User Reviews

Shutter starts with using the ghost appearance phenomena on photograph as the main theme, but as far as the movie goes, it reveals the plot regarding to long-lost love and bitter past life of the main character. i didn't expect too much from Shutter cause i thought it'd be another regular horror movie. (and it's from Thailand, which has produced some bad quality movie of this genre) At the end, i liked it. OK, it contains Asian-horror cliché, but the plot, the story and the puzzle are well-connected. not to mentioned the shocking sound effects and the superb conclusion. it's a big treat for Asian horror fans. very recommended (8/10)

In Bangkok, after celebrating a drinking party with his closest friends, the photographer Tun (Ananda Everingham) and his girlfriend Jane (Natthaweeranuch Thongmee) have a car accident on the road, with Jane hitting a girl. Tun does not allow her to help the girl and they ran away leaving the girl lying on the road. When Tun reveals his latest pictures, he finds some mysterious shadows, while the couple is systematically haunted by the ghost of the girl. Tun investigates and finds that the victim was his former shy and weird girlfriend Natre (Achita Sikamana), who studied with him in the college. Later Jane discloses deep and hidden secrets about the relationship of Natre, Tun and his friends.

"Shutter" is a creepy and a very, but really very scary horror movie. The story is very well developed, in an excellent pace, with a twist to an unexpected direction and with a great and consistent conclusion. The cinematography intensely explores the red and some black and white very well and the effects are simple but stunning. There is an interesting Message Board, where an IMDb User brilliantly asked: "What is your scariest moment?" It is amazing to read the number of different scenes selected by the users. My favorite scene is when Tun is in the black room revealing a photo, Jane arrives and the phone rings. These samples show that the film offers many frightening moments. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Espíritos, A Morte Está Ao Seu Lado" ("Spirit, Death is At Your Side")

I saw this movie in a theater in Bangkok. This is the seventh Thai movie I have ever seen, and by far the best of them all.

I heard a lot about the movie at the time and just had to check it out. I'm not going to spoil the story, although I must say that it is quite smart, with the exception of a few scenes. The ending is somewhat of a puzzle and the road to solving it was very enjoyable indeed. I think everyone who likes movies like "The Ring" and "Ju-on" should check this one out, actually, if you like horror movies that should be enough to check this one out.

I heard that it has a DVD-release and I encourage everyone who likes horror to check it out! I also must warn people. Before I saw it I heard a lot about how amazingly scary and horrifying it is. It wasn't the most scary thing I ever saw, i must say. But it's still a good movie.

My grade is 8 out of 10.

I'm not a horror film fan but I've watched quite a lot US horror films in the past few months and none of them was able to scare me like this one did. I thought I was not afraid of horror films anymore until I watched this one. I clearly was wrong because I jumped and screamed about a million times when whatching it and had to watch something funny before bed so I could stop thinking about those scary scenes. Kinda remind me of the Japanese version of The Grudge which still scares me even after 10+ years!! I just hope I will be able to forget about this movie in 2031.

First of all, if you're a horror fan, see it. You will enjoy this film. Period.

Know this - I've seen a billion horror flicks from all around the world... This one gave me the creeps. First 20-30 minutes you still have time to relax from scare to scare, but from then on it's just plain scary shiyet.

This movie gets you in the right atmosphere right from the start, and it has almost every type of scene a horror fan can ask for (You'll know what I mean when you see it). I don't really care much about originality, but the story is original and interesting. The best thing about it, though, is the girl who portrays the ghost. I don't know where they found this freaky girl, but she's PERFECT for this role, and by far the scariest character I've seen in Asian horror films.

I hope the 2 fellows who made this film, make another horror flick, because, although they're young, it's obvious they know what they're doing. NICE ONE.

You know you have a winner when Hollywood remakes your film with some WB starlets. Shutter will be coming out in March and, like the Japanese remakes will not likely be anywhere as good as the original.

This was great horror. The suspense is taut throughout and you don't see the ending coming. In fact, I thought it had ended twice before it actually ended.

You want creepy? Achita Sikamana in her first film is really creepy. Her character will give you chills and creep you out like you won't believe.

You want good acting? Ananda Everingham and Natthaweeranuch Thongmee certainly provide that.

This film ranks up there with Gin gwai and Ringu for superb horror/thriller entertainment.

