I have fond memories of being a kid, curled up next to the tv (or "mother" as I used to call it), watching the horror films that ran on the local UHF station. That was the first time I was exposed to the anthology horror film, and I instantly liked the genre. Some of the ones that instantly come to mind from those days are Vault of Horror, Trilogy of Terror, and The House That Dripped Blood.

The appeal of an anthology horror film is pretty easy. If you don't really take to one story, well, another one will start in thirty minutes or so. Bangkok Haunted (2001) adheres to that rule. I was bored to tears with the first story, but the second was a little bit better, and the third was quite good.

Three young women sit and share scary stories. Antique dealer Jeib tells the tale of Pada and Gnod. Taken in at a young age by a master drum maker, Pada grows into an attractive girl. Gnod is the local misfit, a deformed young man who lives on the outskirts of town and is always hiding under a cloak; his only real friend is Pada and his infatuation for her only becomes stronger as the two mature. He gives in to manic, murderous jealousy when Pada falls for an attractive, well off student.

The second story revolves around lovelorn Pan. Looking for any way to get a man, her next door neighbor gives Pan a love potion called "Ply Essance". Pan uses the stuff on a popular slickster at a nightclub and takes the guy back to her place. Unfortunately, a side effect sends the guy on a downward spiral of sickness that no one can find a cure for and eventually he ends up on a faith healers floor spewing out green bile and convulsing until he's dead. The love potion was made from the blood of a woman's corpse, and her spirit/karma comes back to haunt Pan, who keeps using the potion, causing the spirits of Pan's murdered lovers to seek revenge.

In the third story, a young detective, Nop, is convinced that a recent case involving a hanged young woman, named Gunya, was murder. His superior instantly dismisses this conclusion and insists that it is an open and shut case of suicide. Nop the cop continues to investigate and finds a trail leading to ex-lovers and an abusive older husband. Obsessed with the case, he is quite literally haunted by Gunya's spirit and this clouds his judgement, leading to a tragic conclusion.

The first two tales in this triptych of terror, "The Legend of the Drum" and "Black Magic Woman" were directed by the unheralded Pisuth Praesang, while the final story, "Revenge", was directed by Oxide Pang (or the Pang Bros) of The Eye 1&2 and Bangkok Dangerous fame.

The first story is a real yawner, your standard Beauty and the Beast angle, told in flashback while the girl ghosts haunts a woman in the present, not very terrifying or suspenseful. The second tale fares better, a typical horror-morality tale with some sensuality thrown in, and a good Tales from the Crypt-ish ending. The third is by far the best, and the actual supernatural angle is almost an afterthought wedged into a cop fixated to solve a murder mystery story. Overall the film has some spooky visuals and some minor gore, but nothing too shocking or scary. The direction is pretty competant, with the Pang using thier signature, close up angles and heavy spashes of neon lighting.

The DVD: Panik House

The disc has bilingual menu options, either Spanish or English language.

Picture:Anamorphic Widescreen. While the print does have some limitations due to some budget issues, I was pleasantly surprised with the transfer quality. Bangkok Haunted has been released on DVD in different regions, and reportedly the quality of those releases is pretty poor (non-anamorphic/dirty prints). Here you get a very nice transfer that does a good job with some sketchy material. The print is a bit soft and a tad dull. However, the color and contrast denials are very nice. Hues are rich and vibrant, and the film has a lot of filtered, expressive lighting. Likewise, the film has many intentionally dark and shadowy scenes, so good contrast balance is essential; thankfully they are nice and deep with little to no graying. Compression atrefacts are presnt but minimal.

Sound: DTS, 5.1, and 2.0 Dolby Digital Surround Thai language tracks with optional English or Spanish subtitles. The scoring and fx has some decent separation and surround fx. Nothing to really amazes. Production quality woes come across with some weak dialogue recording levels here and there but it isn't very bothersome, just cheap. The subtitles are quite good.

Extras: Slipcase— Sticker inserts---- Behind the Scenes: The Making of Bangkok Haunted (30:45). Very nice promo piece with a sort of tabloid Fact or Fiction: Beyond Reality or In Search Of presentation, showing lots of clips plus interviews with the producers, actors, and such on shadowy, fog filled sets. Subbed.— Trailers for Omen and Bangkok Haunted.— Poster/still Galleries and Production Notes.— Cinema Pang: A Pang Bros Biography and Thai Cinema by Art Black (text).

Conclusion: This isn't the greatest anthology horror film ever, however it has two fairly good stories, some creepy imagery, and the most important thing, a foreign flavor and exotic appeal that makes it worthwhile. The transfer is pretty good, so I'll give this one a loose recommendation for Asian horror fans