Among the more familiar and overly exposed elements found in modern ghost films is a reliance on the use of proving that the supernatural presented within is entirely possible within the normal world. While not exclusive to these kinds of films, this plotline is quite frequently used to delve deeply into philosophical discussions and commentary involving the quest for man's futile quest to solve and understand the supernatural world around them. This storyline comes to a head once again in the latest turn from director Paween Purijitpanya with his new film “Ghost Lab”, available for streaming on Netflix.
Lifelong friends ever since they were kids, Gla (Paris Intarakomalyasut) and Wee (Thanapob Leerantanakachorn) begin their work at a local hospital to carry on their studies in the afterlife and the supernatural. When a series of encounters and incidents between them signal a possibility that their theories are correct, Gla delves deeper into his work, convinced he's on the brink to conclusively prove an encounter from his youth involving his dead father contacting him as a ghost. As their work together reaches a feverish pitch that shows their quest may not be in vain, the pair find that the ghosts around them may not be the kind of spectral figures who appreciate their inquiries and stop at nothing to show them otherwise.
Overall, “Ghost Lab” is quite a jarring and offsetting film. Much of this is due to a bizarre storyline from co-writers Purijitpanya, Vasudhorn Piyaromna, and Tossaphon Riantong that favors shifting the tone of the film from scene to scene. The initial setup of the two working in the hospital for various altruistic reasons, with Wee wanting to be close to his comatose mother and Gla more interested in the pursuit of the paranormal provides a grounding to the characters early on. However, this melodramatic turn is broken up frequently to show that the two are indeed best friends through the use of childish, immature pranks and pratfalls around the hospital that showcase a decidedly more comedic bent to the presentation. While lighthearted and certainly of the variety that genuine friends would pull on each other, these scenes come off as quite odd when contrasted against the dramatic turns later on. Once they discover the ghosts have been visiting the hospital, all pretenses of comedy are dropped in favor of increasingly melodramatic confrontations between Gla and Wee highlighting their descent into psychological madness and devotion to figuring out the truth rather than featuring a straightforward story.
This factor becomes another drawback to “Ghost Lab” that holds it back. When the switch that brings Gla and Wee into their quest for the truth behind the ghosts that they've been seeing occurs, there's a decided lack of interest in what's going on that tends to make for a highly problematic and underwhelming feature. Despite turning the film into a series of enthusiastic and thoughtful conversations involving the physics of the situation against the psychological damage the quest is turning Gla, very little of this becomes interesting as the ghosts completely disappear from the film in favor of these conversations. They're so infrequent in place of these admittedly spirited debates that it's entirely possible to be bored during these segments. As well, the conversations eventually bring a different change to their personalities by offering a highly dispiriting tone that is completely dull to sit through. These scenes here with the guys doing their discussions create a highly dispiriting downgrade against the type of sympathy that had been created beforehand with a series of revelations that we've all been aware of for the most part anyway that tends to alter our perception of the characters.
While there are some flaws, “Ghost Lab” does have a lot to like about it. Most of these factors are based around the ghostly encounters that showcase the terrifying nature of the ghosts as their appearances are genuinely shocking. The initial encounter in the hospital that utilizes the atmosphere of the darkened hospital to generate some really creepy visuals of the ghosts appearing out of nowhere to generate a sharp shocking sequence for a rather enjoyable starting point to the hauntings. Later scenes in the corridors of the hospital are just as effective, creating a feeling of genuine angst and terror that escalates nicely with the tension between Gla and Wee during their personal crises that is a fine cohesive balance. As the final half builds in intensity with the reveal of their purpose for being in the hospital and they get far more active, the energy and intensity pick up nicely with the encounters inside the hospital which are rather enjoyable overall. There's also plenty to like with the intensity of the conversations involving their search and the motivations for doing so that's painted as sympathy that's filmed quite nicely. Combined with the fantastic ghost make-up that helps their eeriness quite heavily, there are some great elements present here.
Filled with some fantastic ghost action but some big problems elsewhere, “Ghost Lab” comes off as a highly problematic and flawed if somewhat watchable genre effort that has some positive aspects. Viewers who are completists regarding Asian horror films or are undemanding ghost movie enthusiasts will be the primary audience here.
