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★★★
Directed by: #SitaLikitvanichkul, #JetarinRatanaserikiat, #ApirakSamudkidpisan, #ThanabodeeUawithya, #AdirekWattaleela
Written by: #SitaLikitvanichkul, #KittitatNokngam, #JatarinRatanaserikiat, #ApirakSamudkidpisan, #WisitSasanatieng, #ThanabodeeUawithya
Starring: #PanisaraRikulsurakan, #KayLertsittichai, #SupanareeSutavijitvong, #KritJeerapattananuwong
Four insomniac medical school students agree to take part in a neuroscience experience, but they soon discover that they may have dug themselves deep into a hole they will struggle to escape from.
Deep (2021) is a Netflix sci-fi thriller, shot and produced in Thailand and later released on the streaming service on 16th July. It has an intriguing premise with a rather sloppy execution, resulting in a semi entertaining experience which could have been improved with more ambitious screenplay and developed characters.
The film begins strongly, with a disturbing opening of a student committing suicide by jumping off a tall building, clearly under the influence of a deadly drug. A quirky, fresh style of pacing is established for the first act with fun quick cuts in a similar fashion to Edgar Wright’s witty cinematography, introducing us to the four leads efficiently.
The impending danger of the Deep experiment is cemented when Jane (Rikulsurakan) is informed that if she falls asleep, her heart will stop after a countdown and she could die. Her fellow med students are unfortunately presented as stereotypes (the hermit game nerd; the social media fanatic and the drunk partier) with little more given for us to genuinely care about their growing friendships and possible romances. An unsettling revelation is discovered about one of the group and the film bizarrely does not address this issue, with the group remain friends despite the worrying behaviour displayed by the student. Despite the young leads clearly giving it their all, their characters remain bland and uninteresting, with attempts at romance coming across as forced.
Despite its flaws, the film does have its positives and makes for perfectly fine viewing. For one, there is a COVID-19 joke when Peach (Jeerapattananuwong) is nervous to speak to his object of attraction, Cin (Sutavijitvong), and a throwaway line refers to the distance he creates between them which earns a good chuckle. The effects of the microchip implanted in the back of their necks does lead to several well realised sequences depicting the students’ delirious mindsets with a distorted camera lens; they begin to see and hear disturbing scenarios which others cannot. Although the film does lose its momentum and leans towards predictability towards the end, it does have a brilliant synth soundtrack which keeps things feeling fresh whenever it appears.
Overall, Deep is a decent sci-fi thriller with an interesting idea and delivers good performances from its leads. However, It does suffer from a predictable plot and under baked characters and could have benefitted from a little more substance in the story department.
Deep (2021) trailer:
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