Horror moulded out of wax

THE THAI BELIEF that wax figures of oneself should never be made until after death is the subject of “Hong Hoon”, a horror thriller that hits cinemas next week.
Originally made as a radio drama and reworked for TV on three occasions, the story is now coming to the big screen for the first time courtesy of rookie director Kulp Kaljaruek.
The original story focuses on a father obsessed by mannequins made in the likeness of the living that take on lives of their own to help the family when an inheritance war breaks out. It’s one of the many scripts written by Somsuk Kaljaruek, wife of the late Kantana founder Pradit Kaljaruek and Kulp’s grandmother.
“The story is cool and a classic but my version is slightly different,” says the 28-year-old director, whose father Jaruek is the chairman of the Kantana Group.
In his version, Nop (Ananda Everingham) is investigating the death of his sister when he discovers that her case is far from rare and that the cause of death involved the wax figure produced in her likeness. He meets Ploy (Rattanarat Aurthaveekul), a woman who initially believes she lost her father in an accident but finds out that his death was also related to the wax figure he had made of himself. Nop and Ploy join forces to investigate and soon discover to their horror that they too have mannequins.
Unlike in Western culture, Thais believe that a wax figure made before their death otherwise it will bring them bad luck and even lead to their own demise. In the film, however, the mannequin symbolises the human quest for perfection.
“The mannequin might look perfect on the outside but it is hollow on the inside. For me the imperfection is the perfection: we have to accept what we are so that we can deal with the problems we have,” says the director, adding that his “Hong Hoon” is more thriller than horror story.
Kulp is one of the third generation of Kaljarueks to have opted out of the core family business of television and post production while staying in the general field of entertainment. His elder brother Piyarat works on TV media content while his cousin Nattaporn is a film producer.
A graduate in entertainment media from Mahidol University, he went on to study film production at the New York Film Academy. He says he decided against taking directing as his major because production offered a broader view of the filming process. “Anyway we are all familiar with directing as we all live in the house that’s constantly used as a TV drama location,” he laughs.
He learned the ropes of Kantana’s operations while at school but it wasn’t until his third year of college while working as a junior production assistant on the set of Japanese film “Sayonara Itsuka” under South Korean director John H Lee that he knew where his future lay.
“I had so much fun on the set that I knew at once what I wanted to do,” he says.
His inexperience, though, caused him problems on the “Hong Hoon” set from day one but despite challenges from the team, he ploughed ahead, working and fighting until he achieved what he wanted, even in the post-production process.
“Hong Hoon” marks the return of Kantana Motion Pictures after a four-year absence. Its last film, Niratisai Kaljaruek’s historical epic, “Khon Thai Ting Pandin” (“Edge of the Empire”) was released in 2010. Rather like its animation studios, there has been little continuity in Kantana Motion Pictures’ works, something that could change should the younger generation decide to take the helm.
Kulp remains non-committal, saying he’s satisfied with his work and doesn’t feel that Bt30 million was too big an investment in his first film.
“Success isn’t measured by box office earnings alone. My family will be pleased with the investment if for no other reason than it has helped me gain experience in just a few months whereas I would probably have had to study for 10 years to learn it all.”
Kulp will next working as the producer on another Kantana movie, which is expected to start shooting soon.
 STRANGE
HAPPENINGS
- “Hong Hoon” opens in cinemas next Thursday.
- For more details, check Facebook.com/KantanaMotionPictures.