4
That will do Ghost, that will do
A quick confession. Bring It On, Ghost was my first k-drama, sort of. As such, it has a special place in my heart. I was curious when I heard about a Thai remake. So, is this any good?
The answer is a little complicated. Overall, it is a solid Thai drama, but it is not necessarily better than its progenitor.
What this show does well is localisation. There is a lot of Thai lore and traditions in the ghost stories. This extends to stories based on modern societal ills. These will be familiar to many and they are impactful and tough to watch.
Another positive is the pairing of our leads. There were some mumblings regarding the original OTP's age gap. They are roughly the same age here. They also have good chemistry and delivered a decent amount of skinship.
This is a key part of the original. The romance between human and ghost is a path well trotted. While most stories in this genre tends to end in angsty tragedies, this managed to turn the ship around and gifted us a plausible HEA ending. I appreciate that.
Now, the not so good bits. The two sidekicks are there purely as comedic relieves. They certainly leaned heavily into slapstick and overacting. They are just loud and clueless most of the time. Why would anyone want to start an exorcism business if all they do is run away screaming at the first sign of a poltergeist. I grew tired of their one-note portrayal quite quickly.
I also have a low bar regarding police abilities in dramas. This one is a confusing mix. While the police officers in charge of the investigation are diligent and earnest, the rest seems to ignore the mountain of dead bodies. They came, they saw, they move on. You'd think it would be a task force level investigation by the end of the show. It is good that the small team delivers but it feels contrived. I'm also baffled why the police are never harmed when others involved are killed off with extreme prejudice.
The SFX in this drama is a mixed bag. There are some good jump scares, and the make-up of the various ghost and bodies are generally good. However, there are some scenes that look amateurish. Is it a case of less is more?
Continuity issues and plot holes also started to creep in, especially towards the end. While I applaud their localisation efforts, they do open themselves up to scripting issues when new contents need to be integrated back into the main plot. Mayhap this Pandora's box doesn't come with packing instructions in Thai. ;)
In the end, I’d say this is a solid Thai supernatural drama rather than an improvement of the original. My score is based on the former. Peace.
The answer is a little complicated. Overall, it is a solid Thai drama, but it is not necessarily better than its progenitor.
What this show does well is localisation. There is a lot of Thai lore and traditions in the ghost stories. This extends to stories based on modern societal ills. These will be familiar to many and they are impactful and tough to watch.
Another positive is the pairing of our leads. There were some mumblings regarding the original OTP's age gap. They are roughly the same age here. They also have good chemistry and delivered a decent amount of skinship.
This is a key part of the original. The romance between human and ghost is a path well trotted. While most stories in this genre tends to end in angsty tragedies, this managed to turn the ship around and gifted us a plausible HEA ending. I appreciate that.
Now, the not so good bits. The two sidekicks are there purely as comedic relieves. They certainly leaned heavily into slapstick and overacting. They are just loud and clueless most of the time. Why would anyone want to start an exorcism business if all they do is run away screaming at the first sign of a poltergeist. I grew tired of their one-note portrayal quite quickly.
I also have a low bar regarding police abilities in dramas. This one is a confusing mix. While the police officers in charge of the investigation are diligent and earnest, the rest seems to ignore the mountain of dead bodies. They came, they saw, they move on. You'd think it would be a task force level investigation by the end of the show. It is good that the small team delivers but it feels contrived. I'm also baffled why the police are never harmed when others involved are killed off with extreme prejudice.
The SFX in this drama is a mixed bag. There are some good jump scares, and the make-up of the various ghost and bodies are generally good. However, there are some scenes that look amateurish. Is it a case of less is more?
Continuity issues and plot holes also started to creep in, especially towards the end. While I applaud their localisation efforts, they do open themselves up to scripting issues when new contents need to be integrated back into the main plot. Mayhap this Pandora's box doesn't come with packing instructions in Thai. ;)
In the end, I’d say this is a solid Thai supernatural drama rather than an improvement of the original. My score is based on the former. Peace.
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