Opening tonight at SF World Cinema Central World, is an eerie new supernatural horror film called The Forest.
Set in Isaan, and featuring improvised dialog from local villagers, you might assume that The Forest comes from the mind of a young Thai filmmaker wanting to rebel against the big-budget action movies constantly in the theaters and make a name for himself – but no.
The Forest is the vision of Paul Spurrier, a British expat filmmaker and owner of one of Bangkok’s best-kept secrets, a plush little bar and movie theater called Friese-Greene Club.
The Forest is Spurrier’s second Thai language film (it’s subtitled in English). It’s the dark tale of a teacher and one of his pupils, a young mute girl, who is struggling to cope with real life. When things get to be too much for her, she retreats into a fantasy world, finding solace in the companionship of a mysterious feral boy.
However, unlike P, which came out in 2005, The Forest is being released in Thailand.
The director said: “P (short for Pop – a type of cannibalistic female ghost) didn’t get distributed at all, which was so weird. It turned out opposite to what I thought. I made this small Thai domestic horror film which I didn’t think anyone outside Thailand would be interested in. It was well-received and played all over the world, it actually made a million dollars at the Spanish box-office – but was never shown here.”
Paul Spurrier on the set of The Forest
“In Thailand, you never really know what happens in these situations. No one says ‘Your film is not being released because of blah blah blah..’ you’re just left forever wondering what happened. I don’t think it helped that, at that time, there was a drive to clamp down on the nightlife scene in Bangkok and P is mainly about a go-go dancer who uses black magic to make herself more beautiful and kills her customers, so that probably didn’t make it very popular.”
Now, the director has a film which will be seen, even if it’s just on one screen at the moment. Spurrier maintains that it’s not because he is a foreigner or any other form of political or social interference but, like Hollywood, it’s all has to do with the number of bums-on-seats.
“What worries me is that, when I was trying to get distribution for The Forest, we were told that if we get it into festivals and win an award or build some awareness, then people in Thailand will see it as having more pedigree and take it more seriously – so we did that (winning a ‘Best Director’ award at Ferrara Film Festival 2016).”
“But, when we went to FX Cinema, who have treated us very well, and discussed how many screens to put it on – and I was thinking it would be a few – they replied that they were going to put it on just one. They said ‘Paul, you’ve got to understand, once a film has won awards or become a festival film, Thai people think they are boring and no one wants to see them.’ It’s very confusing. I didn’t think this film was going to be for artsy types in Europe, it’s supposed to be a fun film for Thai people.”
This is part of the reason why the filmmaker traveled all over rural Thailand to find the right locations and avoid the familiar sights of Bangkok.
”Bangkok is one of those places that has been filmed so many times that is easy to step into cliché or shoot something that has already been done. With P and The Forest I wanted to show the parts of Thailand that are not depicted as often as they should be. I also wanted to show Thailand as a real place. Thai films and TV are so often about pretty and immaculately turned out people. I wanted to show actual people – I wanted to show the sweat.”
“We must have traveled about 6,000 miles to find the right spot. It wasn’t that we were searching for one location. There were also mountain tops, jungles and streams that needed to be found.”
Expanding on his theme of making a film that Thais will want to go and see, the conversation turned to a side of Thai culture which many farangs don’t really get – the acceptance of the supernatural and the affect it has on everyday life.
“I suppose it is something that is crucial in understanding Thailand; to appreciate that there is this tremendous belief in something beneath the surface. From spirit houses to tarot readings, the culture is absolutely steeped in the supernatural.”
“For instance, a long time ago, I was driving upcountry and, as we approached a corner, my passenger vehemently urged me to honk my horn. It turned out this was a very dangerous corner where lots of people have died and you need to honk your horn to scare the ghosts away or they will come and get you.”
“This idea came from a very smart and intelligent woman and it didn’t compute to me that she would believe this type of thing. But this is what I am talking about; if you don’t understand this (part of the culture), you don’t understand Thailand.”
“A few years ago, I sent off a script I had written to a Thai production company. After about six weeks, a friend asked me if there had been any news on said script, I said I hadn’t heard anything. The friend noticed I had a Buddha amulet on my keychain. ‘You can’t have that below your waist,’ she declared, ‘you have to keep it around your neck – that’s why you haven’t sold the script.’ So, we got a new chain and I hung the amulet around my neck. The next day, I was invited to a meeting, I sold the script, and they gave me a check there and then,” he said.
With a worldwide distribution deal currently being negotiated, fulfilling Paul’s dream of getting as many Thais to see The Forest as possible, maybe the amulet is still working its powerful magic.
The Forest opens tonight and plays through the Sept.17th at the SF World Cinema Central World.
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