THAI FOLKLORE MOVIES
Some folklore Thai movies are based on crocodiles influence in Thai culture.
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This movie could be the Thai "Jaws" movie. A giant crocodile is killing and frightening Thai people living nearby rivers. Two men, whose wives and daughter have been killed by the crocodile, decide to chase and eliminate it. Crocodile was be dubbed into English and given an international release throughout Europe and in the United States. This movie is on the American Humane Association Unacceptable list due to a live crocodile being slashed with a knife.
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It is based on old Thai tale based on an aggressive, violent and male-dominated world. A spirit living in the river has the possiblity to change himself into a crocodile. He uses his powers to terrify the population by killing inhabitants and kidnaps young girls for his harem. Can Kraithong, young and brave man, stop him? Krai Thong raises the Thai polygamy theme as the spirit has already crocodiles wives in his cavern under the river but still desires the village head daughter.
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This movie is based on the folklore story "Khun Chang Khun Paen" (ขุนช้างขุนแผน) but only on a limited part of the whole story. During Ayutthaya period, a middle age man, Master Taen (อาจารย์เถร), has strong magic knowledge (วิชา) so can seduce women through spells and can transform himself into a ferocious crocodile. His young apprentice (ลูกศิษย์) can also become a fierce crocodile. Young ladies Simala and Soifa are the wives of noble Phra Phi but Phra Phi spends all nights with Simala. Soifa becomes very jaleous and asks Master Taen to help her. Master Taen uses black magic incantations. Simala and Phra Phi get tortured like voodoo puppets. Due to incantations (พิธี), Simala gets a defigured face so that Phra Phi goes back to Soifa. Phra Chumpoon, Phra Phi's brother, tries to defend Simila. Soifa asks Master Taen for a love filter to force Simala having an affair with Phra Chumpoon so that she can be repudiated by Phra Phi. Nothing happens but Phra Phi nevertheless chases her. Phra Chumpoon asks for his father's help. The father, Paen, sees that his son is under spell influence. Soifa starts to panic. The king orders to arrest Master Taen but Master Taen and his apprentice become crocodiles to kill the soldiers. A reward is offered to catch the crocodiles. Paen searches for evidence such as wax effigy inside the bedroom. But nothing found as Soifa hides it well but Paen succeeds to find it and breaks the spell (พิธีแก้) for Simala. Master Taen sends an evil spirit to fight Paen but Paen's baby spirit (กุมารทอง) helps him. Master Taen is arrested by Phra Chumpoon. He refuses to break the spell for Phra Pi. Simala and Soifa need to show their purity (บริสุทธิ์) by walking without pain on hot charcoal. Soifa fails (ความดีต้องชนะความชั่ว) and is chased in Northern Thailand. The two crocodiles continue their rampage until they are stopped by Paen and Phra Chumpoon. Master Taen is defeated and killed by Phra Chumpoon. Characters are similar to traditional theatre "Like" (ลิเก), i.e. the leading actor (พระเอก), the leading actress (นางเอก), the jealous girl (นางเอก), the funny and hilarious supportive maids (ตัวตลก). This is another movie from famous Chaiyo productions and produced by Sompote Sangduenchai. This is the fourth movie including crocodiles killing human again. The previous movies were Crocodile (จระเข้ - 1980), Kraithong (ไกรทอง - 1980), Kraithong 2 (ไกรทอง 2 - 1985). As often with Sompote productions, it includes light salacious content, humorous dialogues and kitsch Fx (Yak flying).
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This time Kraithong faces a man, who has also the power to change himself into a fearful crocodile.
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This movie is a modern remake of "Kraithong".
Some folklore Thai movies are based on snakes influence in Thai culture. The snake is playing an important part in Buddhist culture (a snake or "NAGA" - นาค changed his appearance into a man in order to enter monkhood). Snakes can also be related to ghosts and spirits.
