Set in the early 2000s, Panu Aree and Kong Rithdee's “The Cursed Land” distills Thailand's political and ethnic tensions into a thrilling, time-hopping horror film. In locating their film within the vernacular beliefs of a Muslim community, the two directors expand the horizons of Thai horror cinema, traditionally rooted in Buddhist cosmology to instead capture Thailand's historical specters up in a bottle while also indulging in all the conventional pleasures and horrors of the haunted house genre effort which is now screening at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
The Cursed Land Screened at International Film Festival Rotterdam
After the death of his wife, plant worker Mit (Ananda Everingham) moves with his teenage daughter May (Jennis Oprasert) to a derelict mansion in a Muslim-majority suburb of Bangkok. A thorough skeptic, Mit gets rid of the talismans in the house, defying the warnings of locals Heem (Bront Palarae) and Zainab (Seeda Puapimol), and in the process unleashes a furious djinn and its 200-year-old curse. As Mit sinks into delirium and self-harm, May must undertake a journey to the south to seek help. When it becomes evident the history of the land and a generation of curses have been disturbed by their presence at the house, they try to make it right as best they can and stop the incidents from continuing.
Overall, “The Cursed Land” has quite a lot going for it. Among the main likable features here is Aree and Rithdee's strong storyline that lets the film work in localized folklore and traditions as a building block into more straightforward supernatural antics. Operating within the confines of the country's own history by exploring Thailand's uneasy cultural and social relationship with Malaysian citizens, with the Muslim community conflicting mightily with the more traditional Buddhist methodology in place throughout the country is a wonderous way to work with here. Rather than just simply coming upon a series of ghosts or hallucinations and thinking it's all just inside his own head, Mit's downward spiral is instead given a historical context that easily explains everything happening to him and his relationship with those around him. When those aspects are brought up as a possible means for the nature of what's going on around Mit, this setup becomes more believable which helps to bring together the confines of the final half where it all makes sense.
Check the interview with the director
In addition, “Cursed Land” gets a lot right with its series of impressive and somewhat chilling hauntings. With the opening setup featuring a small hint of the resulting curse that affects others coming shortly, the gradual build-up of events once the action shifts to the present day is quite intriguing. Featuring the traditional series of setups including hallucinations of people or things that aren't there, shadows coming to life behind their knowledge, or whispers of demonic influence taking hold, these aspects are a major part of the middle segments here as the haunted house-style structure is in place. These lead up to the strong finale where the spectacle is ratcheted up a notch involving the influence of spectral beings, banishment rituals, a supernatural combat session, and a more focused energy that allows for a lot of action to take place at a time when it's warranted and necessary. This section also brings about the big importance of utilizing the Muslim culture for how the demonic beings interact and how the spiritual battles take place which adds a different flavor to these scenes.
There are some issues in “Cursed Land”. One of the main detriments is a challenging and somewhat unnecessary running time that goes on way longer than it should. While we get plenty of build-up surrounding Mit and May's strained relationship and the need to rebuild it as well as the inner workings of them being in the community, some of this goes on way too long. As a result, this causes the pacing to drag and stutter to a halt. Quite a bit of the repetitive nature of the neighbors' trying to instill their beliefs upon the two or welcome them into the community at work is capable of being trimmed, much like the flashback explaining the origins of the cursed property that plays out in a reenactment rather than just being served as a story told explaining what happened.
Seeing the past featured as it does with the various figures responsible for cursing and counter-cursing the location is just exhaustive and draining when just a simple story about it would've made the film go by a little easier. As well, the need for including the secondary backstory involving Mit's depression over his dead wife and the grief associated with that as the reasoning for his easy possession doesn't need to be there. The religious history of the house and surrounding areas was already enough to explain what was going on. Tacking this on feels like overkill at a time when it doesn't need anything extra added.
Featuring plenty to enjoy and only a few small issues, “The Cursed Land” comes off incredibly well as a strong genre feature that uses its intriguing concept and enjoyable set pieces to overcome a few minor setbacks present. Those with an affinity for this type of Asian Horror feature or are general fans of this particular style of supernatural-laced fare will enjoy this one.
