The Coffin to open in South Korea

While The Coffin is not strictly a Thai film, I am surprised to see that the pan-Asian, English-language thriller's first commercial run will be in South Korea.

For some reason, South Korea is having trouble this summer filling its multiplexes with the locally made horror films that audiences love, so it has resorted to importing ghost movies from other Asian countries, most notably Thailand, as has been noted before. And, Variety has noted this trend as well, reporting that Body #19 has earned $460,000 and opened at No. 6 at the box office three weeks ago. It was No. 10 the weekend before last. Wisit Sasanatieng's The Unseeable opens this week.

Directed by Beautiful Boxer and Pleasure Factory helmer Ekachai Uekrongtham, The Coffin stars Karen Mok and Ananda Everingham, along with Andrew Li, Aki Shibuya and Napakpapha Nakprasitte. It had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Market.

Here's the official synopsis:

Chris is an average Thai-Chinese guy living in Sydney. Following the Thai custom to cheat death and rid oneself of bad luck he agrees to a bizarre dare at a party, to lie in a coffin for a whole night. As the lid is nailed shut and claustrophobia strikes he soon feels short of breathe, But as the coffin suddenly shakes violently he soon realizes that claustrophobia is the least of the terrors awaiting him.

The Coffin opens in South Korea on July 10.

Related posts:

• Fresh stills from The Coffin
• The Coffin being carried to Cannes
• The Coffin is delivered to Kong Kong, China

(Via 24 Frames per Second)