This Asian horror film starts off with a young couple (Tun and Jane) driving back from a get-together late one night and hitting a girl that suddenly appears on the road. This may sound very cliché to seasoned horror fans, but what ensues in the film is anything but. Tun (Ananda Everingham) is a professional photographer. He starts noticing some strange flaws in his pictures. This is the beginning of the best ghost story I've ever seen, with truly amazing special effects (so good they make you feel that they're really happening and not just concocted for the movie), excellent acting, lavish production, a creative plot with some great surprises, and just enough blood to justify an R rating (oh, and. Ananda is not only a great actor; he's eye candy!)

If you're not put off by having to read subtitles, you'll absolutely love this movie. If you are, I recommend that you try to muddle through them because, believe me, it'll be worth your while.

A true gem and a DVD that I am proud to have in my horror collection. Perfection!

This is the original Thai version, not the US remake that I have heard is rubbish, as most remakes are. The Ring being the most notable example.

In an unprecedented first for OGR I did a few clicks research to find that the original Shutter was rated a paltry 40%, but the US remake was universally loathed with a 7% grade. Before this I hadn't seen either but as a rule of thumb where I have the chance I'll check the original first.

Now 40 minutes in I thought I was watching a remake anyway, that of an amalgamation of The Ring and The Grudge. There were repeated occasions where the scares seemed directly ripped from either of those pretty good flicks, and even the ghost (when in ghost-mode) looked exactly like the pale chick from Ju-on (The Grudge). Even though Shutter partially redeems itself in the last 15 minutes I was a little disappointed by these scenes that blurred the line between homage and copying.

The first scene is pointless, unless you are a fan of what appears to be bad acting by a guy with a Thai Jerry Lewis voice (it's hard to pick bad acting when you don't understand the language). However on the way home from the drinking session the central couple Jane and Tun are sorta chatting in the car when a girl appears out of nowhere on the road and is promptly bowled over. After realising what has happened and making sure they are both OK Tun urges Jane to drive off without checking on the victim, and as she is in a state of panic she agrees.

In the ensuing days Jane starts regretting her indecisiveness, and the next 20 minutes are straight Ring-lite. It turns out that Tun is a photographer and after completing a job he finds all of his exposures are blurry and in one particular shot it appears there is a "mystery" guest. The Ghost appears at various spots, each time with a personal "BOO" soundtrack jolt and many times with the old misdirection trick of the guy looking one way, then turning back to be face-to-face with their would be assailant.

A better title at this point in the film would have been "Ghost Camera", lousy title but reflective of what had transpired to that point. Upon visiting a tabloid magazine it turns out that the best way to get a true, tamper proof picture using a polaroid camera is the go, as it only shows what it sees.

Then things gradually take a turn for the better, Jerry Lewis shows at Tun's pad pleading for the "photos" before abruptly disappearing. Then Tun discovers that Jerry and the other two faceless amigos from the opening scene in the movie have all topped themselves, Tun understandably gets even more concerned, and Jane says she'll stand by him. Cut to a baffling scene in the public loos, only a 2 minute scene but worthwhile nonetheless, as without spoilers it is pretty funny.

Even though the first hour and a bit should owe royalties to The Grudge and The Ring, the movie is redeemed and worth watching for the last 15 minutes alone. There are a couple of scenes that provide real chills and the payoff is actually cool and original.

Turns out that the ghost has a name, as many movie ghosts do - Natre. Can't say much more about the plot without giving things away so I'll wind up with a few questions that this movie raises:

• Why haven't Thai car manufacturers gotten better worldwide recognition? In one scene Tun is driving at 120 km/h and is able to veer off the road and stop before leaving the bitumen, that's 120 km/h to 0 km/h within the width of two lanes!

• If you own your own darkroom in your house why would you get your holiday happy snaps developed at the local photo shop.

• If you have anything that you would rather no-one else saw, why would you leave it lying around the house?

Final Rating - 7 / 10. Pretty sure it isn't worth a 7 overall, but a good ending will help you ignore many of the faults and flaws in the first hour.

