The reading this week covers the supernatural and horror films in Asia set in residential housings. I want to mainly focus on the last of series of movies selected by Ancuta, namely The Promise by Sophon Sakdaphisit. Set in The Sathorn Unique Tower in Bangkok, Thailand, the movie follows a pair of girls. The quick synopsis is that the two girls became poor quickly from their lux lives and both made a pact to have a double suicide. One kept their promise and the other did not. The suicide victim later became a ghost who haunts the tower while the other became an unethical estate agent. The focus of the film is visibility. The visibility of “living ghosts” specifically, who are basically the working class people. It zooms in on the fact that although the supernatural ghosts are rarely seen, if ever, they are getting more attention than the “living ghosts” who are in fact real and present in most peoples’ everyday lives. I think this idea of comparing visibility of something supernatural and physical along with the metaphysical visibility of the rich compared to the poor is a brilliant idea. A similar concept was actually used in a western movie titled “Burnt Offerings” by Dan Curtis. The movie explores a woman who loves her mansion more than her family, that she became overprotective over it and “haunts” the mansion as a “living ghost”. The movie was also said to have challenged the idea of patriarchal society at its time of premiering, as it gender bends the authority in a family to the woman.
Filbert David Tejalaksana 3035945699
I appreciate the two filmic cases you share to elaborate on the unique concept of the ghost in the film, especially the argument of “real ghosts Vs. living ghosts.” Besides, it is significant to anchor your analysis to space and architecture. It can be conducted by exploring how real ghosts and living ghosts occupy and interact with space. In view of this, I would suggest you further consider the unique situation of Hong Kong cinema that ghosts still kept a strong status in the socio-culture realm even though it has long accepted the impact of Western culture and technology as a global metropolis.