Movie review: Coming Soon (2008)
!!! Caution: May contain spoilers !!!
Plot: 6.5/10
Cinematography: 7/10
Entertainment value: 6.5/10
Movie to wait for DVD: Yeah, unless you’d want to wait for hollywood’s remake…
Rewatchability: For the scares other than that nope.
Movie to purchase: Nah~
Well it’s been awhile since I have written anything on here because I haven’t been able to find a film that has caught my attention until this one. Yes, that’s the name of the movie. I think it’s a pretty creative title, nothing flashy and straight to the point of what the film is about. The fact about this film that most of the articles I’ve seen written about this film is that this is not by same director as Shutter. No, not the horrible remake that still makes me wonder why do I still even bother going to watch Asian remakes horror films. Anyways, what actually caught my attention to see this film is actually, this is the directorial debut for the writer, Sopon Sukdapisit, who wrote both Shutter and Alone. Now to this date and being a horror movie fan, I thought that the approach of a horror or should I say supernatural story in this case, should head back to it’s roots. And I would have to say Shutter really traces itself back to those Brothers Grimms way of telling a good ghost story. Going on a path of explaining why the apparition started doing what they do in the film and giving the audience a sense of mind of the lesson learned from after watching this film. This is different, unlike the stuff like a possessed child or a haunted property that nobody knows how it happened and why. Getting back on track to this film, I was anticipating on watching it not only because of the trailer but also I enjoyed how the other two films were written. Great story and great scares, but with Coming Soon why didn’t it reach the attention it was and I am sure they wanted to that matches up to Shutter. My personal opinion, I think it’s because it’s his first time behind the lens. So I will still not let this film bother me with the lost of hope to see what he’ll do in the future.
The story revolves around a couple of theatre workers that’s not only having some relationship issues, but the ex-husband is a gambling addict. It starts off with people going missing after watching this horror movie that is based on a true story called Evil Spirit, later to be found dead on screen in the movie. The husband is lined up with debt owed to a couple of loan sharks, so he decides to sell bootlegs of movies that has yet been released by recording it. On the other hand trying to salvage his relationship with his ex-wife. One day, after trying to record this film, Evil Spirit, he begins to see the horrors and visions of the ghost in the film, who’s a odd looking old lady that walks with a limp and lost most of her hair. So they both decided to find out what happened with that old lady the film is based on.
Like I’ve said before it’s got some great feaky moment with how the film was made to be, but I have to say that the story ends up to be the weakest link on driving this film. I think there could have been more work done on the writing end but the cinematography really pushes this film in motion. So when watching this film, comparing it with Shutter, the scares are all there but the story just doesn’t live up with it’s successor. It does have the potential for a glimps if you are looking for that scare if the story really is the main concern on your mind.