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A couple is catching and selling snakes in Chiang Sen. The husband wants to catch a huge white snake (งูขาว) living in a cavern. Local people don't want to help as this snake is supposed to be a local spirit (งูเจ้าแม่). This causes his death and his wife's death. Only the young baby survives. The young baby is saved by local villagers and called Boonleua. She is educated with a younger sister called Waen Fa (Petchara Chaowarat). The movie takes place in 2453. Many young people died mysteriously. Phrakit (Mitr Chaibancha) is sent by Bangkok centralized Thai administration to enquiry on the deaths. During Songkran festival, he met with Waen Fa. Boonleua likes Phrakit also a lot and asks Waen Fa to help her. Phrakit inquiried on the deceased corpses but in coffins, bodies have disappeared and be replaced by a snake. A ghost appears to challenge Phrakit. A necromancer announces that the snake spirit was supposed to stay in the cavern. As he is now roaming outside, the spirit is killing young people. The necromancer doesn't know in which body the spirit is hiding. It is in fact in Boonleua body. Boonleua hypnotizes her sister Waen Fa to catch a young girl. Villagers believe the spirit is hiding in Waen Fa's body and try to burn her. Phrakit tries to help but he is overcome by the villagers. Boonleua, possessed by the snake spirit, kills her father who tried to save Waen Fa. Only a monk can save them by confirming that Waen Fa is not possessed by the spirit. The monk confirms that Boonleua is the one to be possessed and asks Waen Fa to put a magic necklace around her neck to neutralize the spirit. Waen Fa has pity on her sister and asks her to promise stop killing people. She does promise but fails to do so. She seduces Phrakit same as Demon Mara tactics, hypnotizes Phrakit and brings him in her cave to stay as her husband. The second part of the movie is less interesting and is mainly a forward and backward chase between the snake spirit, Waen Fa and Prakit. This old movie has a new soundtrack but a damaged image. Colors are partially gone.
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Mekhala is a rural young attractive lady living in a old house. Tourists groups are frequently visiting the house to buy local products. Chanachol, urban educated businessman, is visiting the house and there is an immediate match between Mekhala and him. Mekhala is living with Pa, Lung and a little girl. The previous owners of the house and their child drowned but the corpse of the child was never found. Chanachol has the feeling that he already comes before in this old house. Chanachol is already married and have two children. Finally Chanachol has a liaison with Mekhala. A supernatural jaleous cobra is protecting Maekala. The cobra tries to send Chanachol away but Mekhala refuses and protects Chanachol against the snake. Phot, a local resident, also wishes to marry Mekhala but she refuses. The cobra sends him away. Phot comes back to Mekhala's house in order to catch and kill the cobra. He gets bitten and dies. Meanwhile Chanachon's wife realises that her husband has an extra-marital affair. She tries to threathen Mekhala. Still loving strongly Chanachon, Mekhala decides to break with him in order not to wreck his family. Chanachol cannot stand this separation and go back to the old house. On the way back, the cobra makes him fall from the boat and he drowns. It seems that Mekhala's previous suitors ended up dead and a new one is already courting Mekhala...
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A local bad guy wants to force a Thai lady to be her wife. Hopefully a snake is protecting the woman.
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Pai has a wife called Kwan. But Pai is also married to Chon and has one daughter. Kwan gets abused by a snake and becomes a "snake wife" (เมียงู). A bad local villager wants to abuse Kwan when Pai is away but the snake protects her. A second villager dies also so all the villagers do a snake battue to kill it. Villagers even use an Indian snake charmer but to no avail. Kwan protects the snake against the villagers. Finally Kwan and Chon meets each other accidentally. Pai is in trouble. Pai has decided to take a second wife as he couldn't get a child with the first one. Chon gets bit by the snake but a monk amulet protects her. Chon and Kwan meet each other again and fight. Pai needs to choose. Kwan had a lover in her previous life but he got killed as Kwan's family rejected this union. The lover has reincarnated into a snake that now protects Kwan. Pai and Chon uses a sorcerer to kill the snake but as their daughter was the reincarnation of the man who killed Kwan's lover in previous life, she also died. Visual effects are very bad. This movie is putting the stress on Buddhist karma and the consequences of previous acts.
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A woman is courted by a giant snake. The baby born from their love has hair made of small snakes. The society disdain the mother and her daughter. The daughter grows and becomes a beautiful woman. Will she ever be happy and find the true love?
