However, Edward ultimately chose not to include those ideas. After all, the concept of zombie Pokémon felt far too ahead of its time, and he wasn't sure how well the audience would accept it.
With such uncertainty, he decided against using it for filming. As he thought about alternatives, he remembered a particularly classic Thai horror film. There were many genres within Thai horror, but most revolved around the theme of inescapable karmic retribution, meaning that if a protagonist encountered a ghost, eight times out of ten it was because they once did something wrong.
A famous example was Shutter, which followed that exact formula. But this time, Edward wanted to adapt another well-known Thai horror movie "The Victim." It was quite a solid horror film.
…
The film opened with a girl busying herself with chores. Her name was Ting, a student who was passionate about acting. Ting loved performing so much that even after class, she would show off her "acting skills" to her elders at a small restaurant.
Her so-called performance consisted of her laughing, constantly. But the smile and the laughter she made didn't feel natural or comforting at all. Instead, they were bizarre, forced, and unsettling. Her elder couldn't stand it and left abruptly. After they walked out, Ting proudly insisted that her laughter was "sincere" and that she had learned it in acting class that very day.
This strange scene caught the attention of a nearby police officer. He approached her. His name was Lieutenant Te. Te explained that their police department was currently recreating a crime scene and needed someone to act for their reconstruction.
Lieutenant Te had chosen Ting for one reason, the previous actors they hired had been complete disasters. One, while playing the victim, kept uncontrollably laughing even while being "threatened" with a knife, completely ruining the atmosphere. Another grabbed the police radio and tried to run away. A third was supposed to act out being pushed into water, but jumped in prematurely on his own… and then nearly drowned because he couldn't swim.
After all this chaos, the officers were exhausted. They decided they needed someone who could act properly without causing trouble and that was when Lieutenant Te found Ting.
Upon hearing she could both earn money and improve her acting skills, Ting didn't hesitate. She accepted the role instantly.
…
The first scene required a murderer attempting to assault a girl on a rooftop. When he Meenled, he became enraged and stabbed the victim to death.
Ting looked at the report describing the victim's tragic condition and felt genuine sympathy. Then she quickly immersed herself into the role. The actor playing the murderer, however, was struggling. Only after the officer urged him did he finally pick up the prop knife and begin "stabbing" Ting.
Ting screamed so convincingly that the crowd watching nearby couldn't hold back. They rushed in, yanked Ting away, and started beating the "killer" furiously. By the time police pushed through and yelled that it was just a reenactment, the poor actor had already been carried away on a stretcher. He was only an actor, yet ended up in such a miserable state. It made everyone both speechless and amused.
After filming, Ting went to the nearby shrine and burned incense for the actual victim. As she offered incense, a pair of feet appeared on top of the shrine. Ting raised her head and saw a woman's body without a head, clearly the deceased victim.
The interpretation of this scene varied. Some people thought Ting didn't see the ghost — that the director simply let the audience see her standing above the shrine. Others believed Ting did see her but pretended not to. Either way, the horror atmosphere remained effective, although not overly intense.
Afterward, Ting's performance appeared in newspapers, earning applause from readers. More assignments followed quickly and various precincts had already prepared locations and were waiting for Ting to perform.
…
The second crime reenactment was a rape-murder case. Ting performed brilliantly again, so convincingly that the actor playing the perpetrator confessed he couldn't continue. He couldn't bring himself to "harm" her even in acting. People praised Ting's acting skill even more.
As usual, after filming, Ting returned to offer incense to the deceased victims. But this time, a pair of hands suddenly grasped Ting's own as she prayed. The head of a female ghost slowly rose from the incense burner, staring directly at her. Ting, unable to see ghosts, was unaware — she only felt a coldness spreading down her back after each visit.
From the audience's viewpoint, however, the female ghost remained present, watching Ting silently. Behind Ting hung another ghost, a woman who had taken her own life, swinging slowly from a rope. Yet Ting sensed none of it.
…
A few days later, the news reported a shocking case: a former Miss Thailand, Meen, had been murdered. The killer was still at large. Ting felt hopeful, if she could reenact this case, her fame would skyrocket, since the entire world was paying attention.
The case also contained bizarre elements. Rumor spread that the police had been guided by a ghost to locate Meen's missing organs. People speculated that Meen's spirit wanted to help catch her killer.
Meanwhile at the police station, an apartment manager reported nightly disturbances of someone driving in and out, swaying dangerously, making loud noises. The officer sent a team to investigate.
When the police reached the door, they heard Meennt cries for help inside. They forced open the door and found the room dim and flooded with water. Shining a flashlight across the floor, they saw streams of reddish liquid sliding along with the water.
Following the trail to the bathroom, they discovered a tightly wrapped corpse in the tub, with only an arm exposed. Just as one officer prepared to report it, the "corpse" suddenly grabbed the edge of the bathtub and lurched upward. The officer screamed in terror. Another officer found the light switch and flipped it and instantly, the entire room returned to normal. No water. No body. Everything was spotless.
Still, the investigation revealed blood traces on the bathtub and fragments of human tissue inside the drain. Forensic testing confirmed they belonged to Meen, proving the apartment had been the site of her murder.
