Feature debut of Surapong Ploensang, “Cracked” is a Singapore-South Korea-Taiwan-Thailand co-production starring the Thai-Korean K-Pop star Nichkhun Horvejkul, adapted from an unproduced Korean script.
“Cracked” is screening at Udine Far East Film Festival
Ruja, who has been living abroad with her young daughter, Rachel, is in trouble, since the girl needs an operation in her eyes, and she cannot afford to have it. At her time of desperation, though, Vichai, an old friend and associate of her father, a world-renowned painter, arrives to let her know that he is dead and that she should return to Thailand to handle his estate. As soon as they arrive at the mansion, Vichai informs her that two paintings her father left are about to be bought by a multimillionaire, but need a bit of restoration before the selling, which a young man, Tim, is about to do. Ruja wants to sell as fast as possible, with the same applying to the mansion, but soon finds herself seeing weird dreams, and in the midst of uncanny events, frequently involving her daughter. The sudden appearance of Tim saves the day, with Ruja finding a friend in his face, but the weird behavior of the caretaker of the house and the continuing strange events reveal that something is amiss. As Ruja starts to reminisce about the past, a number of twisted secrets come to the fore, all of which seem to revolve around the two portraits.
As is frequently the case with first-time directors, Surapong Ploensang tries to include as many elements as possible in his movie, which, this time though, are all associated with the horror genre. In that fashion, we have a mansion that seems to be haunted, a maid who obviously hides something, paintings that could be cursed, a little girl who tends to get lost, a scary forest, a handsome stranger that appears suddenly, while as the story progresses, elements of home invasion, exorcism, and some sensuality that loans heavily from “The Handmaiden” also appear. Add to that the eerie music, the jump cuts and the overall job done in the sound, and the flashbacks that reveal even scarier stories and you have almost every aspect any horror film fan would cherish, being present here.
At the same time, however, Ploensang manages to combine them quite artfully, creating an atmosphere of mystery and disorientation regarding what is happening, retaining interest from beginning to end, also due to the many plot twists. The gradual revelation of the story also works well here, although the script functions mostly as a base in order for all the aforementioned elements to be presented, resulting in a story that is far-fetched and includes at least some plot holes. This issue however is on par with the usual presentation of horror movies, and will not deter any advocate of the genre.
On a contextual level, one could say that the story comments on how difficult it is for women to be released from the bonds of patriarchy, or how the actions of parents shape those of their children, but if these concepts do exist, are somewhat lost inside the horror approach.
Where the movie truly thrives however, is its visuals. DP Natdanai Naksuwan has done a tremendous job in portraying the plethora of varying elements of the title, taking full advantage of the concept of art in order to present a series of rather impressive images, which add much to the horrific atmosphere implemented here. The permeating sense of eeriness and mystery benefits the most from his work, in, arguably, the best trait of the movie. The editing is also quite good, through a rather fast pace that aims at including all the different elements in the economical 93 minutes of its duration.
Chayanit Chansangavej is convincing as Ruja, particularly in the portrayal of her despair and fear, while Nichkhun Horvejkul as Tim has his good and his bad moments, with the first mostly appearing in the scenes where he has to function as the attractive, somewhat cocky stranger.
“Cracked” does not exactly reinvent the genre, and one could say that the cliches here are rather many. However, the combination of all the elements present and the visuals of the movie result in a horror that is definitely bound to satisfy fans of the category.
