4bia
Encyclopedia
4bia or Phobia is a 2008 Thai
horror film
in four parts, directed by Youngyooth Thongkonthun, Banjong Pisanthanakun
, Parkpoom Wongpoom
, and Paween Purijitpanya.
A young woman, stuck in her apartment due to the cast on her leg, communicates with the outside world via cell phone and text messages. She complained to her boyfriend, Puak, who went on a camp trip in Chiang Mai, that she felt so lonely. Every night she exchanges text messages with a stranger, who asked to befriend her and seems friendly enough, and there’s no reason for her to read between the lines when he mentions that he is currently dwelling somewhere “cramped.” After sending the mysterious stranger her picture, she asks for one in return and is sent the same picture. When she questions him, he says he is in the picture next to her. A ghostly face is slightly visible next to her smiling face. As she researches recent deaths she discovers that the son of Princess Sophia of Virnistan died and was buried with a cellphone. She then gets a text saying that he will come to her place now. All of the lights begin to go out and the young woman cries in fear. She is then assaulted by the ghost and is thrown out of the window to her death. We are then shown a scene from the past where the prince receives a text message from his girlfriend ending the relationship which makes him walk in front of a taxi cab causing an accident, same accident that was the cause of the main character's broken leg as she was inside the cab.
Tit for Tat (Thai title - Yan Sang Tai/Deadly Charm; directed by Paween Purikitpanya)
A nerdy student named Ngid saw his school friends take some drugs, and he was beaten to death. One of the gang's member, Pink, was worried but failed to stop her friends from bullying Ngid. Unfortunately, when he was beaten, he cursed his friends on a deadly charm, which requires a picture of a person died with his/her eyes open. Things get worse when everything keeps moving by itself when ordered by Ngid's soul, and one by one the drug addicts start dying. Even though Pink didn't beat him, Ngid's soul decided not to spare her too because she had seen it all yet had not do anything to help him. In order to save her life, Pink pops out her own eyeballs. It was revealed later that the picture Ngid used to practice the charm is of the young woman in the first story.
The Man In The Middle (Thai title - Kon Klang; directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun)
Four rafting-lovers, Aey, Ter, Shin, and Puak were rafting in a lonely jungle. At night in the camp, Aey told his friends that if he is dead, the person who slept in the middle was the next to die with him. The next day, when they were swimming in the river things get worse because Aey was drowned and wasn't found. They were scared, but decided to stay, and fight over who gets to sleep in the middle (they are frightened by Aey's story). That night, Aey came back, but strange events happening afterwards made his friends become suspicious. Shin then found Aey's body. Frightened, they went running in the woods but eventually get shocked by the twist, that they found their own bodies. The twist told them that all of them were dead, but only Aey accepted this, and the other three didn't, so Aey's soul warned them that they were drown like him. At the end, the four became ghosts together.
The Last Flight (Thai title - Teaw Bin 244/Flight 244; directed by Parkpoom Wongpoon)
Flight attendant Pim is secretly having an affair with Prince Albert of Virnistan. One day she is ordered to go aboard an airliner on a charter flight for Princess Sophia, the wife of the Prince. Her fellow stewardess, Tui, was unable to attend the flight as her brother Ter had been found drown in Chiang Mai. What was supposed to be an ordinary flight turns into something tragic when the princess forms an allergic reaction to something she ate. After the royal house of Khurkistan requests that her corpse be sent back immediately for cremation, Pim (Chermarn Boonyasak) is required to remain on the plane and escort the body - the only passenger - for the return flight. As the Princess tries to get out of her shroud, Pim's worst nightmare began. When the plane landed, Pim's body was found laying on the floor, under the feet of the intactly enshrouded corpse of Princess Sophia.
, the European premiere was on 23 January 2009 as part of the International Film Festival Rotterdam
. In the UK will release as direct-to-video production on 10 May 2010.
Cinema of Thailand
The cinema of Thailand dates back to the early days of filmmaking, when King Chulalongkorn's 1897 visit to Bern, Switzerland was recorded by Francois-Henri Lavancy-Clarke. The film was then brought to Bangkok, where it was exhibited...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
in four parts, directed by Youngyooth Thongkonthun, Banjong Pisanthanakun
Banjong Pisanthanakun
Bangjong Pisanthanakun is Thai filmmaker and screenwriter. With Parkpoom Wongpoom, he co-directed and co-wrote the hit 2004 Thai horror film, Shutter, and the 2007 horror film, Alone.-Education and early career:...
, Parkpoom Wongpoom
Parkpoom Wongpoom
Parkpoom Wongpoom is a Thai filmmaker and screenwriter. With Banjong Pisanthanakun, he co-directed and co-wrote the hit 2004 Thai horror film, Shutter, and the 2007 horror film, Alone.-Education and early career:...
, and Paween Purijitpanya.
