Writer: Lai Swee Wei

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Watch this if you liked: "Body", "A Tale Of Two Sisters"

"Soul's Code" is apparently a movie based on the best selling novel about a real life murder case. I wonder just how true the case was.

The story opens up to a team of policemen in the midst of apprehending their suspect during a party. Detective Kanon spots a girl out of nowhere through a CCTV camera, tied up and giving the impression that she is held hostage. Soon, the whole operation is thrown off-track over what seems to be seen only by the Detective. He takes matters into his own hands. He starts to search for this girl but in vain. Then intro credits start to roll like an episode from the X-Files, but without the creepy theme song. No joke, as there is a Mulder and a Scully wannabe too!

The movie focuses on the case of a naked female corpse found with her hands and feet tied using a monk's robe. Detective Kanon is assigned to investigate, while Dr. Nisha from Central Institute of Forensic Science (CIFS) is tasked to find further evidence about the corpse. Voila! A Thai version of Mulder and Scully is born, thrown in with a possible love connection between the two, which thankfully is only shown once and not brought up again. At the same time, the deceased victim's spirit is trying to communicate with the detective, eventually leading him to the truth.

M.L. Nattakorn Devakula, playing the role as Detective Kanon, doesn't seem to do facial expressions well. He's always having a monotonous look in his eyes and he looks either sleepy or serious throughout the whole movie. Casting the lead actor could have been done better - we're talking about someone who can at least portray real pain when talking about a tragic past like the death of a little sister.

If you're reading the English subtitles apart from the Mandarin and Malay, occasionally there are a few grammar mistakes here and there but thankfully the movie can still be enjoyed and understood fairly well. The film doesn't have much of a scare factor besides the occasional sobbing, bloody footsteps, silent breaking music and a particularly anatomical focus on the female corpse. You somehow wonder why it's usually the females that become the dead and not the men.

Anyway, one scene from the end reminded me so much of "Body", another Thai horror film which recently screened in cinemas. Thai directors of this genre tend to always put in that customary 'twist' to the story, don't they?

Overall, this is a rather average movie that needs to cut out unnecessary scenes that make the movie quite draggy.

Cinema Online, 14 October 2008