Phobia 2 – Review

Sequel to the hit horror film Phobia, or 4Bia, Phobia 2 continues the trend of different stories by different directors. However, this time around we get five stories instead of four. If you think like I do, the first thing you think about is that anthologies can be hit and miss affairs. Luckily the film was a massive commercial success, breaking box office records and becoming the country’s top grossing genre production of all time. Not bad, but I am only impressed whether or not I enjoy the material. So let start by dissecting the film story by story.

Actually, I’ve attached a youtube video that pretty much explains the individual stories, so I will dissect these stories a different way by just telling you the good and bad. Story one has great acting but the script needed heavy polishing. It is nothing spectacular but gets the collection off to a very promising start. Next up is a pair of Japanese hitchhikers join Charlie and the burly driver of a 10-wheel truck for a ride down a remote highway. Crazy thing is, there is a bunch of dead bodies in the back! Typical zombie fare. Taking middle position is Ward, by first time director Visute Poolvoralaks.  The shortest tale of the lot, the story features a young biker who has both legs in casts. Immobilized, he’s put into a hospital room with a comatose man.

Second to last is Salvage, which tells the tale of a used-car lot, who assures a pair of customers that the Mercedes sedan was only used to run errands and is in perfect shape. They lied. Last on the menu, and they saved the best for last, is In The End which pokes fun of the horror genre like never before. Typical running around of Thai comedy, but the gag is they are struggling to come up with a new way to end a horror movie. All in all, a great package of films. I would give a thumbs up for both acting and deliverance of the stories, however, some stories were better than others. Plot was relatively simple and uncomplicated, which is always good when dealing with stories in short doses.

The movie isn’t super scary, but for me it is enough to warrant a reccomendation. Same as before, the element such as sadism, disgust, tense, and humor will not absent in Phobia 2. Not only ghost, but also zombies from hollywood movies will also take part in this sequel. The last story alone is incentive enough for you to track this film down. I don’t know abut you, but slowly but surely, I am preferring Thai Horror as my main horror outlet. They are on a roll that I don’t see slowing down anytime soon.  Bring on Phobia 3!