Director – Lee Thongkham (The Last One, Tears of Remedy)
Starring – Ploy Somarin (Single Lady, Girl from Nowhere), Savika Chaiyadej (Holy Man, Train of the Dead), and Kannaporn Puangtong (Charming Deception, Karn La Krang Neung… Nai Hua Jai)
Release Date – 2020
Rating – 3/5
When I started writing reviews, almost a decade ago now, I found myself becoming obsessed with Asian splatter. This opened the door to some of the more serious Asian horror films. It’s rare that I come across one that I don’t like so I’m always open to check out something new and fun. Sometime back Epic Pictures Group announced that they would be releasing the 2020 supernatural horror film The Maid.
My friends over at MVD was handling the release so I reached out to them for a review copy which they were quick to hook me up with. I would like to thank Epic Pictures and MVD for sending this one over. It was a slow build up but the pay off was well worth it.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a young maid named Joy (Somarin) who is hired to work as a live-in servant for a very wealthy family who have a mentally ill daughter who is forbidden to leave the home. Soon she finds herself haunted by the ghostly images of a maid before she uncovers the house’s dark secrets and the murder the occurred there. **Spoiler Alert**
I was ready to deliver a very negative review for The Maid by the time I had hit the hour mark. It was predictable, dull, and difficult to follow. I liked the atmosphere and location of the film but the movie itself was so fucking boring. However, the last act of the film completely caught me off guard and delivered exactly what I wanted.
The acting in this one is great. The film has a brilliant cast that really does go above and beyond for their roles. The first hour or so of the film is a little underacted. However, once the film hits that final act we get some brilliant performances from everyone especially Somarin. That final scene brings out some intensity and energy which I really enjoyed from the cast. The story for this is a serious chore for the first hour or so. It’s a cliched supernatural horror film following a wealthy family and a supernatural presence. It’s slow, odd, and predictable but the environment and atmosphere is great and if you stick with it the ending more than makes up for the sloppy first half of the film.
Finally, the film is rather dull for most of the film but the last 20 minutes or so is an absolute bloodbath with some of the most amazing practical effects I have ever laid my eyes on. In fact, one scene had me feeling like Charlie Sheen and I just watched a life murder. These practical effects need to be seen to truly appreciate how insane they are. Overall, The Maid is a dull and dreadful film that fucking explodes in a last ditch effort to save the viewer. I highly recommend checking it out and being extremely patient with it.
