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Towards a Southeast Asian Model of Horror: Thai Horror Cinema in Malaysia, Urbanization, and Cultural Proximity

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Transnational Horror Cinema

Abstract

Ainslie examines Thai horror films as the dominant representation of Thai popular culture in Malaysia. Outlining the rise of Thai horror cinema internationally, she proposes that the cultivation of a pan-Asian horrific image of urbanization has allowed Thai horror to travel well, and proposes a degree of ‘cultural proximity’ between the horrific depictions of the Thai and Malaysian film industries. This particularly Southeast Asian brand of the horror film is best understood through attention to structure and genre. Yet despite these similarities, Ainslie argues that in the complex context of contemporary Malaysia, the ‘trauma’ that is given voice in Thai horror may offer the new urban consumer an alternative depiction of, and engagement with, Southeast Asian modernity not addressed by Malaysian horror.

This chapter is adapted from the publication “Thai Horror Film in Malaysia: Urbanization, Cultural Proximity and a Southeast Asian Model.” Plaridel: A Philippine Journal of Communication, Media, and Society 12(2).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Film and Television Programs, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, Semenyih, Selangor, Malaysia

    Mary J. Ainslie

Authors
  1. Mary J. Ainslie
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Film, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York, USA

    Sophia Siddique

  2. University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, USA

    Raphael Raphael

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Ainslie, M.J. (2016). Towards a Southeast Asian Model of Horror: Thai Horror Cinema in Malaysia, Urbanization, and Cultural Proximity. In: Siddique, S., Raphael, R. (eds) Transnational Horror Cinema. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58417-5_9

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