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I saw this movie for the first time 2 weeks ago at the Bangkok International Film Fest and it is amazing!! Not only is it scary as hell ( I've never screamed so much in a movie before and I'm an avid horror movie fan), it has a wonderful and original plot line. Throughout the entire movie, i thought i was going to have a heart attack i was so scared. I give a lot of credit to the 2 young directors of this movie. They are only in their early 20's and concocted a unique and entertaining film. Yesterday I just bought it on DVD and I cannot wait to watch it with my friends at home; they'll love it! This is a definite must see for all horror/thriller fans!

It's no big news that the horror industry has been in decline for the last 10 or so years. Western horror movies have all been dry-ed up and Hollywood is desperately remaking any Asian horror that has a 5 plus rating on IMDb. Because there people are still making good horror and of course Hollywood has to cash in on that. One such movie that will probably be remade in the next two years is "Shutter". Coming straight from Thailand this is not just good, it's fantastic, probably the most terrifying ride I had since I saw "In The Mouth Of Madness" a few years back. Grabs you by the hand from the first minute and never let's go until the end. The way horror is supposed to be.

"Shutter" follows a pretty standard formula in terms of plot. A photographer is haunted by the ghost of a woman and as the story unfolds we understand the reason why. Not the most original work, but it's solid in terms of writing and dialogue. The final conclusion is a very ironic yet satisfying experience, in touch with the atmosphere and tension build up to this point. Characters are likable enough so it get's very nerve-wrecking when they find themselves in danger. In fact it's safe to say that the entire movie is nerve-wrecking, psychologically painful and outright scary. This is all done with no small thanks to directors Pisanthanakun and Wongpoom through great camera-work, intimidating make-up effects and careful use of digital effects to enhance the horror elements. It is this careful balance that makes "Shutter" brilliant, it didn't allow itself to be dominated by CGI instead it used a combination of classic horror effects with modern computer generated ones. The atmosphere created is so wonderfully scary and that is no small feat to accomplish considering what is spewed from the U.S. these. Stuff like "Hostel" or "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (remake) that just pour down gore and think it creates horror. It does not, "Shutter" shows that you must have a certain amount of skill, understanding of the human psyche, what makes us tick, what makes us afraid and then exploit that. Bombarding us with only gore won't do the trick. Hopefully someone will learn that lesson once and for all. Another aspect that is worth noting is the score, once again brilliant stuff composed with a low key piano piece that greatly boosts the atmosphere.

Somewhere out there in Hollywood the cash-filled minds of screenwriters are "preparing" "Shutter" for remaking . They will try to make it "better" by casting some A-list overrated pop-idol celebrity. They will dumb it down to a PG-13 rating so that kids would go and see it. They will butcher the story entirely and in the end it will be turned into a shallow, tasteless film devoid of any sort of merit. Hopefully through that remake somewhere, someone will be able to discover the true "Shutter" a horror movie made with more love and devotion than all of those remakes combined.

"Shutter" is Asian cinema as you would expect it. There's a ghost in it. One with long black hair and a white face. One that comes crawling out of watery vessels and pops up in your bed or on your windshield. A ghost that wants vengeance for something that has been done to her. Have you heard that before? I know I have.

Still "Shutter" is one of the more successful Asian horror movies. The reason for that is its fast pacing. This movie just isn't as slow as so many other Asian flicks are. There are still some annoying plot holes and the whole story isn't earthshattering, either. Most of the scares are cheap and obvious, but it's still an entertaining little ghost movie with a great score.

Once you've seen a few Asian horror films you begin to notice patterns emerging, most galling is that often the main horror element is a placid-looking girl in a white dress with long straight black hair, who lost her life in some unjust way but has come back to haunt either randoms or somehow-related peoples.

The Ring, The Grudge, Tale of Two Sisters, a few more I've now forgotten about, and add Shutter to this list too.

I was still happy to go with it if the pic was well-made, with some good scares and uneasy moments, but to be honest the scares are very standard predictable jump fare: increase in tense music -> protagonist looking uneasy -> loud bang accompanying a brief flash of zombiefied Asian girl (in a white dress).

The narrative jumps about quite randomly in ways that only make sense at the end of the film, and it's the end which saves this from being a poor experience. It's not quite on the high-end dread level as the climax of an otherwise quite dull Ringu (6/10) but it's spooky enough to be satisfying. On the other hand the ending reveal also made me chuckle a little, so not exactly scary.

The two main female actors are also very average, with the male character being an utterly pathetic figure: it's not quite clear how he was written, but I just wanted to punch him in the face.

