Shutter Turns 20! I Watched It Again In The Cinema — This Time In 4K Atmos

Is that a glitch or a ghost in your photo?

Shutter, the Thai horror classic turns 20 this year (holy smoke!) and to mark the occasion, Golden Village is bringing it back — in a remastered 4K ATMOS format for a one-night only screening at GV Vivocity on Nov 15, 7.30pm. (In case you’re wondering, the movie originally dropped here on Nov 18, 2004.)

Written and directed by Banjong Pisonthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom, Shutter follows a photographer (Ananda Everingham) and his girlfriend (Nattaweeranuch Thongmee) who are terrorised by a long-haired apparition appearing in his snapshots.

A big hit in its native country, Shutter even bested Hollywood blockbusters The Day After Tomorrow and Troy that year and went on to inspire a bunch of remakes, including an English-language remake starring Joshua Jackson and Rachael Taylor.

“Guilt, retribution and photographic illusion are intelligently exploited for slow-creeping shriek-worthy frights,” praised 8days’ esteemed resident film critic Whang Yee-Ling in her three-and-a-half-star review in 2004.  In my DVD review, I thought “it starts off like a collection of horror cliches, revisiting every familiar shock and shiver from The Ring to The Eye, [but] it eventually stands out from the crowd when it makes an unexpected swerve into an unforgettable, pants-wetting finale.”  

Flash forward to the present: Does Shutter still hold up?

Well, here’s the thing: I’m a different person now than I was when I first caught it. Ghosts don’t really scare me — douchebags, extremists, pandemics do. Plus, I’ve seen Shutter a gazillion times — first at the cinema, then on DVD, and in recent years, on streaming. I’ve also sat through the Tokyo-set remake a couple of times.

Yes, watching it again in the cineplex brought back memories but this time, the scares aren’t as effective as they used to be — I can see them from a mile away. (Okay, there is one or two boo-moments that got me — no shame admitting it) Again, it’s not the movie’s fault, it’s mine. (I am, however, terrified of The Medium, helmed by co-director Pisonthanakun, currently the gold standard in Thai horror.)

Elsewhere, I am really impressed with its 4K overhaul: the high-res picture quality is frighteningly sharp and the soundtrack clean and dynamic. My second time watching Shutter in a cinema felt like I have just removed my cataracts — it’s a whole new experience. Okay, maybe some scenes are a tad too crisp, so much so that make-up effects sometimes come off fakey. Just saying.

Bear in mind: I watched Shutter at a press screening, attended by no fewer than 10 people (they were mostly GV staff). In the morning. Very dull.  

That said, I reckon the energy level will be dramatically heightened in a packed hall after sunset, preferably with a crowd of first-timers, whether it’s their first time watching the movie or first time watching on the big screen. (Gen Zers will be intrigued by a ‘period’ picture from the pre-social media, pre-smart phone era.)  

And if you’ve seen it before, why not find if the movie still scares you? Better yet, watch how the first-timers react. Should be a hoot.

Click here for tickets for the one-night only screening of Shutter.

Click here for tickets for the one-night only screening of Shutter.