Thai filmmaker Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke upends pre-existing genres with a fantastical story about a ghost that inhabits a vacuum cleaner to become useful. This humorous and visually striking debut feature was the Grand Prix winner of Cannes Critics’ Week.
Coming from a country with a track record of strong horror films, A Useful Ghost might sound like just another entertaining Thai chiller. But the goosebumps delivered won’t be from scares. From ambitious and creative newcomer Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke comes a genre-smashing amalgamation of fantasy, horror, romance, comedy, art house and everything in between. It smartly plays with tones and social comments while revisiting classism and oppression throughout Thailand's history.
After the death of an employee at a family-run appliance factory, a strange phenomenon occurs. Spirits are possessing their products. A forced closure by the authorities is imminent, but the coming of the ghosts ironically turns out to be good news for March (Wisarut Himmarat), the son of the factory owner, who is deep in mourning following the dust-poisoning death of his pregnant wife Nat (Davika Hoorne).
March is reunited with his beloved, who is now in the form of a vacuum cleaner. Changing the social conception of ghosts, Nat’s love makes her decide to be of service by getting rid of the useless ghosts. Alongside the tale of the couple is the story of a repair guy (Wanlop Rungkumjud) who shows up at the door of a self-declared “Academic Ladyboy” (Wisarut Homhuan) to fix another possessed vacuum. The intertwining stories and unimaginable turn of events reveal complex layers and deeper context beneath the setting dust. Don’t let the breathtaking images fool you. There is more than what meets the eye.
JUNE KIM
Screenings
Scotiabank 4
Scotiabank 3
Scotiabank 11
Scotiabank 6