• There are many themes and motifs that can be found
within Asian horror films. This presentation will focus on
perhaps the most predominant feature of Asian Horror
films- spirits and ghosts.
• Within many Asian cultures there is a rich background of
folklore, oral tales and religious literature about spirits
and ghosts. Whilst these do not have to be understood in
order to enjoy the horror films they do provide an
interesting background to the plots.
• The cultural motifs found within such horror films often
include, to some extent, Buddhist outlooks and
teachings.
• Rebirth can take a number of different forms. In Buddhist
thought there are 5 or 6 rebirth destinations (gatis). These are
as a god (deva), demi-god (or asura which do not feature in all
lists), human, animal, ghost and hell being.
• Rebirth as a ghost is not desirable and is the result of bad
karma.
• In some Buddhist cultures it is understood that one can
become a ghost if they have a bad death. That is, if one dies in
a violent or untimely manner.
• These ghosts are often seen as dangerous and there are
rituals and festivals in which the living can placate ghosts by
feeding and clothing them.
• Spirits are found within the Buddhist cosmological
system. This can be in the form of asuras and hungry
ghosts (peta).
• Buddhist ideas about spirits can differ form culture to
culture. This is because many ideas about the nature of
spirits are assimilated into Buddhist thought and practice
from pre-existing notions found within specific cultures.
• An example of this is the ancestor worship that can be
found in Laos and Chinese forms of Buddhism.
Offerings have been
made to the
deceased in the
Boun Khau Salak
festival in Laos
(2007). The ritual is
performed by
Buddhists in order to
provide for ancestors
and ghosts.
• Chihiro and her family are on their way to their new house in
the suburbs when her father decides to take a shortcut along a
lonely-looking dirt road. After getting out of the car and walking
along a path for a while, they discover an open-air restaurant
filled with food but with no workers or customers present. Mom
and Dad don't hesitate to sit down and dig in, but Chihiro
senses danger and refuses. As night falls, she is terrified to
see the area fill with faceless spirits, but when she runs to find
her parents, she discovers that they have been turned into
pigs. She is found by a mysterious boy named Haku, who
promises to help her. He gets her a job working in a nearby
building, which turns out to be a bathhouse for the thousands
of Japan's gods and spirits. Though the work is hard and the
people strange, she does as well as she can. Her parents,
however, are still waiting in the hotel's stockyard...
• Trailer for Spirited Away
• Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
• The film touches on Buddhist themes such as feeding
ghosts, attachment and greed.
Belief in ghosts and
spirits is not exclusive
to Japanese
Buddhism. This image
is of food that has
been left for ghosts in
Chengtian monastery
in China as part of the
ghost month ritual that
took place in 2008.
• Inspired by a true Thai ritual of lying in coffins to get rid of bad
luck and prolong life, The Coffin is a supernatural thriller about
a young man and a young woman who decide to go through
the ritual in Thailand. Chris, a claustrophobic architect does it
in the hope of saving his fiancée who's dying of terminal
cancer. Sue, a nutritionist visiting Thailand from Hong Kong
does it to save her own life after being diagnosed with a lethal
brain tumor - one week before her wedding. After the ritual,
Chris and Sue experience what appear to be miracles in their
respective lives. But soon, they find themselves confronted by
a series of bizarre and terrifying incidents. With the help of a
professor specializing in paranormal cases associated with the
ritual, they set out to exorcise the ghosts that haunt them, and
attempt to reverse the wheel of karma.
• Trailer for The Coffin
• Directed by Ekachai Uekrongtham
• Performing short versions of death rituals for the living is an old
practice in Thailand which has recently seen a revival. People
believe that participating in these rituals will allow them to shed bad
luck (khro) or to trick spirits that may have invaded their bodies.
Going through the rituals that Buddhist monks conduct during funeral
ceremonies is believed to offer a new start in life, a rebirth while still
alive.
• During these rituals people lay down, either on the floor or in a real
coffin, and hold a bunch of flowers. They are then covered with a
white or red cloth and the monks chant a short text usually recited
during funerals and bone collections. Some temples offer this service
on a rather commercial basis and hundreds of people queue to be
‘cleansed’ in this way for a small fee.
• A short clip of the ritual can be found here
• A gallery of pictures and a detailed account of the ritual can be found
here
A mass coffin
ritual taking
place in Wat
Phammanee
in Thailand
2008.
• Based on an Thai legend the film follows the fate of a
young family. In rural Thailand Mek leaves his pregnant
wife Nak at home whilst he goes to fight in the SiemeseVietnamese War. He returns home to his wife and child.
Things however are not as they seem. Mek’s neighbours
are uneasy and try to warn him that something is wrong.
Those who attempt to warn Mek are killed. Mek must
uncover the truth about what happened to his wife and
child whilst he was at war.
•
•
•
•
Trailer for Nang Nak
Full film
Directed by Nonzee Nimibutr
In many Asian cultures the most dangerous type of ghost
is that of a pregnant woman/ woman who died in
childbirth.
• The film looks at the relationship between Buddhism and
ghosts. The Buddhist monk is the only person who can
control Nak’s ghost and stop her from tormenting and
killing the locals.
• At the end of the film Mak becomes a Buddhist monk
himself.