This review may contain spoilers
Dorm is not exactly a horror movie in the traditional sense.Ton (the main character) is a bold, assertive, extroverted young boy with many friends. He's enjoying his life until his father, with whom he has a poor relationship, decides to pack and ship him off to a boarding school in Chon Buri. His father says he wants him to spend more time on studying than watching television, but Ton knows that is a lie—he knows his father is having an affair and his father has sent him away so that he never reveals the truth.
At first he's lonely and does not fit in well. The strict administrator, Miss Pranee, doesn't seem to be doing much to make his adjustment to the school easy. All this changes when he befriends Vichien (the secondary protagonist), whom he soon learns is a ghost who dies every night. It seems Miss Pranee appears to be a common denominator in his death— nobody can quite figure out why.
The movie is best described as average—the acting, cinematography, directing, and script are just okay. Nothing too bad, but nothing too great either. The predictable plot is drawn out.
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This review may contain spoilers
The Thai version of "The Count of Monte Cristo"
Hypnotic is one of the latest shows on Netflix and it very much appears to be a Thai version of the critically-acclaimed novel "The Count of Monte Cristo".Central to the show is the glam and appeal of the Thai upper-class—they are generally regarded as an untouchable caste in Thai society due to their wealth, power, and influence. They have, after all, contributed greatly to Thailand's economy and success.
Sara/Kamon (the main protagonist) comes across as this charming, well-respected, and down-to earth psychologist, but little do people know that she's on a revenge mission: to tear apart the Lerthanakul family, a wealthy, powerful, and well-connected family respected and admired by many. Prior to the start of the show, they murdered Sara/Kamon's family, left Sara/Kamon for dead, and the main character will stop at nothing to break them apart.
Things are remarkably tense in the Lerthanakul household. The moment Sydney, Naree's youngest and mentally unstable daughter, gets suspended from school for bullying, the Lerthanakuls are forced to take her to therapy sessions with Sara/Kamon—the perfect infiltration opportunity for her to bring the Lerthanakul house down.
Naree (the main antagonist) is an explosive, vitriolic narcissist who takes pride in harming and hurting others. Her equally erratic husband, the son of a high-ranking police officer, despises her and her family and exhibits no social grace or manners. The feeling of hate towards the family is mutual—they know he's an irritating character with a disgusting personality, but they tolerate him because the matriarch of the family won't allow him and Naree to get divorced.
Naree is in constant denial and it can be clearly seen that she's someone who reasons with emotion, rather than reason—she refuses to admit she's a failed parent or that her daughter is unstable; instead she throws vivid, if not completely comedic, temper tantrums whenever she can't accept that she's in the wrong.
Woranan, the eldest sister, is the exact opposite of her younger sister and her husband, or so it seems, appears to be just as calm and collected as her—she just wants the family to be together and co-exist peacefully with one another. Her sweet, naïve, and simple nature allows people to manipulate her easily, but even the nicest and sweetest of people have their limits—Woranan doesn't hesitate to stand up for herself at times.
The matriarch of the family is just as bad as Naree—she is violent and regularly intimidates other members of the family, including the children. But unlike Naree, she uses her cold expressions to state exactly what she thinks and knows how to put people in their place.
A wonderfully crafted cat-and-mouse plot is the backbone of the show—right from the start Naree suspects that something about Sara/Kamon is not entirely right and her suspicions correctly grow and grow as the show progresses. With just 12 episodes, the plot sometimes feels fast-paced and rushed and it fools you into thinking that the plot is entirely predictable. Expect major twists and turns along the way, and expect major surprises.
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This review may contain spoilers
A chilling, cautionary tale
Karnkaew (the main protagonist) has it all: fluent English skills, charming looks, the gift of gab, and excellent people skills. Men, especially those in relationships, throw themselves at her and want to be with her, women are envious of her and want to be with her, and it seems as though many people are deeply invested in her well-being.But the undeniable fact is that Karnkaew is absolutely dissatisfied with her life. She feels that her family's poverty is holding her back from achieving the one thing she desires more than anything else in life: an upper-class lifestyle. So what does she do? Rather than work her way up the ladder like everyone else, she becomes a courtesan, thinking that it'll bring her quickly to her goal.
Throughout the show she seduces and has sex with various men, and even manages to get into a relationship with someone from a rich family. In her obsessive, blind, and dangerous pursuit of becoming a member of the upper-class, she burns bridges with the people around her, uses people to get what she wants, people away willingly, and makes friends with the wrong people. In the end, her blind desire became her tragic undoing and guided her to her untimely death. As depressing as it is to say this, the man who sold her to the German brothel was spot on—if all that Karnkaew wanted was a good life, why did she choose to become a courtesan?
Chala, Karnkaew's best friend, on the other hand is not like her; she does not share Karnkaew's obsession and only wishes to lead an honest, hard-working life. In the end, her commitment to honest living and being true to herself pays off; she ends up escaping a life of poverty.
Many Thai people, especially those in living in urban areas and the younger generation, equate wealth with superior social status. Anything that makes a Thai person look good is taken positively; anything that makes a Thai person look bad is not. Many run into problems trying to become wealthy, and Karnkaew is the perfect representation of that—she went from a top-tier courtesan who was admired by all in Thailand to a low-level sex worker who was beaten and mistreated by all. She completely understood the gravity of what she truly lost by becoming blindly obsessed with wealth and power.
Let this show serve as a brutal, cautionary reminder that a blind obsession with status does more harm than good. It poisons relationships, makes you many enemies along the way, and makes you an outcast. If Karnkaew made better decisions to begin with, she wouldn't have ended up the way she ended up.
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