I love how the director hates the cuts, so he just uses pan shots instead, and a professional camera angles to tell stories, example like the low angle shot tells the character is powerful and the high angle shows the character is powerless (like Nun and Pisey scene). Ya can feel the moment, it simply because the director knows what's up.
Great choice of choosing camera moment, such as camera rolling, and each pan shots idk what else I forgot. However, I also love the director's vision, his vision is to show the audience of true storytelling from the third person, so we can't actually see the spirit plus it's a documentary film so he tries to make it as realistic as possible. Ya not gonna believe this if I say he's a best director in Cambodia, if ya don't believe just go check his filmography! I just noticed it too. Absolute peak storytelling.
True stories also need writers, not every story can be easily adapted. Unlike some true story films out there, this one is well written. The writer did a good job on turning the actual event into a film without make it feels boring, overused speech, and look like unrealistic (feel make up). The combination between the concept story with true story is strong enough to make the audience hooked by your narrative. Ya know it's based on real story is true but the plot is already planned. If you keep it 100% original then it's not a film.
Who can't act in this film? The mother absolutely puts her soul into this work, she's literally made me think she was the real mom. This is how you make the audience remember and fall deeply into the emotional depth.
The actors are crying with the connection of the story behind it, that tell audience enough why the character cry, is it worth crying?, should they cry? Is it necessary? Maybe there are a lot of crying scenes, but each crying scenes have a clear reason, not just telling the actor to cry 30 min straight in the film, and want the weak emotional audience cry, lol.
I'm not just talking about the mother, but the girls, Nun and the others too, they really take the performance another level. Especially Pisey, she really traumatized the audience until now, see the power of real acting?
We don't see no ghost here, don't be afraid, it's all just human and human. But I'm not sure if this human(possessed) is any less scaring than any ghosts. You got yourself thrilled from a character just opening the door already.
There were also something that distracted me. Like first of all, the Dub. I don't know why they don't use the actual voice for the character Somnang, but this wasn't good to be Duby, It sounds so unnatural. Another thing is just a little funny to me, it's the soundtrack. First heard of it, I thought it was Plants vs Zombie music. It just didn't match the mood and tone of the story, they better try something fits.
Someone out there said, the Preay is still there and ya can see in the movie, she's not finished yet she's just sort of vanished from the victim family.
Massive 7/10.
