Influences of Hollywood movies on contemporary Thai films : case studies of action-thriller and Horror genres

Abstract

The objective of this research is to examine Thai films from the Traditional Era to Contemporary Period in order to identify the existence of Hollywood influences. The emphasis is placed upon two popular genres in which the influences appear to be most evident, namely, file action-thriller and horror. The method used in this study is in-depth analysis of two selected films which are regarded as a breakthrough in contemporary cinema: Cloning: Khon Copy Khon (CLoning, 1999) and 303 Klua/Kla/Akad (303 Fear/ Faith/ Revenge, 1998). The results are then compared with a group of Hollywood movies belonging to the same genres. The findings show that throughout the history of Thai cinema, there have been glimpses of Hollywood influences in terms of style, production technique, and narrative. However, such influences occurred inconsistently. Films of contemporary period exhibit the most extreme Hollywood influences both in content i.e. plot, theme, characterization, etc, and style i.e. miseen-scene, camerawork, editing, special effects, etc. The study also points out that this period is strongly concerned with consumer behavior. Thus, Thai filmmakers are let with no other choice but to make films that are identical (or closely identifiable) with Hollywood movies in order to suit the taste of general audience.