odd (but specific) rules: "don't walk under a clothesline," "don't eat raw meat," and "don't accept money for your powers." Well, guess what folks, the girl moves to Bangkok to raise some money as a 'bar-girl' and manages to break all the rules granny taught her which subsequently releases an evil spirit that conveniently kills the 'foreign johns' who pay for her services.

While this film can't even be released in Thailand due to it's controversial subject matter most American audiences will find this ho-hum horror pic a cross between "Showgirls" and "Interview with the Vampire" as directed by Walt Disney.

If not for a few scenes with significant amounts of blood the MPAA could probably rate this for pre-teens only. There is literally broadcast TV adult fare, although you'd expect at least a sex scene considering the fact that the film is about a brothel and one of the actresses is a Thai porn star in real life.

As for the 'lesbian' angle, there's one brief smooch and a couple of "I love you's" to prove that the two main stars really are a couple (on brother). And the P-bar has got to be the only exotic dance club on the planet where the girls keep their sarongs on and do carnival stunts (there's a swordsman who cuts cucumbers out of a girl's mouth ... ooh, phallic imagery).

NO nudity, NO real monster (unless you count a five foot high Thai spirit with yellow eyes), and no way any ADULT should ever pay to see this kind of stupidity except on DVD. You've been warned!

Great horror flick but a bit exploitative of Thai women

[Rocco3000 · 7/10 · 20 July 2005]

P (which means ghost in the Thai language - although there aren't really any ghosts in this movie) is the story of a girl who becomes a prostitute, and then a flesh-eating demon who hunts people at night. Great acting and excellent presentation, especially from an English director, who has created a very authentic Thai looking film. But at the same time the movie, especially the first hour, has the feel of Paul Verhoeven's Showgirls (young girls being taken advantage of by a system; this is how it is, however unfortunate, so let's just enjoy it).

The film starts off simply enough where we are introduced to a 12 year old girl who is the granddaugther of a witch. People from her small village are naturally afraid of them. But we drift away from this setup quickly as we watch our 12 year old strip down to her white undies, and goes for a swim, at which point the undies become see-through and...well the theme for the rest of the first hour is disturbingly set.

Fast forward 5 years, our heroine is now 17, and heads to bangkok to make some money to pay for food and medicines for her ailing grandmother. The powers that be manipulate her into becoming a "go-go" dancer and prostitute. At first she is tortured by her first "time" (rape?) with a customer (who was actually the director!), but in the next scene is hungry for more as she competes with the other girls in the bar for men and dances. Thus plays out the first hour of the movie, much more like a drama, completely forgetting the scary, mystical beginnings of the movie and the reason for her trip to Bangkok (her grandmother!), as we see scene after scene of, albeit beautiful, scantily clad Thai women dancing, and all of the intricacies of prostitution in Thailand.

Finally the second hour begins as her witch powers are brought back into it, and she begins to turn into some sort flesh-eating demon. All very well done and scary, saving the movie from becoming another Showgirls.

Although the long exotic dance scenes seem exploitative to me (another during the end credits?! Oh come on!), I would still very much recommend this movie. Especially if you love Asian women, because this one has some of the best looking ones I've seen in a long time!

When good girls go bad

[Jay_Exiomo · 5/10 · 18 March 2010]

P would have been a superior product had its intriguing first act detailing the sorry life of bar girls in Thailand not been dissipated by a digressing and laughable second part, whose juxtaposition with the former feels as proper as a pad thai with ketchup. Aaw (Suangporn Jaturaphut) has never had it easy growing up as an orphaned Khmer (someone with Cambodian ancestry) in rural Thailand as kids her age are looking at her in contempt because of her grandmother who practices black magic, a skill she consequently learns of as well. When grandma falls sick and her medical supply becomes too much to financially handle, Aaw falls victim of her innocence and is virtually sold off to Bangkok to work as a prostitute and pole dancer, and have her name changed to Dau (which foreigners can pronounce more easily). Initially scared and hesitant, Dau gradually becomes more comfortable with her environment and uses her knowledge of black magic as comeuppance for the people who wronged her, only to eventually realize that the evil she puts on others is starting to possess her. Brit director/writer/editor/composer Paul Spurrier's Thai film benefits much from its proficiently crafted drama that makes one gravitate easily to the vulnerability of its protagonist, with the progression of its golden hour sunlight-basked provincial-setting to the harsher neon-lit seedy Bangkok reflecting Dau's slow departure from virginity into a bloodthirsty monster. Yet as with this ugly transformation, P follows suit as it ultimately devolves into a bumbling, schlocky B-horror without an interest to dole any shred of ingenuity as the body count grows, which, in an effort to provide a dichotomy, not only proves detrimental to itself but also to the part which could have worked.

Do we really need another Thai ghost story?

