Horror Films of Cambodia - A New Wave

A New Wave

As the Khmer Rouge lost power in 1979, films were again being produced. In 2001, The Snake King's Child a sequel of The Snake King's Wife and a thai-khmer joint film, was released and recognized as the first Cambodian horror film to be released since the Khmer Rouge era.

In The recent of years at the new development of films, The Khmer producer brought a new taste for movie with the horror genre but within low budget and weak special effect. In addition, The genres revealed a big hit for the local audiences especially for the young age started attracting for khmer horror movies after the absent for long times. The manager of FCI Productions, which made Nieng Arp, a big hit khmer horror film, Korm Chanthy said We make movies to suit the domestic market and the demand of our youths and They like to watch horror movies because they make them feel excited, thrilled and terrified. Meanwhile, Producer, 29-year-old Heng Tola, was looking to diversify his computer business when he founded Campro three years ago with several friends.

In early 2003, the filmKohak Kmorch Tek Snech Asara Peak, a period ghost film was released. Another working of the genre, a Psychological thriller, The Weird Villa, produced by Angkor Wat Production and written by Pan Phuong Bopha, achieved some box office success, and was considered one of the outstanding films of the year. It was followed by several major grossing horror films; Lady Vampire, adopted from Krasue Mythology and Legend basing, Ghost Banana Tree, produced by Campro Production.

The Horror films for new development mostly featured several remakes, such as Neang Neath, Neang Pomiry, and The Killing Phone was found on screen but still the hit films.

Other top grossing and award winning horror film, The Crocodile, a tale about the heroism of a man who killed the beast responsible for the deaths of several people in his village matched with The Forest as well as The Haunted House, both produced by Campro Production. The Sequel of The Snake King's Child, The Snake King's Grandchild also talked about the ghost story according to the Krasue Myth .

During The New Wave, almost 50% of Khmer films were the horror genre.

The most prolific producers of these horror films company were FCI Production and Campro Production. As of 2011 they provided the horror film project with over 15 films.

Making a movie takes Campro about three months and costs an average of US$30,000, including about US$1,000 for the lead actor, he said.

Despite the current taste for horror movies, Heng Tola believes a more serious trend is emerging, prompted in part by the resentment many Cambodians feel about its colonial past and toward domineering neighbors such as Thailand and Vietnam.

On December 5, 2008, Rankopedia website listed Cambodia on Country that currently creates the scariest Horror movies, ranked 20th out of 25 as band score 1.57 by 19 votes. Nieng Arp appeared as the top film for Cambodia followed by The Forest, Villa Horror, The Snake King's Child and finally Secret Well. The winner went to Japan because of the famous horror film, Ringu.

Just like the same, The horror films for the new rising, still in The basing of local religions ghost story such as Lady Vampire, which depicts the krasue, a ghostly flying female head with internal organs dangling beneath it and Ghost Banana Tree, an inspiring of the old tradition but mostly no relation with the love story. Between 2004 and 2006, The Domestic production made around 20 films genrely horror per year. The most producing of the films seem to be FCI Production and Campro Production which their film mainly the famous one.

However, In The Third Khmer film festival which held in the late of 2007, banned the Ghost films to celebrate as reason of too much making of Horror movies.

In Addition, after a repeat of film industry crisis, the horror genre is only one genre serving to keep Cambodia cinema alive.