Generally there's nothing memorable on offer here, tho' there could've been: the idea of polaroids showing us apparitions is a potentially fantastic concept, covered effectively by the Fatal Frame (Project Zero) series of games on the Playstation 2 console, which was very likely the source of inspiration for Shutter (tho' the game I believe used Camera Obscura). Speaking of Fatal Frame, a film was made last year, but seems very obscure:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3684484/

Back to Shutter: to be fair there is one nice scene which stands out: the photo-flip series showing the apparition moving towards something. Again it could've been so much more: if you've seen Paranormal Activity 4 and always thought they didn't maximise the potential of those X-Box Kinect lighting scenes, then you'll be thinking similar here.

Regarding the language: as ever, you should watch a film with its original audio as long as subs are available. The beginning is almost impossible to keep up with the quick-fire banter, but shortly afterwards it's fine. Thai sometimes has Korean-ish inflections, but mostly reminds you (if you, like me, have never heard Thai before) of Vietnamese.

Worth a watch if you're addicted to typical Asian horror and are interested in how Thailand does it.

Not worth your time if you're a horror fan looking for unique scares or original story.

This is a movie that borrows from recent Asian horror movies (Ringu for example) and ends in relative predictability. I mean, there is a spirit there, what can it possibly do? Haunt haunt haunt! The start of the movie doesn't have any significance, since all the events thereafter have no connection to the initial accident. Or maybe I didn't get it.

The atmosphere is OK, the language sounds to me as a cross between duck and cat, which maybe chips from the horror feeling, or maybe because there weren't many deaths and scary haunt scenes, I didn't quite get in the mood for this movie. I am all alone in the house, It's 3AM in the morning, pitch black, dead silence, and I am not scared after seeing this movie. Or maybe it's because I have seen so many movies these past few days and my standards are polluted. Funny thing, I recognized a girl in the movie. How bad can it get? I start knowing Thai actors.

Anyway, if you are in the mood for an Asian horror flick, go to this one, although to me it felt like a cross between The Ring and Scream.

Shutter is a new horror film from Thailand, in the tradition of recent Asian horror films like Ringu and The Eye, and it scared the bejeevery-jeezes out of me! The directors are called Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom (it rhymes!) and this is their first feature, and looking at the movie, it's hard to believe so. It looks very professional and slick, and it excels in every aspect: from shot design to sound use to pacing. The atmosphere is bowl-clenchingly tight, the tension is almost never relieved, and the movie contains quite a lot of scares; they come in all shapes and sizes in this one, folks. This film has its share of boo moments, slow build-ups, genuine horror, and psychological scares following some very creepy and disturbing revelations. I won't spoil anything, but if you like horror do yourself a favor and watch it. I give this gem a 10 on my horrormeter. And I think I'll leave the light on tonight.

Shutter reminded me very much of Leslie Cheung's last movie, Inner Senses without the happy ending.

Shutter was more jump scares then anything else while retaining the emotion evocative of The Eye.

The directing was really good, and I liked how they incorporated the most well known spirit photos into the storyline to help build the plot.

The scares were very cliché, pulling motifs from all over the Asian horror genre, from The Ring, The Eye, Inner Senses, and Ju-On, this movie is meant to make you jump, and it does.

A lesson that you cannot run from the past, you must embrace it and make amends where we have wronged or hurt those whose trust we have betrayed.

The plot is complete, which is a rare thing in horror movies. It creates substantial tension, backs off beautifully, then when you think it's over it takes you deeper.

"Sometimes spirits long for their loved ones." This movie may be about longing, but it is also about absolution, loss and regret.

"Shutter" begins when Thun,a young photographer and his girlfriend Jane accidentally run down a young woman on their drive home.They decide to leave the dead victim and drive away.Later Thun discovers something strange when he finds a mysterious shadow that appears on his photo.He thinks that's just a bad picture,but then he realizes that there is something much more sinister behind the shadow-both Tun and Jane are plagued with extremely unsettling dreams.Unable to cope,they start investigating the phenomenon of ghost/spirit photography,which leads to a discovery about Tun's past,and a possible clue to the identity of their ghostly nemesis."Shutter" was a horror hit in Thailand and it's easy to notice why.It certainly offers some truly eerie moments and it has its share of 'boo' scares too.The final image will make you scream.The acting is surprisingly good and the film is fascinating to watch.9 out of 10.Give it a look.