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 6/10 · 5 September 2008]

The plot of "P" goes like that:whilst growing up in rural Thailand a young orphan girl is taught the ways of magic by her grandmother.But when old woman falls sick Dau is lured to Bangkok to find work so that she can buy medicine.She finds herself working in a go-go bar as a dancer and prostitute.She uses the magical skills her grandmother taught to her advantage but her magic gets darker and people start dying.The photography of Thai countryside and Bangkok is stunningly beautiful,the lead actress looks very cute,but the film lacks sleaze and nudity and is very tasteful when it comes to the subject of prostitution.The horror scenes are surprisingly weak too.6 out of 10.

By Asian horror standards, this is not great.

[stevelivesey-37183 · 5/10 · 4 February 2024]

Most Asian horror over the last two decades has been largely fantastic. Rings, Audition and Grudge to name but three. On the strength of those, i decided to give this a go.

So we have a movie that deals with poverty, witchcraft, underage prostitution and evil vampire spirits as its themes.

The acting is basic as is most things about this movie. However, it did keep me interested until the end with some twists and turns along the way.

There were some loose ends at the end of the movie that were never addressed such as the police officer and his investigation. The CGI was poor, as was the cinematography. It at this budget, what do you expect.

An accurate portrayal of the "bar girl" life cycle.

[whirling-darkness · 8/10 · 17 August 2012]

I rate this movie 8, not because of the scares or supernatural effects. The rating is entirely based on the performances of the actresses and accurate depiction of how many girls get conned into a life of prostitution.

It's worth a watch for anyone interested in Thailand or other countries such as Philippines where girls can be rented at bars and clubs. It puts a human perspective on the whole affair which those frequenting the places might not think about or choose to ignore.

I'm not sure whether the movie glorifies the empowerment of girls who choose to work as prostitutes because of the high pay or condemns the exploitation of the innocent who are made to believe they're being done a favor when they're told someone *might* have "work" for them, during the initial stages of recruitment, keeping the facade until it is too late to back out.

The director and his friends certainly enjoy the Thai night life privately. The movie stands on its own though and I feel it does a good job at removing the veil on the business. How people react must be a personal decision. Both sides are shown, which avoids a preachy or too exploitative feeling.

The performances by the actresses were particularly authentic, considering most of them grew up in slums or work as porn stars or bar girls. The main actress had never acted before and donated her entire earnings to her sick mother. Eerily similar to the circumstances in the movie, although the real life events apparently had a happier outcome.

Though the "scary" parts of the movie don't mesh well with Western ideas of ghosts and magic, it closely fits with popular myth and superstition in Thailand and other neighboring countries. Especially the idea of human monsters that can feast on other people due to a variety of specific circumstances.

The sex in the movie is very low key. I think we spotted a couple of nip slips. The few sex scenes are more suggestive than explicit and they don't last very long. There is a fair amount of dancing, but it's also tame. The girls are pretty though and it's enjoyable to watch.

It's not a masterpiece, but to my knowledge it's unique in its scope and subject matter. The lead actress did a superb job and I hope we see more from her in the future.

My wife and I both enjoyed this movie and I think anyone with an open mind and an interest in eastern Asia will too.

Black Magic in Bangkok

[Uriah43 · 6/10 · 22 February 2020]

This film begins in rural Thailand with a young girl by the name of "Dau" (Suangporn Jaturaphut) being picked on at school because of her Khmer heritage and the fact that everyone considers the grandmother she lives with to be a witch. Then after one particularly bad day at school she is attacked by an evil spirit on the way home and after telling this to her grandmother is taught the art of black magic. Ten years later, lacking the money to purchase necessary medicine for her grandmother, Dau consents to work at a nightclub in Bangkok where she hopes to make enough money to make ends meet. However, she soon finds that things are not much different for her as she is treated quite badly by most of the other girls there as well. Angry and frustrated by this she eventually decides to put some of her black magic skills to use to correct the situation. Unfortunately, she accidentally violates some of the rules her grandmother taught her and this causes severe consequences for everyone involved. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that, although it lacked the special effects normally seen in horror films of this type, the plot and the acting were adequate enough to compensate for it. Likewise, having several attractive actresses like Narisara Sairatanee (as "May"), Opal ("Pookie"), Amy Siriya ("Mee") along with the aforementioned Suangporn Jaturaphut certainly didn't hurt either. In any case, I enjoyed this movie for the most part and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Lost Opportunity

[BladeRunner2020 · 3/10 · 10 January 2019]

Like the other Thai horrors like 'Ladda Land' and 'Promise' this movie could have worked well as a drama. It looks like the director wanted to make a good drama about a naive village girl who comes to Bangkok to help her sick grandma but somewhere in the middle of the shooting the studio wanted him to do a horror film instead.

The only good element of this film is the acting. Almost everyone in this film from the lead actress to the lady playing her friend's role and other girls from the bar did a good job. The direction is sloppy with a bad screenplay. We don't really know why the grandma would teach her sweet grandchild a very dangerous black magic which could backfire if not treated properly. We don't know why a girl who was so reluctant to perform semi naked in front of foreigners the first couple of days would use deadly black magic to go ahead in the 'business'. We also don't why the Thai police chose to be incompetent and do nothing about the murders till the end. The narration of this film is so sloppy that sometimes its laughable.

3 stars for the acting and somewhat good first 40 minutes.