Cinema-goers in Thailand have six fresh releases to pick from this week (Sept 24-30), and the line-up is a genuinely odd mix: a snowbound survival thriller, two Japanese anime features, a Stephen King-approved horror, a video-game adaptation and a homegrown Thai supernatural tale.
Headlining the Hollywood side is Heart Of The Beast, directed by David Ayer and starring Brad Pitt alongside J.K. Simmons and Anna Lambe. Pitt plays a Special Forces officer whose plane goes down in the Alaskan wilderness, leaving him and his combat dog to battle the elements in a bare-knuckle fight for survival — though viewers may be surprised to learn much of it was shot in New Zealand, not Alaska.
Japanese animation fans get two options. Crayon Shin-chan the Movie: Spooky! My Yokai Vacation sends the mischievous Nohara family to Akita prefecture, where Shin-chan wanders into a forbidden realm of yokai spirits. It's a milestone release — the 34th film, and 33rd in 2D animation, of the long-running series. Also from Japan, Agito (Kamen Rider Agito: Supernatural War) revives the story of an ordinary police officer facing a world of awakened superpowers. It marks a double anniversary: 25 years of Kamen Rider Agito and 55 years of the Kamen Rider franchise overall. Both open in Thailand this week.
Horror fans are well served too. The Cycle, directed by Jordan Downey, follows a daughter digging into her father's dark past after his body — missing for 36 years — turns up at a grisly crime scene. Deborah Ann Woll, Jeffrey Donovan and Gretchen Corbett star, and Stephen King has reportedly praised the film as "special". Zach Cregger's Resident Evil, meanwhile, swaps the usual video-game plot for something leaner: a hapless courier (Austin Abrams) delivering a package to a remote hospital just as an outbreak erupts. Game devotees will spot a nod to the original — his medical case looks a lot like the first aid box from the first game's remake.
The local draw is Death Whisperer: Saming The Werebeast, opening Sept 30 with Thai stars Nadech Kugimiya and Maylada Susri. Set in 1960s Thailand, it follows a search party looking for a missing military officer in the jungle around Khao Khwang, where folklore says Saming — a man-eating tiger ghost — can take human form. It's the latest chapter in one of Thailand's biggest horror franchises, and a fun bit of cultural context for travellers curious about Thai ghost mythology.
For visitors in Bangkok or Chiang Mai over the next week, this is a handy snapshot of what's on local screens — a good rainy-evening activity that doubles as a window into what Thai audiences are watching, from global blockbusters to franchises like Death Whisperer that locals queue for. Check Major Cineplex or SF Cinema listings for English-subtitled or Thai-dubbed showings.
