(SPOT.ph) The Philippines and our fellow Southeast Asian neighbor Thailand have had generations of cultural exchange. Still, an oft-overlooked and underappreciated area of that exchange is found in the different media of Entertainment. From horror anthology series like Girl From Nowhere and the recently released School Tales streaming on Netflix, to "your boy, Double B" Bambam appreciating the "Triple B" of bangus and Ben&Ben, and even to the viral Maris Rascal meme making it over to Thailand, it's clear that our two countries can bond over many shared interests in all things art and culture.
As it happens, Netflix Philippines has a lengthy library of Thai movies and series that feel a bit untapped by Filipino audiences—with the exception of Crazy Little Thing Called Love, which isn't on Netflix, sadly—so we put together a list of 10 Thai movies, in order of how many eyeballs have seen them, based off how many users have logged the film as "Watched" on the popular movie social networking site Letterboxd.
Also read: LOOK: A Series About the Thai Soccer Team Cave Rescue Drops on Netflix Soon
Here are the most popular Thai movies on Netflix:
Happy Old Year
Leading the pack of Thai movies by quite a significant margin is 2019's Happy Old Year. The romantic drama centers around Jean (played by Bad Genius' Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying) who returns home to Bangkok after pursuing a career in Sweden. "Moving from Asia to pursue a career abroad? Sounds like she's single," you may say... and you'd be right! While decluttering her family's home, she finds some of her ex-boyfriend's (Sunny Suwanmethanont) old stuff, which leads her on a trip down memory lane and back into his life. Shocker, shocker. You can already imagine the drama (and love!) that's brought forth in this tale of exploring how hard it is to move on.
Triple Threat
Thailand's international action blockbuster Triple Threat is unsurprisingly also at the top of the list. Some of the world's best martial artists-slash-actors, including Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Tiger Chen, Scott Adkins, and Michael Jai White, star in this thriller centered on mercenaries versus assassins. What's the difference between the two groups? Pretty much nothing, honestly. The groups will trade a lot of testosterone-fuelled killing, tragic backstories, and jump kicks. Oh boy, are there some jump kicks in this movie.
The Whole Truth
Those who've seen M. Night Shyamalan's The Visit may already be in on the truth that something spooky do be up at our grandparents' house—at least that's what our paranoia tells us. Somewhat in the vein of that, we have Thailand's The Whole Truth, a supernatural horror film about two siblings who are taken in to stay at their grandparents' house, only to find that it hides a couple of dark secrets. Those looking for a suspenseful mystery to engage with may find this interesting, while those who love having sausage, egg, toast, and milk (yes, specifically that order) for breakfast may never look at their morning meal the same way again.
Friend Zone
While Happy Old Year explores the "what if's" of moving on, Friend Zone explores the "what if's" of never having been. This Thai rom-com starring Naphat Siangsomboon and Crazy Little Thing Called Love's Pimchanok Luevisadpaibul centers on a boy-girl best friendship that's remained strictly in the friend zone for 10 whole years. Now, watch as Siangsomboon's character risks the decade-long friendship by attempting to confess his feelings for his unrequited love. Grab your popcorn and get ready to cry tears of joy if another brother makes it out of the friend zone.
Deep
In the Philippines, it's not improbable to say that literally everybody has a close friend who is studying in or has studied in med school. As you can tell by the amount of streaming content we watch over here at SPOT.ph, we're not medical professionals, or even aspiring to be. Yet, all things STEM do interest us, which is why the Thai med student sci-fi mystery Deep is a particularly interesting entry on this list. Directed by five students from Bangkok University, Deep follows four sleep-deprived med students participating in some strange, neurological experiments. Med students lacking sleep and risky experiments; what could go wrong?
One for the Road
From Bad Genius director Nattawut Poonpiriya and producer Wong Kar-wai, One for the Road is one of those road trip movies for those in a spiritual and meditative mood. Not exactly feel good, as it ruminates on themes around time and mortality, but with a cast that includes former Nine by Nine member Thanapob Leeratanakachorn, Bad Genius' Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, and singer-actor Violette Wautier, you can't help but smile and enjoy the ride. Literally.
The Con-Heartist
Another film on this list starring Crazy Little Thing Called Love lead actress Pimchanok Luevisadpaibul, The Con-Heartist turns the concept of revenge on an ex that did you dirty into a light, romantic comedy centered on swindling and silly pranks. As we've learned from the Ocean's film trilogy and Better Call Saul, there's nothing hotter and steamier that can bring a couple together than pulling elaborate scams on the most obnoxious people. We mean, if it's in the heat of the moment... why not?
Inhuman Kiss
A well-known creature from Thai folklore is the krasue, a spirit of the night that manifests itself as the floating head of a woman that has their internal organs just hanging about. This creature is not all that different from the Philippines' own folk creature, the manananggal, the typically-female vampire-like creature that detaches its torso from its lower half when it goes out to hunt for prey. All this to say, the Thai horror-romance film Inhuman Kiss centers on a krasue who has feelings for her two human friends. Tough luck, but also major red flag, aren't we right, fellas?
Ghost Lab
Another movie about strange doctors on this list—Philippines has got to catch up in this department—Ghost Lab centers on two doctors who are determined to prove that ghosts exist after they seemingly encountered one at the hospital they work in. While centered on ghosts, the film isn't afraid to temper its thrilling and suspenseful sequences with slapstick humor and even some melodrama, so there's definitely something in here for those already accustomed to the horror formula as perpetuated by Hollywood.
The Maid
Don't worry, it's not that Maid. This maid is a malignant spirit that's haunting the rich, family estate where she disappeared under "mysterious circumstances." Uh-huh, you'd think that would make any potential hiree wary of the workplace conditions, but our protagonist—bless their trusting soul—is the new maid uncovering the force behind the evil spirit and the secrets of the homeowners. No surprise that another horror film is the one rounding out the list of 10 most popular Thai movies on the streaming platform.
Also read: 10 Asian Horror Movies to Watch If You Don't Want to Feel Alone Anymore
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