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A married man has a liaison with a woman, who is protected by a jealous supernatural snake. This passion is fatal for all. This movie is a remake of the previous movie แม่เบี้ย shot in year 1989.
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Nawin, an army secret service agent is protecting a young woman called Jin. She is chased by men from International forces lead by a felon guy. She is extracted from a Myanmar village and separated from her brother. Jin and her brother are undergoing a strange transformation within their body as her blood circulates through mutation. The International forces are after the young woman only. The felon guy claims they are not human, being a half breed mix between animal and human. Being followed up in Bangkok, Nawin helps her to escape the felon guy and its strong men. Nawin has pity for Jin and love emerges. He takes Jin back to her birth place. But the International forces found her again, destroy the village and kill all villagers. Finally both the brother and sister transform themselves into powerful giant snakes. They get rid of all bad soldiers and felon guy. Unfortunately Nawin cannot stay with her in the jungle.
Some folklore Thai movies are based on supernatural events based on Thai folklore (sacred tattoo, dream premonition, life after death, black magic...) or Chinese folklore (Feng Shui).
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Two lovers are killed during Ayudhya fall. They meet again two centuries later and face the people that killed them. Will their love blossom again?
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A famous and bad sorcerer is killed. But his spirit ("VINJAAN" - วิญญาณ) is still living and teachs his son about supernatural powers such as bullet invincibility and teleportation. Ten years after, the son masters all skills. He takes revenge but is not going on the same dark side as his father.
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A teacher is dealing with problems linked to a haunted house. A bad medium is using spirits to force the teacher to sell her old house.
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Every year more than 100,000 people gather by the Mekong River in Northeast area on November Full Moon. After sunset, mysterious fireballs rise up from the river and disappear into the sky. This movie looks into the various theories behind the phenomenon. Some locals still adhere to the traditional myth of the dragon, Great Naga, making a sacred offering to Buddha. One doctor think that the fireballs are natural; another wants to prove the phenomenon a hoax. The movie tells the story of an abbot of a temple, who is depicted as responsible for the fireballs. A boy, who is helping the abbot, becomes reluctant to continue as he feels the media will eventually expose the practise. The abbot wishes to continue as he feels it perpetuates the faith of the local people. The morality is "believe in what you do / do what you believe". The viewpoint is that both supernatural and scientific beliefs can exist side by side. This movie has received an award at the Bangok International film festival in 2003.
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It is based on the old belief about the power of mystical tattoos. In old times tattoos ("SAK" - สัก) protected the skin against sharp knifes. A monk teaches the mystical tattoos power to a young man. This young man then faces a mafia kingpin that also masters the power of mystical tattoos. It is the story of a magical battle between good and bad Vedas. The film failed at the box office because of the loose plot and because the film was cut so short that it was hard to understand.
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In a Chinese family, Pa and Ma have four children. Pa's right hand man, called Chai, has earned a place in the family. Chai falls in love with Yok, the eldest sister among the four but Yok only considers Chai as her senior. Having lived under Pa's shadow all his life and devastated by Yok's rejection, Chai's discontent turns into vengeance. He avails himself of the services of an evil Feng Shui master to make the four young boys and girls facing a hard fate...
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Tom has a car accident and plunges into a river. He cannot help himself and is drowning. He's rescued by a stranger, a girl named Pim passing by and he is rushed to hospital and recovers quickly. His savior falls into a coma. Then supernatural events begin. Tom has premonitions. Every time Tom rescues somebody, Pim's condition improved. Tom and Pim are linked together though past lives. Will Pim survive the strange coma?
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Wan is a girl born with the supernatural ability to stay underwater. While visiting Butterfly Island, Wan discovers her special ability to dive and stay under deep sea. She also meets Tan, a photographer who always helps her. She eventually falls in love with him. When going under water, Wan's body changes to become similar to a butterfly. A local mafia guy decides to catch the butterfly ladies. A battle erupts between the butterfly ladies and the tough guys with Wan and Tan in the middle.
