Based on the belief that 3am is the time when the worlds of the dead and the living collide, this ghost flick sequel by Five Star production gathers three horror shorts by three different directors and boasts star power in the form of Sinjai “Nok” Plengpanich, Ray McDonald and Jirawat “War” Vachirasarunpatra. There’s been one directorial change from the first installment, as Puttipong Saisrikaew replaces Patchanon Thammajira to join Keerati Nakinthanont and Isara Nadee in the hot seats. However, just like the original, instead of getting three times your money’s worth, you’re presented with something utterly unrewarding, like 3-in-1 coffee.
It starts with Keun Sam by Puttipong. Young man Tar, who works at a funeral parlor, tells the tale of his bike gang leader Rang (Ray McDonald), who dies in a motorcycle accident while chasing his girlfriend and another gang member. Rang’s restless ghost haunts everyone in sight, even via phone and Facebook chat, as they continue their hunt for missing drug trafficking money. Soon enough a tame series of killings will make you indifferent to the whole piece. Rang’s ghost is an insult to the Thai Ghost Institution; except perhaps if your have a strong phobia for blood, he does not scare, shock or mystify, with his human-like antics. But it’s the wayward, ill-focused plot, which makes the story truly vague and trivial.
Keerati’s Convent revolves around a love triangle involving three schoolgirls at a boarding house. As for the ghost, there’s a headless priest who can grant true love (but in return you have to play piano to her). Starring popular tomboy Tina, this short film packs Hormones-like drama, with a few pranks-gone-wrong and a bit of classic girl-on-girl revenge. There’s more creativity here, but the short runtime and awkward script hinder any drama it tries to build; in the end, it’s merely a tale of three love-struck girls dying stupidly at the hands of a phony ghost.
3AM does at least deliver with its final segment, Kongtek by Isara Nadee, which focuses on incidents that take place inside a funeral parlor, offering up the funny side of being knowingly and unknowingly dead. Here you get back some of what you paid for, thanks to Nok Sinjai reveling in her lighthearted side and Jirawat’s comedic quips—pure entertainment after the dross that precedes it. An optimist might say Keun Sam, Convent and Kongtek give you a taste of three very different ghost films that speak to different tastes, but taken as a whole, it’s yet more evidence that Thai filmmakers should curb their obsession with spooks.
