DVD Review: P
P (2005)
Studio: Tartan Asia Extreme
Release Date: October 20, 2009
Directed By: Paul Spurrier
Cast: Suangporn Jaturaphut, Opal, Pisamai Pakdeevijit, Manthana Wannarod & Narisara Sairatanee.
Review By: Annie Riordan
Growing up in the rural jungles of Thailand, young Aaw is branded a freak and an outcast by her schoolmates and their parents alike. Aaw’s grandmother is the village witch, and Aaw is suspected of having inherited her powers. In truth, she has and is proving to be even more powerful than her grandmother. But not even magic can stave off illness, and with her grandmother critically ill and in need of proper medicine, Aaw reluctantly agrees to go to work in Bangkok. She has no idea what she’ll have to do, and is horrified to find herself forced into prostitution at a slummy go-go bar.
Stripped of her pigtails, her innocence and even her name, the newly christened Dau is forced to grow up literally overnight. The only bright spot in her new life is her new friend and roommate Pookie, a cynical lesbian who nevertheless grows to love the sweet Dau. But cruel customers and catty coworkers inspire the increasingly embittered Dau to use the ancient magic taught to her by her grandmother for revenge. The callous man who forcibly deflowered Dau finds himself castrated by a snake, and a rival dancer has her face disfigured by an errant blade. Dau never intended to hurt anyone, but as her tacky tinsel star rises ever higher in the seedy den where she works, she becomes reckless and forgets to abide by the rules that her grandmother warned her about: never pass beneath a clothesline, never accept payment for sharing her wisdom and never, ever eat raw meat. To break these three cardinal rules is to become a vessel for flesh hungry demons, which is exactly what happens to the forgetful Dau.
As customers and coworkers alike begin to die gruesome deaths whilst in Dau’s company, Pookie attempts to save her, while others plot her demise. But are they both too late?
I’ve become used to – nay, even jaded by – the continuous export of Asian ghost movies over the past decade. Most of them are confusing, a few of them are amazing, and almost all of them end up being remade by American hands and blond starlets (i.e. Shutter, The Ring, The Grudge, etc.) P starts out much the same; ghosts, curses, yadda yadda yadda. So color me surprised when, about halfway through its sad, excruciating tale of human trafficking and sex slavery, P goes and turns into a vampire movie! I sure as hell hadn’t been expecting that.
Once P decides to bare its teeth (pun definitely intended), it becomes a balls out gore flick, throwing as much blood and guts at the camera as it can in its final 40 minutes. That’s not to say that nothing happens in the first sixty. There’s plenty of flesh on display to gawk at before the shit hits the fan. Lesbian gropings, staged schoolgirl whippings, lots and lots of shimmying, lolling, and pole dancing as an endless supply of young taut Thai girls prance across the stage in search of customers. Thankfully, they’re all obviously healthy 20-something actresses, so you don’t have to feel too dirty about ogling them. The dramatization of their predicaments is indeed a sad reality, but this is a vampire movie: you can look at the girls, it’s okay.
At its worst, P is occasionally melodramatic and cheesy, but overall it’s great fun, with plenty o’ gore, fully fleshed out characters (pun sort of intended), and a refreshingly original story. And girls. Lots of girls. Did I mention the girls?
Brutal As Hell Rating: 3 out of 5
