The Victim

I just watched The Victim and it’s one of those horror films that surprises you halfway through and makes you rethink everything you’ve seen. Directed by Monthon Arayangkoon, it starts as a simple ghost story but turns into something stranger and more twisted.

At first we follow Ting, a young actress trying to make a living. She gets a job with the police playing victims in crime reenactments for the media. It’s a strange but interesting idea and Ting takes her work seriously. When she’s asked to play a murdered beauty queen, she starts feeling that something is wrong. She sees shadows, hears whispers, and begins to believe the real victim’s spirit is trying to reach her.

Just when we think we know where the story is going, everything changes. Right as Ting solves the mystery and faces the killer, the camera pulls back and we find out it was all part of a movie being filmed. Ting isn’t real, she’s a character played by an actress named May. From that moment The Victim becomes a different movie. The haunting continues but now it’s May herself being followed by ghosts. Crew members start dying, strange images appear in the footage, and May begins losing her grip on reality.

This second half reveals that May is haunted by the spirit of a fan who was obsessed with her, a woman who had surgery to look like her and died in the process. The ghost doesn’t want peace, she wants May’s life. The ending where the spirit takes over May’s body is creepy and sad at the same time.

While the twist is bold and creative, it also makes the film a bit messy. The first half with Ting’s haunting and the beauty queen’s murder feels focused and engaging. The second half is confusing and full of random turns, almost like two different movies glued together. Still, I have to give the film credit for trying something so unexpected. The idea of a movie within a movie mixed with real hauntings is unique and unsettling.

Pitchanart Sakakorn gives a strong performance as both Ting and May, carrying the story even when it loses direction. Some effects are overdone with loud sounds and flashy CGI that take away from the atmosphere, but a few scenes like when Ting is surrounded by ghostly figures are genuinely chilling.

In the end, The Victim isn’t perfect but it’s definitely interesting. It starts as a standard ghost story and ends as strange psychological horror about identity and obsession. It might confuse you but it also sticks with you. I wouldn’t call it a classic but it’s worth watching for the twist alone and for the eerie feeling that someone might be watching you long after the screen goes dark.