Police turned their attention to Meen's husband, Dr. Charun. They suspected he had killed and dismembered his wife. Meanwhile, Ting studied the case files carefully, hoping to perfect her understanding for future reenactment.
But Lieutenant Te called to tell her that Meen already had an assigned actor, a female police officer. Ting felt disappointed but had no choice. Still, she whispered a small prayer:
"Meen… if I could play you, I promise I would give everything I have."
It seemed Meen heard her.
That night, as Ting slept, a cold wind blew. The magazine featuring Meen flipped rapidly. Elsewhere, the policewoman assigned to play Meen stood in her bathroom adjusting her appearance when she suddenly sensed something moving behind her. She turned — nothing. But her instincts told her something was wrong. When she looked again, Meen's ghost appeared in the mirror, floating. The policewoman screamed in terror.
Later, Lieutenant Te received a call: the policewoman had suffered sudden heart Meenlure and died the night before filming.
With no other choice, Lieutenant Te contacted Ting and offered her the role. Ting was ecstatic. She practiced Meen's posture, her way of speaking, even her hairstyle. She studied Meen's dance routines and as she practiced, she felt as though someone guided her movements.
Opening her eyes, she saw Meen's ghost in the mirror, dressed in a traditional Thai costume, dancing alongside her. Ting was startled and then Meen vanished.
…
The next day, Ting visited the crime scene. Even though she was frightened last night, she couldn't let this opportunity slip away. She wanted her portrayal of Meen to be flawless.
She climbed into the bathtub where Meen had died, whispered a prayer, then lay down to reenact the moment of the attack. As she called out Dr. Charun's name, she vividly felt a blade cutting into her, so real that her skin tingled with pain. Shaken, she quickly left the bathroom.
But in the hallway, she brushed past a girl covered in injuries. Ting froze. The girl turned slowly, head lowered, blood soaking her clothes, begging Ting for help.
Terrified but moved by the girl's plea, Ting cautiously approached. In the dark corners of the hallway, countless spirits lurked, watching her with hollow eyes. They observed Ting stepping closer and closer to the wounded girl.
Then the girl emitted a sharp, piercing cry. Blood streamed down her legs, pooling beneath her. Panicked, Ting tried to turn around, only to find the hallway behind her blocked by a mass of spirits, all whispering, pleading for her help.
Ting, trembling, turned again and the injured girl now had Meen's face. The ghosts swarmed her, grasping her limbs, clinging to her desperately. Ting's scream echoed as they pressed closer.
Suddenly, all the ghosts dispersed. Meen seized Ting's shoulders and whispered:
"It wasn't him."
Ting woke up screaming.
Realizing it had been an illusion, she calmed down. But at dinner, she couldn't stop thinking about it. Eventually, she called Officer Lieutenant Te to ask whether Dr. Charun might have been falsely accused.
Lieutenant Te firmly rejected the idea, the evidence was airtight. Just as he explained, static burst through the phone. Driving alone at the time, Lieutenant Te noticed his radio turning on by itself, screeching with distortion. Confused, he reached to shut it off.
A hand suddenly reached through the window and grabbed him.
Lieutenant Te turned and saw Meen's ghost. Startled, he lost control, and his car crashed into the guardrail.
…
The next morning, Ting arrived at the filming location. Everyone stared in shock, Ting looked almost exactly like Meen resurrected.
As Ting and Dr. Charun reenacted the scene, Ting saw Meen's ghost among the crowd, repeating over and over:
"He didn't do it… it wasn't him…"
Then Ting's body stiffened — Meen possessed her. Dr. Charun saw Meen's face appearing through Ting. Overwhelmed, he embraced her tightly as Meen pleaded with him:
"Don't do this. It won't help. Tell them the truth."
Dr. Charun choked with emotion. The crowd remained confused, only Lieutenant Te, who survived the crash, sensed something was terribly wrong. He rushed in and separated the two. The possession broke. Ting collapsed, unconscious, and was rushed to the hospital.
When she woke, Lieutenant Te told her the situation had spiraled beyond control. To protect her, he was suspending her reenactment work.
But Ting, once recovered, grew deeply curious about what really happened to Meen. She visited a spirit medium for guidance. After a ritual, Ting unexpectedly sketched the face of an unfamiliar woman.
Seeking answers, she visited Meen's home with permission to look for clues. She searched until nightfall without success. Just as she was about to leave, the door slammed shut by itself. The house went completely dark.
Under Meennt moonlight, she saw a drawer slowly slide open. Inside was what she'd been looking for — a stack of clippings.
The scrapbook contained newspaper photos of Meen and one particular photo: a woman standing beside her. The woman's face matched the mysterious face Ting had drawn earlier.
Ting brought the clippings to the police. They identified the woman as Fai, a longtime friend of Meen and a cosmetic surgeon. Fai had known Meen far longer than Dr. Charun had. At first, Fai was a suspect but after new evidence surfaced, her suspicion was dismissed.
Yet Ting felt instinctively that something was still wrong.
(End of Chapter)