You don't see a lot of horror movies from Thailand (or, at least, I don't) but the few ones that are easily available worldwide are certainly worth looking for. The recent horror flicks "The Pool" and "The Lake" are enjoyably eccentric and bloody creature features, and the relatively older "Nang Nak" (1999) is a film that I personally consider to be one of the most effectively frightening folklore tales ever made.
"The Screen at Kamchanod" is good as well. So good even that I'm surprised there never came a US-remake. The plot revolves around a doctor who's obsessed with a strange event that took place on 29th of January 1989, when a film was shown on a big cinema screen in the woods of Kamchanod. Although nobody - apart from the projectors - attended the screening, ghosts reportedly appeared in front of the screen and disappeared again when the film was finished. The doc wants to repeat the screening and hopefully summon the ghosts again, but for that he needs the original copy of the cursed film and the help of several reluctant relatives and colleagues.
The film relies on a solid (albeit far-fetched) premise, a handful of genuinely disturbing moments, and lots of flashy but nevertheless spooky imagery. Notably one passage is immensely powerful, and even reason enough to recommend the whole film, namely when the group recovers the original film roll and watches it in a ramshackle and abandoned theater. The atmosphere is already tense, but nearly becomes unbearable when creaky seats are starting to get occupied. The spirits have obviously arrived to enjoy a movie! After that, and in good old "The Ring" tradition, no one in the group will ever be the same again. All participants begin to suffer from seeing dead people and other strange visions that are often downright nightmarish!
The first sixty minutes are much more compelling than the last thirty, mainly because the pacing slows down severely, and the plot focus shifts from supernatural towards melodrama and relationship issues. Doctor Yuth is not exactly a nice fella, and his girlfriend Orn is deeply unhappy and dreams about running off with the delivery boy/junkie Roj. We get her. The climax is weak, I think, but - as said - the middle section is a must-see for fans of ghost horror.
