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Dorm (Thailand, 2004)

Dorm has a lot in common with Guillermo del Toro’s 2001 movie The Devil’s Backbone. Both are set in a boys’ school. In both, the characters are haunted by the death of a fellow student, and both films rely heavily on atmosphere rather than outright scares. And, as in del Toro’s film, Dorm ends up not being a horror movie at all, despite appearances.

Ton is a lanky twelve-year-old. He’s obsessed with watching television and is slacking in his studies. His father uses this as an excuse to ship him off to boarding school, but the real reason for Ton’s banishment is that he caught his dad doing the horizontal tango with a woman who isn’t Ton’s mom.

Boarding school is tough and lonely, especially since Ton is already feeling bitter and resentful. His first night there he’s accosted by the school’s resident misfits, who regale him with stories of a veritable army of ghosts that haunt the place. They leave Ton so spooked that he wets the bed, which only makes his situation worse.

Things get better when Ton meets Vichien, who befriends him. But in one startling moment Ton discovers that only one of the ghost stories he heard is true – Vichien is the ghost of a boy who committed suicide by drowning himself in the school’s old swimming pool. This doesn’t prove a barrier to their friendship, however. Ton spends most of his free time apparently alone, but really hanging out with Vichien, who is as active and mischievous as any live boy. They play video games, sneak out, and ogle a cute cafeteria worker. Vichien even shows Ton where he hit his stash of porn when he was alive. But he won’t reveal the particulars of how he died or why, or what connection his death has to the school’s creepy headmistress.

But as much as Ton enjoys his time with his new friend, he knows Vichien’s spirit belongs in the afterlife. On the advice of an occult-minded classmate, Ton undertakes a dangerous ritual to find out what really happened, and to help his friend find peace. The ending is a bit neat, with Ton helping Vichien and the headmistress, reconciling with his father, befriending the outcasts and deciding he really likes school.

At first, Dorm has all the hallmarks of a horror movie: empty corridors, doors that slam and lock on their own, a chorus of stray dogs that howl outside a certain window every night. Ton has a serious oversleeping problem, which leads to very creepy scenes of him running out of the vast, empty bunk room, or washing alone in the echoing bathroom (some of the scenes, however, attempt to be creepy by being so dimly lit you can’t tell what’s going on). The film is drained of color, with a grimy feel that is becoming more and more popular in horror movies.

But the horror dissipates as soon as the ghost reveals himself. Vichien isn’t out for revenge, as so many Asian ghosts are. He just wants a buddy. And that’s the real story of Dorm: a tale of boyhood friendship and childish devotion. The scenes with Ton and Vichien hanging out, doing kid stuff, are touching and enjoyable (and afford me a glimpse of Gohan’s future years).

The child actors are about as good as you can expect; Chintara Sukapatana as the disturbed headmistress floats through the movie looking pale and tragic.

Recommend-o-meter: If you’re in the mood for a straight-up horror movie, skip this one. Otherwise, Dorm is worth a look.