Title
The title is a pun on the word "phobia". The number 4 is in reference to the film's four short stories.Plot
Happiness (Thai title - Ngao/Loneliness; directed by Youngyooth Thongkonthun)A young woman, stuck in her apartment due to the cast on her leg, communicates with the outside world via cell phone and text messages. She complained to her boyfriend, Puak, who went on a camp trip in Chiang Mai, that she felt so lonely. Every night she exchanges text messages with a stranger, who asked to befriend her and seems friendly enough, and there’s no reason for her to read between the lines when he mentions that he is currently dwelling somewhere “cramped.” After sending the mysterious stranger her picture, she asks for one in return and is sent the same picture. When she questions him, he says he is in the picture next to her. A ghostly face is slightly visible next to her smiling face. As she researches recent deaths she discovers that the son of Princess Sophia of Virnistan died and was buried with a cellphone. She then gets a text saying that he will come to her place now. All of the lights begin to go out and the young woman cries in fear. She is then assaulted by the ghost and is thrown out of the window to her death. We are then shown a scene from the past where the prince receives a text message from his girlfriend ending the relationship which makes him walk in front of a taxi cab causing an accident, same accident that was the cause of the main character's broken leg as she was inside the cab.
Tit for Tat (Thai title - Yan Sang Tai/Deadly Charm; directed by Paween Purikitpanya)
A nerdy student named Ngid saw his school friends take some drugs, and he was beaten to death. One of the gang's member, Pink, was worried but failed to stop her friends from bullying Ngid. Unfortunately, when he was beaten, he cursed his friends on a deadly charm, which requires a picture of a person died with his/her eyes open. Things get worse when everything keeps moving by itself when ordered by Ngid's soul, and one by one the drug addicts start dying. Even though Pink didn't beat him, Ngid's soul decided not to spare her too because she had seen it all yet had not do anything to help him. In order to save her life, Pink pops out her own eyeballs. It was revealed later that the picture Ngid used to practice the charm is of the young woman in the first story.
The Man In The Middle (Thai title - Kon Klang; directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun)
Four rafting-lovers, Aey, Ter, Shin, and Puak were rafting in a lonely jungle. At night in the camp, Aey told his friends that if he is dead, the person who slept in the middle was the next to die with him. The next day, when they were swimming in the river things get worse because Aey was drowned and wasn't found. They were scared, but decided to stay, and fight over who gets to sleep in the middle (they are frightened by Aey's story). That night, Aey came back, but strange events happening afterwards made his friends become suspicious. Shin then found Aey's body. Frightened, they went running in the woods but eventually get shocked by the twist, that they found their own bodies. The twist told them that all of them were dead, but only Aey accepted this, and the other three didn't, so Aey's soul warned them that they were drown like him. At the end, the four became ghosts together.
The Last Flight (Thai title - Teaw Bin 244/Flight 244; directed by Parkpoom Wongpoon)
Flight attendant Pim is secretly having an affair with Prince Albert of Virnistan. One day she is ordered to go aboard an airliner on a charter flight for Princess Sophia, the wife of the Prince. Her fellow stewardess, Tui, was unable to attend the flight as her brother Ter had been found drown in Chiang Mai. What was supposed to be an ordinary flight turns into something tragic when the princess forms an allergic reaction to something she ate. After the royal house of Khurkistan requests that her corpse be sent back immediately for cremation, Pim (Chermarn Boonyasak) is required to remain on the plane and escort the body - the only passenger - for the return flight. As the Princess tries to get out of her shroud, Pim's worst nightmare began. When the plane landed, Pim's body was found laying on the floor, under the feet of the intactly enshrouded corpse of Princess Sophia.
Cast
- Laila Boonyasak as Pim
- Maneerat Kham-uan as Pin
- Apinya SakuljaroensukApinya SakuljaroensukApinya Sakuljaroensuk is a Thai actress born on 27 May 1990.Her first movie was Ploy directed by Pen-Ek Ratanaruang. The movie was premiered at the International Film Festival in Cannes in 2007...
as Pink - Witawat Singlampong as Diaw
- Pongsatorn Jongwilat as Phueak
- Chon Wachananon as Yo
Release
The film premiered on 25 April 2008 and was part on 20 October 2008 at the Toronto After Dark Film FestivalToronto After Dark Film Festival
Toronto After Dark Film Festival is a showcase of horror, sci-fi, action and cult cinema held annually in Toronto, Canada at the Bloor Cinema. The festival premieres a diverse selection of feature-length and short-films from around the world including new works from Asia, Europe and North...
, the European premiere was on 23 January 2009 as part of the International Film Festival Rotterdam
International Film Festival Rotterdam
The International Film Festival Rotterdam is an annual film festival held in various cinemas in Rotterdam, Netherlands held at the end of January. It is approximately comparable in size to other major European festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Locarno...
. In the UK will release as direct-to-video production on 10 May 2010.