Welcome to Laddaland

Welcome to Laddaland, the latest Thai horror flick to reach our shores. Like many other brilliant horror films from Thailand, it is not a mere mindless scare-fest. It is smart, sexy and packs with enough psychological drama to make the on-screen characters come to life.

Initially, I didn't really like the main character, Thee (Saharat Sangkapreecha) with his goofy smile. But as the movie progress, his awkwardness melted away as weirder and stranger events unfold. The plot is simple, taking a few cues from western thriller/horror flicks. The family moves into Laddaland due to a job of the sole breadwinner, Thee. The opening sequence played that to dramatic effect with an appropriate happy tune, laughing children, sprinklers and a happy dog - almost an American Dream advert except everyone was Thai.

There were a lot of subplots spanning the whole spectrum of family dysfunctionality. At times, it almost seemed like the family tension was threatening to take over the show and make Ms Melted Face a side attraction. However, it soon became apparent that the spirit(s) were feeding off the negative vibes and manipulating their minds and inserting insidiously murderous intentions by pitting husband against wife and daughter against father.

After making a grand entrace, Ms Melted Face didn't last throughout the movie. She caused a few scares and mysteriously ceased her haunting. Then, a whole family killed themselves next door. It wasn't clear but I am assuming their deaths were the handiwork of Ms Melted Face. After that, the vengeful spirits of the neighbours made their debut, eventually coming to a close with murder in Thee's household.

I love this movie and although there were a few loose ends but the general plot and feel is almost spot on! I was on the edge of my seat throughout the movie but the special effects and choreography of the scares could do with a tad bit more originality. But the familiar techniques still scares me sh*tless.