DORM

DORM

A ghost movie devoted to chills and serious drama, DORM merges sensational incidents with intelligent themes in a seamless tapestry of dread. The story itself deals maturely with character, with solid performances and moody atmosphere giving a palpable sense of dread to the unnerving proceedings. The coming-of-age themes are explored with sensitivity without pandering to sentimentality, and both the direction and narrative structure place the movie in an aesthetic borderland between psychological realism and the fantastic. Released by the Tartan Asian Extreme label, this picture revitalizes the traditional Asian ghost story formula with unique sensitivity and a story that manages to surmount its cliché premise.

DORM focuses as much on the feelings of its characters as it does on the sinister events that will please thrill seekers. The plot, while anchored in traditional dictates of the ghost story tradition, is original enough in its conception and sequential unravelling to draw its fans. While the story will undoubtedly be grouped together with all the other Asian Ghost stories so very popular (many suffering loss of originality and redundant set-pieces), the narrative and characters here are fresh and sympathetic, engaging our interest as much by the terrors left unsaid -- suggested -- as by the unusually believable depths of character portrayed. Merging the adolescent angst of schoolchildren with the supernatural, Dorm combines the sentiment of a coming-of-age drama with the nightmarish surrealism of a distinctively modern gothic. Chatree (Chalee Trairat), a seventh grader, is sent to boarding school by a father who cares more about discipline that childhood. Already an outsider, unable to communicate with his father, and awkward at making friends, his loneliness worsens when he becomes the 'new kid' at school. This situation is worsened by the psychological abuse of Ms. Pranee (Chintara Sukapatana), the horrible school matron. With all boys sharing sleeping quarters, Chatree spends his first evening being told ghost stories, revealing the dark histories behind the school, dorm, and Ms. Pranee. Hell, even his bed has bad ju-ju. There is the school worker who committed suicide, the ghostly swimming pool, and a spectral caretaker -- each of which are featured in flashbacks. Later that night, Chartree has to use the toilet but wets himself instead, afraid to move around. As life worsens, he meets a friend in Vichien (Sirachat Jiantaworn), who serves as a mentor. Soon they discover that some of the ghost stories had more than just a small element of truth to them, leading to a cataclysmic nightmare . . .

Atmosphere is a major emphasis of DORM, responsible for its success as both straight drama and chiller. Neither one or the other, the film adapts the best characteristics of both, making the supernatural a reflection of very real, very painful elements of childhood and growth. The psychological pains of alienation, fitting in, and peer pressure are explored with as much vigor as the occult elements, each balancing the other so as to avoid a sense of artificiality. The atmosphere and darkly drabbed settings -- the later of which lend so much passion and energy to this humanistic terror tale -- mirror the evolution/changes of the human characters. As the crises gets darker, so do the scenes, the carefully applied lighting opening up suggestive vistas of darkness and shadow, until, finally, physical revelation accompanies character revelation. As Chatree discovers more about the haunted history of the school, his fear diminishes, finding further expression in the structure of the film as the focus switches from horrific events to Chartee's conflict. In fact, many of the best scares in this film pack a wallop due to their subtlety, with creeping camera movements, angles, and compositions doing their part to inspire dread.

Tartan gives DORM a respectable transfer in 1.66:1 widescreen. Colors are vivid and moody, and shadows sport a sharp depth that adds to the unease. Audio is presented in Thai with optional English subs, and is crisp without background distortion. Extras are generous if somewhat repetitive, but too much is better than not enough.

Review by William Simmons


 
Released by Tartan Asia Extreme (USA)
Region 1 - NTSC
Not Rated
Extras :
see main review
Back