This film has... maybe 3 jump scares in it? This means loud music and scary image. However, there are multiple times in which the score is absent or very minimal and there is creepy imagery being put to use. I also had callbacks to other horror films including insidious and other late 2000s films which felt inspired by this movie. Cool to see the potential inspiration for other horror films you grew up with.

This is a solid 7. The way some of the actors (primarily his girlfriend) talked which took me out of the film. This is a cultural thing that I tried to get over while watching it but kept finding myself being sucked out of the film when she talked.

Pretty dumb and a bit ignorant but it is what it is. There is one scene of the film (driving late at night midway through) which felt dated. This is due to the editing and also the sub par acting.

No other complaints, I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I am glad I stuck through with it even though the way the actress talked turned me off of the film.

Solid 7 out of 10 - I recommend watching this film at least once.

Not that i've seen every Asian horror movie out there of course. i've seen most of the biggies though - ring, ring 2, ju-on, dark water, cure, plus some others i can't remember the names of, and this is up there with the best.

Style-wise its not very original and borrows heavily from the Ring in its presentation, but whats wrong with that? Especially when its done as well as this. It's also scarier than the ring in terms of jump-out- of-the-seat moments, though it doesn't have any scenes quite on a par with the ring's freaky crawl out the telly scene, but then that's probably the best horror scene ever so I can forgive it for that! As well as the scares you've got good acting, good well structured plot and a really great ending - I didn't see it coming at all.

In conclusion, if you liked the ring you will love this. 9/10

While unsettling and certainly not lacking both effective and creative scares, Shutter struggles to maintain its impact. Every eerie scene starts off promisingly but generally falters due to cheesy editing that softens the scares. However, it's a solid ghost story with multiple clever twists to satisfy viewers.

Being a fan of Asian films, I must purchase up to ten films a week. The majority are foreign. I don't want to go into too much detail about the film, but say that this film is buy far one the best horror films I have seen. And I have seen a lot.....and it is Thai! The Ring has paved the way for films like this. there is no doubt in that, but unlike the Ring, and Dark Water, the etc, this film is consistent. It's pace is fantastic.You never get bored, and the scares themselves, while maybe not as disturbing as something like A Tale Of Two sisters, they literally make you jump out of your seat. It's only "fault" (if you want to call it that) is that the score gives you a clue something is coming, but I personally thought they had done excellent job which overall adds to the aura of the film.

great stuff!

This film essentially begins with several young adults having some drinks together at a bar somewhere in Thailand. Once the party is over, and realizing that he is quite inebriated, one of the men named "Tun" (Ananda Everingham) allows his girlfriend "Jane" (Natthaweeranuch Thongmee) to drive him back home. Unfortunately, while she is driving, a woman steps right out in front of the car and is presumably killed immediately upon impact. I use the word presumably because, being quite horrified at what has just happened, Tun convinces Jane to drive away from the scene of the accident without bothering to find out one way or the other. The scene then shifts to a couple of days later with Tun taking pictures at a graduation ceremony and then having them developed at a local photo shop nearby. However, when he goes to pick them up, he notices that there are white streaks on some of them and begins to wonder if his camera might be defective. But it's only after the two of them begin experiencing nightmares and hallucinations that they realize that something very sinister has been unleashed upon them. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was a pretty good horror movie which utilized shock and surprise to great effect. I should also point out that a new variable was introduced at around the halfway mark which changed the general plot to a certain degree but somehow didn't affect the overall horror that much, one way or the other. At least, I didn't think so. Be that as it may, I enjoyed this film and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

This Thai film takes a page out of Japan's horror book and makes the movie with an expert level of suspense and level-headed control rather than America's jumpy but lackluster version of horror. I was so tense and wound up through the whole film that the credits were a welcome relief. Horror fans should definitely check this one out.

This is possibly the most matter-of-fact horror film I've ever seen. It presents the events in a straightforward manner, not bothering with any extraneous information, in a way that almost makes it feel like a documentary. The result is a horror movie so logical that the ending is perfectly logical and oddly satisfying. However, the perfect explanation also felt like a magician revealing his trick, where the mystery was stripped away by reality. As a result, it was still great horror while I watched, but it didn't leave any lasting scares.