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Humans who commit suicide become "opapatika": a race of undead spirits who each have a special power and curse. Techit, a young man seeking the secrets of life after death, becomes an "opapatika" and is ordered to hunt down others of his kind (only four Opapatikas remain) under the guidance of the mysterious Master Sarok and his henchman.
Some folklore Thai movies are based on Thai literary masterpieces. Those Thai classical litterature stories present the love stories of kings and princes.
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Phra Aphai Manee (Kramon) and his brother Srisuwan come back to their home town but their boat strands on a remote island. They come back from studying abroad. A lady giant ("YAK" - ยักษ์) abducts Kramon because he plays music so well that she loves him immediately. Kramon becomes her husband. The lady giant changes her shape into a beautiful lady and finally gets pregnant. A boy is born and is called Sinsamut. Kramon is missing his family and never gets full confidence from his giant wife who always closes the heavy stone door when going out of the cave for looking for food. His son is human but with the strength of a giant. Following a scary nightmare, the lady giant goes to pray during 3 days in order to ease the gods. Meanwhile the son opens the door and both escape from the cavern. A beautiful mermaid and her parents bring them to a far island but the lady giant, after 3 days, chases after them. A local yogi helps them to chase the lady giant but she takes revenge by killing the mermaid's parents. A love story starts with the mermaid. She becomes pregnant also (she will have later a son called Sudsakorn but it is another story) Kramon becomes a monk to pay for his bad deeds. It is impossible to quit the island. One day, a boat is coming with a King and his daughter. Kramon decides to leave the island and brings his son to the kingdom. He promises to come back for the mermaid. On the way back, the lady giant sinks the boat. Kramon believes Sinsamut has drowned and he refuses to go back with his former wife despite her tears and longing requests as giants and humans cannot live together. She prefers to die instead of leaving her. Her heart breaks following sad music played by Kramon. He promises to live with her during next life when she will be reincarnated as a human. The son cannot prevent his mother death in time. This film is based on a story from Phra Aphai Mani, an epic poem by Sunthorn Phu.
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A robber has a young son, called Praiwan. They save one young woman and her baby girl. In parallel, her husband, who is a king, is expelled from his kingdom and imprisoned. The baby girl is called Suriya Noi (daughter of the sun) and has a powerful necklace. Whoever wants to catch her will suffer heat and be burnt. Praiwan and Suriya Noi sympathize and have supernatural powers (ผู้วิเศษ). Finally Suriya Noi and her mother go back to the kingdom. But the mother is imprisoned and the daughter is given to another family, where she is treated as a slave. A few years have passed, Praiwan has become an adult. He searches for Suriya Noi. He is trapped by the king and his mistress, who pretends to be Suriya Noi. She wants to become the queen but the imposture is uncovered. Praiwan makes Suriya Noi pregnant. Suriya Noi has a child called Suriyan. Despite Praiwan bad behavior, Suriyan keeps gratitude (กตัญญู) over her father. A sorcerer (แม่มด) wishes to help the imposter king in order to defeat Suriya Noi and Suriyan. They can be only defeated if their husband / father kills them. The plan fails and the movie ends happily with the right king reinstalled and Praiwan, Suriya Noi and Suriyan reunited as a family. A remake was done in 1986 with Sorapong Chatree. The remake takes place in 20th century and machine guns fights have replaced sword fighting.
