Thai horror shows on Netflix
Thai horror shows are notoriously horrific and popular. While there are some who love watching stuff like Shutter, there are some of us who are watching it simply so we’re not too behind on the horror-conversation.
Whichever category you fall under, it’s definitely a good time to catch up on some horror flicks with plenty of recovery time before the actual spooky season comes around. You know your friends will be talking about them.
Here’s a list of seven Thai horror shows to catch on Netflix.
CW: The below writeup contains mentions of mental health issues, death and explicit content.
More Netflix content:
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- 6 BL shows that are both heartfelt and wholesome
- 8 Legendary romantic Thai films
1. I See Dead People – Duang Ta Tee Sam
First on the list is I See Dead People, a horror series that’s just come on to Netflix.
The show revolves around Treekarn, a protagonist with a “third eye” – which is the series’ Thai title btw – but is also terrified of ghosts.
However, Treekarn is forced to face – and overcome – his fear of the supernatural in pursuit of the truth and protect his love interest.
The show aired on 31st August 2021, and is still rolling out new episodes every week. Currently, there are seven episodes available on Netflix, so you may just finish the show in time to impress your horror-loving friends.
2. The Promise – Puen.. Tee Raluek
The Promise is a film about a suicide pact that went wrong.
Ib and Boum are two privileged best friends who were looking forward to their futures, which would’ve made any influencer jealous. However, their dreams came to a screeching halt.
Their affluent parents, who invested in the construction of Sathorn Unique Tower, an unfinished skyscraper that serves as a reminder of the 1997 economic crisis, became bankrupt.
Determined to continue having a future together, they decided to end their lives together at the now-haunted site. However, Boum didn’t follow through.
Decades later, Ib comes back to make good on their promise of being together forever.
3. Ghost Lab – Chik kod todlong phee
Ghost Lab is a film about two – rather hunky – doctors who witness supernatural activity at the hospital at which they work.
One of the doctors, Gla, has been a believer in the supernatural since their youth, while Wee is less ready to accept a sighting as concrete proof of paranormal activity.
So, being the rational medical professionals they are, they set out to find scientific evidence that ghosts exist. How? They recruit specters to be participants in their new study titled, the Northern Lights Quest.
Image credit: SCREAM
Throughout the film, audience members are taken through the trials and tribulations of proving something as intangible as the supernatural.
Ghost Lab is also a shoutout to science fanatics. The movie involves multiple tests, elements, and terminology that are adapted for a horror-loving audience.
4. The Maid – Sao rab shai
Saw meets Parasite in The Maid.
Set in a decadent mansion, a new housekeeper, Joy, is forced to navigate the ins and outs of working for a weirdly taciturn family. The scariest part? It seems like everyone – including Joy’s fellow housekeepers – is in one the secret, except for her.
Trapped between uncovering what the household is burying and trying to maintain her own sanity by minding her own business, Joy is faced with some pretty tough predicaments.
A slight departure from traditional horror films, The Maid resembles more of a psychological thriller laced with some slasher elements as the film progresses.
It even throws in a couple red herrings here and there. So, if you’re looking for a horror film that’ll force you to think, but also make you jump, The Maid is for you.
5. Reside – Singsoo
Reside is a story about a spiritual ritual undertaken by a cult, the Infinity Spiritual Centre.
It also features lead actors from the 2004 horror cult-classic, Shutter: Ananda Everingham and Natthaweeranuch Thongmee.
From the get-go, viewers are witnessing what appears to be a ghost summoning ritual with a mummified body on someone’s dining table. Yikes.
Of course, because this is a horror movie, the séance goes wrong. Instead of simply communicating with those that have already passed on, participants have invited wandering spirits into their home.
These apparitions quickly make themselves at home. Both at the headquarters of the cult, as well as in the bodies of each person present at the ritual.
6. Senior – Run Pee
Senior is a mystery within a mystery.
Set in an all-girls Catholic boarding school that used to be a business school that used to be a royal vacation home, Senior follows Mon, a student with the ability to smell ghosts. No, that isn’t a typo.
Unlike a majority of other films, where the characters can see ghosts, the protagonist in Senior has to depend on her olfactory sense to sus out otherworldly beings.
She finds Run Pee, the ghost of a student from when the convent used to be a business school.
Note: Run Pee directly translates to “Senior”, so that isn’t his actual name.
Together, they try to solve the case of a brutal murder of a princess that occurred 50 years ago, where a gardener was conveniently blamed.
While trying to figure out who was really behind the princess’ murder, Mon also has to determine who exactly is Run Pee.
7. Inhuman Kiss – Saeng Krasue
Inhuman Kiss is a romantic horror film that will have you wondering who you should root for: the living or the undead.
With a love triangle between Sai and her two childhood friends, Jerd and Noi, as a vehicle to deliver a tear-jerking film about tradition and sacrifice, Inhuman Kiss is high up on our list of must-watch Thai horror films.
Inhuman Kiss follows the difficulties Sai faces as the object of both of her best friends’ affection, but also of being transformed into a literal monster, a Krasue.
The film expertly executed what The Shape of Water tried to do: make us root for a relationship between a human being and a non-traditional human being.
Like, seriously, we never though we’d be crying for a ghost instead of at it.
Thai horror show 101: Do not watch them alone
Thai horror films are on another level of scary. Though their notoriety can be attributed to the visual effects, we think it’s the complexities in each plotline that makes audiences relate to the story.
Thus, we’re put into the shoes of those who are being haunted.
The shows on this list are no different. We’d recommend against watching this show alone, but if you really must, then at least try to watch it during the daytime.
Cover images adapted from (Clockwise from Top Left): IMDb, Asian Movie Pulse, IMDb, The Movie Database
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