P (which means ghost in the Thai language - although there aren't really any ghosts in this movie) is the story of a girl who becomes a prostitute, and then a flesh-eating demon who hunts people at night. Great acting and excellent presentation, especially from an English director, who has created a very authentic Thai looking film. But at the same time the movie, especially the first hour, has the feel of Paul Verhoeven's Showgirls (young girls being taken advantage of by a system; this is how it is, however unfortunate, so let's just enjoy it).
The film starts off simply enough where we are introduced to a 12 year old girl who is the granddaugther of a witch. People from her small village are naturally afraid of them. But we drift away from this setup quickly as we watch our 12 year old strip down to her white undies, and goes for a swim, at which point the undies become see-through and...well the theme for the rest of the first hour is disturbingly set.
Fast forward 5 years, our heroine is now 17, and heads to bangkok to make some money to pay for food and medicines for her ailing grandmother. The powers that be manipulate her into becoming a "go-go" dancer and prostitute. At first she is tortured by her first "time" (rape?) with a customer (who was actually the director!), but in the next scene is hungry for more as she competes with the other girls in the bar for men and dances. Thus plays out the first hour of the movie, much more like a drama, completely forgetting the scary, mystical beginnings of the movie and the reason for her trip to Bangkok (her grandmother!), as we see scene after scene of, albeit beautiful, scantily clad Thai women dancing, and all of the intricacies of prostitution in Thailand.
Finally the second hour begins as her witch powers are brought back into it, and she begins to turn into some sort flesh-eating demon. All very well done and scary, saving the movie from becoming another Showgirls.
Although the long exotic dance scenes seem exploitative to me (another during the end credits?! Oh come on!), I would still very much recommend this movie. Especially if you love Asian women, because this one has some of the best looking ones I've seen in a long time!
The film starts off simply enough where we are introduced to a 12 year old girl who is the granddaugther of a witch. People from her small village are naturally afraid of them. But we drift away from this setup quickly as we watch our 12 year old strip down to her white undies, and goes for a swim, at which point the undies become see-through and...well the theme for the rest of the first hour is disturbingly set.
Fast forward 5 years, our heroine is now 17, and heads to bangkok to make some money to pay for food and medicines for her ailing grandmother. The powers that be manipulate her into becoming a "go-go" dancer and prostitute. At first she is tortured by her first "time" (rape?) with a customer (who was actually the director!), but in the next scene is hungry for more as she competes with the other girls in the bar for men and dances. Thus plays out the first hour of the movie, much more like a drama, completely forgetting the scary, mystical beginnings of the movie and the reason for her trip to Bangkok (her grandmother!), as we see scene after scene of, albeit beautiful, scantily clad Thai women dancing, and all of the intricacies of prostitution in Thailand.
Finally the second hour begins as her witch powers are brought back into it, and she begins to turn into some sort flesh-eating demon. All very well done and scary, saving the movie from becoming another Showgirls.
Although the long exotic dance scenes seem exploitative to me (another during the end credits?! Oh come on!), I would still very much recommend this movie. Especially if you love Asian women, because this one has some of the best looking ones I've seen in a long time!