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This movie is about a famous folktale of Thailand. Nang Kaew Na Ma has a face similar to a horse. She finds the lost kite of Prince Pinthong and accepts to give it back because he promises to marry her. She now stays inside the King palace. She loves the prince but love is not reciprocal. He doesn't want to fulfill his promise. She harasses him up to his room. The King gives her an impossible mission to perform within 7 days, i.e. bring a part of mystical Mount Meru. If she succeeds she can marry the Prince Pinthong. She goes on her journey. She found an hermit on the way. He does have on pity her and provides her new powers. She is now able to remove her horse face and to appear as a beautiful woman at anytime. He also provides her a magic boat to perform her task. She brings back a rock from Mount Meru. The prince flees from the palace but she follows him. He flees again to marry another princess and takes a boat to the princess kingdom. Kaew Na Ma also goes to this Kingdom and changes her appearance into a beautiful villager. Prince Pinthong sees the beautiful lady in the waterfall and makes her pregnant. On the way back to his kingdom, the Prince Pinthong's boat is wrecked on a remote island. There are giants eating human flesh. Kaew Na Ma transforms herself in a soldier to fight and overcome the giants. Prince Pinthong brings back two daughters from the giant King. Back to Prince Pinthong's kingdom, Nang Kaew Na Ma shows him a baby she claims to be their son. He has to acknowledge this fact even if he claims he didn't do anything with Kaew Na Ma. Another giant decides to take revenge on Prince Pinthong and the Kingdom. The prince needs Kaew Na Ma again to fight the giants. She overcome them again. Finally as the Prince Pinthong sees that Kaew Na Ma is really good hearted, he declares his true love to Kaew Na Ma. She changes her appearance into a beautiful woman forever. This story has been adapted in multiple Thai TV series also.
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Kaki is the very beautiful wife of King Prommathat. Garuda comes down from his celestial residence to gamble with the king in a dice game. Garuda sees the beautiful Kaki and kidnaps her. Khrut (Garuda) is a supernatural half-bird half-man creature living in a world different from that of human beings. The king's musician helps her to escape and seduces her. It based on a great Thai classical literature written by Jao praya praklang Hon.
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This movie is based on Southern Thai Local Literature. Twelve daughters are abandoned by their parents, who are too poor to educate so many children. The twelve daughters are rescued by a "Yak" woman who promises to take care about them as her own daughters. She deceived them and force them to drink a potion that transform the young girls into beautiful maidens. They escape and are rescued by a Prince, who falls in love with the youngest girl, called Sip Song. He agreed to marry the twelve girls. Once again, the "Yak" woman deceived and force them to drink a potion that makes them 8 months pregnant. The Prince, disappointed by this unexpected pregnancy, expels them and they are imprisoned in a cave, where the "Yak"woman has their eyes removed in order to make an ever young potion for her. Blind and with no food no eat, the ladies eat their new born babies except the son of Sip Song who is raised by a gentle "Yak". The son is called Phrae Rot Meri. Getting older he ran a cock fight to make a living for the 12 ladies. Becoming an adult, he has a deal with the Prince and goes to the "Yak" country to get more magic potions in order to get freedom for the 12 ladies including his mother. But the "Yak" woman is doing all possible tricks to stop him...
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It is based on old folk tale "Khun Chang Khun Paen". This is the story of Khun Chang - a tax collector - , Khun Pan - a warrior - and Nang Wantong, wife to both Khun Chang and Khun Paen.
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It is based on a story of the famous Thai poet Sunthorn Phu. Two brothers are expelled from their kingdom by their father. A lady giant ("YAK" - ยักษ์) abducts one of them to be her husband. After a few years, this latter decides to flee with a mermaid with who he is in love. Will they succeed to escape from the lady giant and will he ever see his brother again?
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This film is based on a story from Phra Aphai Mani, an epic poem by Sunthorn Phu. "Sudsakorn" is one of the best-known parts of the classic Thai epic poem. It was written by Thai poet Sunthorn Phu in the 1800s. A young boy is the son of a mermaid. He is sent on a mystical quest to find his father. The story was previously adapted in a Thai animated fantasy film, The Adventure of Sudsakorn (สุดสาคร). Released in 1979, it was the first and only Thai animated film until 2006 when the movie Khan Kluay (ก้านกล้วย) was released. Sudsakorn is raised in the ancient traditions of magic by his grandfather. He never knew his father. His mother, a mermaid, sends him on a quest to find his father. Armed with his grandfather's magical stick, Sudsakorn enters into mysterious worlds riding a half dragon - half horse. Sudsakorn encounters dangerous ghost creatures, faces an hermit who cheats him and steals his magical stick, fights against deadly vampire butterfly creatures, helps to defeat an army and finds his father. The film uses the very latest in special effects and has cost more than Bt80 million to make.
This Thai Folklore movie page 1 contains 29 records.
ThaiWorldView movie database contains 507 records.
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