The Screen at Kamchanod review

Supposedly based on a true story, The Screen at Kamchanod is a show set in 2007, supposedly in a rural town of nowhere in Thailand. Dr. Yut is obsessed with finding out the truth behind rumors and newspaper clippings of what appears to be screenings of movies for ghosts back in the older days, some 20 years ago when things suddenly stopped.

It was said that legend went like these, a cinema now clearly dilapidated somewhere in the middle of nowhere in Thailand screens a movie that no one watches, and there will certainly be no one to come either no matter how long the film is on. However, strange things occur, as during the show, the cinema would begin to seem like it is alive with audiences moving in and taking their seats to enjoy the show. The only problem is...the seats move down themselves ala folding seats style, and what looks to be empty seats, clearly do not fold themselves down or explain the sudden instances of shadows flickering about and the cold cold air that blasts about within a long dilapidated cinema.

Two senior journalists set out along with Dr. Yut and a bum who is well practiced in lockpicking along with his girlfriend to the place of this cinema. Finding the film, they begin to force the projectionist and caretaker of the old cinema to show the film. The film is clearly very old, with no visible choreography and vaguely reminds one of The Ring's Sadako tape, except it were a lot more disorientating and certainly carries a less than modern flare of building up the cinematic experience.

Strange things began to happen as the troupe soon found themselves mysteriously sent back home, and chillings with the encounter of the not-so-human kind began to scare them into submission and insanity. However, the true story starts here, as despite the scary premises, it is clear that Dr. Yut has either a stable personality or a simply disbelieving one, he did not stop short of going after ghosts and films for their viewing pleasure, opting instead to finish the puzzle left behind on the newspaper clippings.

"If you watch this in the forests of Kam Cha Nod...you shall be free of ghosts..." it says... well, here goes nothing.
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Verdict: 7/10

Truth to be said, this film has a lot of intellectual build up, the way the sophisticated screenplay of Dr. Yut certainly less than smooth likeable personality along with the really dull colored background designed to grab the audience into a world with less than colorful characters and a scary atmosphere; to the design of the set itself, of dilapidated cinemas and old shoplots filled with the smell of decay. One can almost feel it aurally in the sense that the show did indeed capture some of the finer essences of horror.

In fact, up till a point when one is watching the show, one becomes really engrossed in the horrifying premises, a cinema showing exclusive movies for ghosts? Who the hell wanted to see that? The truth lies deeper, and certainly the remedy only more so, Dr. Yut set out as the Indiana Jones of the cinematic experience for ghosts in the search for the film and when he finally found it, he dragged everyone to hell with it. Faithful till the end, one is revealed exactly why it is Dr. Yut is obsessed, more so, one is revealed exactly what even a mind clear as day may mean nothing before ghosts.

While I appreciate the notion, I believe the show did more to really have dispelled my own former beliefs that if you don't believe in ghosts, you don't see them. The fear truly manifests itself into a raw provocative train ride as one takes the height of what is brewing behind not just the ghosts, but relationships behind characters that spawned not only a straight line of viewing horror shows for horror value; one is invited into a serious trick or treat fair of relationship problems that lead to even more macabre happenings that follow.

I'd say if the cheap scares were anything to go by, those are the smaller things, the show itself truly outshines at the end with the twist added, and certainly one should be reminded that after the moral of the story is told:

"Touch what you must not, and the hand shall feel the burn of wrath."

as well as,

"What goes around, comes around, Karma spares none."

I leave you to explore the fearful contempt this show may bring.




Additionally, not related.
Dreams C Club is launching!





Fuck, I wanna ride in that bus.