Once in a while, a horror anthology sneaks up on you like a ghost in a group chat — slick, strange, and unexpectedly good company. 4bia (also known internationally as Phobia) is that movie: a Thai horror quartet from 2008 that proves Southeast Asia doesn’t just make great horror — it makes horror with style, sarcasm, and soul. Directed by a murderers’ row of Thai talent — Youngyooth Thongkonthun, Paween Purikitpanya, Banjong Pisanthanakun, and Parkpoom Wongpoom — this film is like four nightmares served tapas-style.
And the wild part? It’s actually fun. Yes, fun — the kind of horror that’s as interested in your chuckles as your screams. The blood is there, the ghosts are there, but so is a wink — a reminder that dying horribly can still be entertaining when you’re watching from the safety of your couch.
1. Loneliness: When Ghosting Gets Literal
“Don’t text and die” could be the slogan of the first story, Loneliness, in which a young woman named Pin (played with slow-building panic by Maneerat Kham-uan) discovers that her new texting buddy might be less alive than advertised.
Pinned to her apartment with a broken leg — and to her phone like the rest of us — Pin begins chatting with a mysterious stranger who texts only at night. It starts cute, then creepy, then absolutely unholy. When he sends her a selfie that includes his ghostly face next to hers, the audience collectively drops its popcorn. You can practically hear every viewer whisper, “Nope.”
The horror here isn’t just supernatural; it’s existential. Loneliness takes that modern isolation — that digital dependence that keeps us glued to people we don’t actually know — and turns it into a haunting. It’s ghosting, redefined. And while the ending tosses Pin out a window (in fine Thai horror fashion), it also throws a punch at our obsession with connection.
If Hitchcock had had access to iPhones, this is probably what Rear Window would’ve looked like.
2. Deadly Charm: The Curse of the Schoolyard
If Loneliness is about isolation, Deadly Charm is about groupthink — and how teenagers are the scariest monsters alive (or dead). A bullied student named Ngid (Nattapol Pohphay) dies after a beating from his classmates and returns as a ghost armed with an occult photo curse. The rules are simple: look at the picture, die. The message is simpler: karma’s a real showoff.
This segment is bloody, mean, and oddly moralistic — like Final Destination met a Thai after-school special. The death scenes are both horrific and darkly comic, as objects move on their own under the invisible direction of Ngid’s vengeance. By the time our last survivor Pink (Apinya Sakuljaroensuk, who’s terrific) gouges out her own eyes to escape the curse, you’re horrified but also a little impressed. That’s one way to unfollow a ghost.
Paween Purikitpanya directs this one with the manic energy of someone who just downed six Red Bulls and a demon’s soul. It’s fast, furious, and as subtle as a haunted blender — which is exactly the kind of energy a schoolyard revenge story deserves.
3. The Man in the Middle: The Bro Code Goes to Hell
And then comes the third story, The Man in the Middle, from Banjong Pisanthanakun, the genius behind Shutter — which is already enough reason to watch. This one’s part horror, part comedy, and all chaos. Four friends go river rafting in the jungles of Chiang Mai, proving once again that nothing good ever happens in horror movies involving camping.
One of them, Aey, jokes that if he dies, the guy sleeping in the middle will be next. Cue the accident. Cue the panic. Cue the ghost story that turns out to be their own obituary.
When the boys realize they’re all dead, the tone flips from spooky to hilariously existential. It’s like Stand by Me crossed with The Sixth Sense — a ghost story with beer and bad decisions. The humor lands perfectly, balancing the horror with a kind of resigned absurdity. These guys aren’t crying about death — they’re just pissed they didn’t notice it sooner.
This segment is the film’s heart: funny, self-aware, and weirdly touching. It takes the horror of mortality and turns it into a bro comedy with a supernatural punchline. By the time the four friends accept their ghostly fate, you’re almost jealous of them — haunting Thailand looks kind of fun.
4. Flight 224: Mile High Murder Club
The final story, Flight 224, directed by Parkpoom Wongpoom (Shutter, Alone), is pure nightmare fuel — a claustrophobic ghost story set on a plane, where turbulence is the least of your problems.
Flight attendant Pim (Laila Boonyasak) is having an affair with a prince, which is already a bad idea in most horror universes. But when the prince’s wife, Princess Sophia, conveniently dies after eating shrimp (who knew royal infidelity came with dietary consequences?), Pim finds herself escorting the corpse on a solo flight back to its homeland.
You can probably guess what happens next — except you can’t. The princess refuses to stay politely dead, and Pim’s guilt, fear, and claustrophobia create a pressure cooker of dread. The film milks the confined airplane space for everything it’s worth. You’ll never look at a dark cabin or a shrouded corpse the same way again.
When the plane lands, Pim is found dead — the princess’s corpse perfectly intact, standing over her. It’s the kind of ending that makes you want to applaud and scream simultaneously. Wongpoom directs it like a luxury horror nightmare — glossy, cruel, and eerily elegant.
Death, Thai Style
What makes 4bia stand out isn’t just the scares — it’s the tone. Thai horror doesn’t always play by Western rules. It’s emotional, it’s moralistic, and it doesn’t mind breaking your heart before it stops it. Each director brings something distinct: tragedy, irony, gallows humor, and visual beauty. Together, they make the film feel like a twisted mixtape of dread.
It’s also unashamedly stylish. 4bia looks great — slick lighting, inventive camera work, and that distinctly Thai knack for turning the mundane (a phone, a school photo, a tent, a shrimp cocktail) into something terrifying. The horror isn’t just supernatural; it’s psychological, laced with guilt, grief, and the kind of regret that lingers long after the credits roll.
But don’t let the existentialism fool you — this movie has fun. You get jump scares and belly laughs in equal measure. Even when it’s dragging corpses across the floor, 4bia has the cheeky grin of a filmmaker who knows exactly how ridiculous — and how brilliant — horror can be.
The Ghost in the Phone Booth
So why does 4bia work where so many horror anthologies don’t? Simple: it respects the audience. It knows we’ve seen every trick in the book, so it gives us new ones — stories that play with guilt, loneliness, friendship, and karma. It’s horror that feels Thai — rooted in cultural fears about death, duty, and the spiritual world, but told with a wink.
The ghosts here aren’t just scary; they’re metaphors for the stuff that haunts us all — isolation, apathy, moral cowardice. And the living? They’re the real mess.
If you’ve ever laughed nervously during a horror movie just to keep from screaming — 4bia gets you. It’s the cinematic equivalent of nervously checking your phone in a dark room after hearing a strange noise — half expecting a text from beyond the grave.
Final Descent
By the end of 4bia, you’ve been buried alive, cursed, drowned, and flown to hell — and somehow you’re still grinning. This isn’t horror that punishes you; it entertains you. It’s macabre but mischievous — like death with a sense of humor and good lighting.
In a genre stuffed with recycled jump scares, 4bia feels alive (ironically). It’s a reminder that horror doesn’t need to be nihilistic — it can be clever, funny, and a little bit fabulous.
So next time someone says, “Asian horror is just about long-haired ghosts,” show them 4bia. Then watch them nervously check their text messages.
Because as this movie proves — the dead may rest, but they sure as hell still have your number.
