A fine romance with a horrific twist

For movie buffs from the1980s, the title of upcoming film “Siam Square” no doubt conjures up visions of innocent romance and pop songs.
    But while the new film is still centred on teenagers, romance quickly turns to horror in the most crowded area of Bangkok – Siam Square.
    Produced by Sahamongkol Films, the studio that made the original film, the horror flick is being directed by Pirach Khumwan, a cameraman on the indie hit “Mary is Happy Mary is Happy” by Nawapol Thamrongratanarit.
    The film centres on 10 students who meet in Siam Square to attend the area’s numerous cram schools. They hear tales about the area’s haunted past and before long they too are being haunted by ghosts of dead students
    The original movie, which was released in 1984, focused on the romance between a cute girl, played by rookie actress Anusara Chantarangsri, and the singer-actor Wongsakorn Rasmidathe.
    It followed on the heels on a succession of popular teen romances including “Wan Waan Yang Waan You” with Oraphan Phanthong and Wongsakorn, drummer and singer with the popular McIntosh band.
    Both “Wan Waan” and “Siam Square” were directed by the king of teenage romance at that time, Supalerk Jongsiri aka Supaksorn, founder of teenage magazine “Bongkoch” and author of several pocket book short stories about love stories in college.