|
Horror films in Cambodia, first popular in the 1970s, have received renewed attention in Cambodian film making since the resurgence of the local industry in 2003. Horror is one of three popular genres into which most Cambodian films can be loosely grouped, the other two being period pieces and melodrama/romantic drama. The fledgling Cambodian industry of the mid 2000s looked to capitalize on the world-wide popularity of Japanese horror films which have heavily influenced Cambodian horror films. Common themes are ghost or spirit hauntings, possession, folk mythology and revenge by supernatural means. The storytelling takes a slower pace than Western horror and relies on suspense, a pervasive sense of doom and dread, and psychologically disturbing events and situations. Unlike its Japanese counterparts however, many Cambodian horror films also feature over the top gore as seen in Western horror. ==History== One of the earliest successful Cambodian Horror movies was the 1970s film The Snake King's Wife by Tia Kim Kon. Other films followed such as ''Crocodile Man'', ''The Snake King's Wife Part 2'', ''The Snake girl'' and ''My Mother is Arb''. These films found success both in Cambodia and abroad. Although the Cambodian Civil War was being waged in the provinces during this era, there were up to 33 cinemas operating in the capital city of Phnom Penh. Always full of viewers, the theaters provided an escape from the realities of war and taxes imposed on the brisk ticket sales provided the weakening government with a source of revenue with which to fight the encroaching Khmer Rouge. As the war began to threaten Phnom Penh in 1974, cinemas began to close and movie production all but halted. When the Khmer Rouge gained control of the government in 1975, the new regime abolished institutional establishments such as currency, education, markets and private property. Movie production in Cambodia ceased to exist as artists, producers, actors and singers were executed to "get rid of any Western legacy of the capitalist ideology".〔 After the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia ended Khmer Rouge rule in 1979, cinemas began to open again, but only showed foreign films (specifically from Vietnam, the USSR, and Soviet Bloc countries) due to lack of both human and material resources to make movies locally. Despite these films being mostly propaganda vehicles with some from the romance genre, moviegoers starving for entertainment flocked to the hot, overcrowded theaters, standing in line for hours for a chance to buy tickets or bribe security guards to get in.〔 This public enthusiasm led to the revival of the native Cambodian film industry in 1987. Horror films were still not allowed, however, as financial backing came primarily from Vietnam and the USSR and movies could not offend the Vietnamese-backed government. The new themes introduced by the Cambodian-produced films, including romance stories and tales of hardship under Khmer Rouge rule, were widely popular which resulted in 215 production companies and almost 40 theaters in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Battambang. Yet, once again, this revival was short-lived, as the 1991 withdrawal of the Vietnamese from Cambodia and the subsequent United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia opened the markets to bigger budget, more professional foreign films on pirated VHS and VCD from Hong Kong and serialized television soaps from Thailand. Most Cambodian film companies were forced out of business but the competition from television and foreign markets also raised the standards of the few remaining companies and a couple movies were produced that presaged the rising popularity of the Horror genre.〔 The 2003 Phnom Penh riots, aimed at Thai institutions and ostensibly caused by anti-Cambodian comments allegedly made by a Thai actress, resulted in the banning of Thai soap operas and films which by that time had represented the majority of screen time in Cambodia. This allowed Cambodian producers to once again fill the vacuum〔 and just happened to coincide with the worldwide popularity of J-Horror (Japanese Horror films), spurred on in part by the success of the US remake of ''Ring''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Horror films of Cambodia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|