"The Coffin" scares up No. 1 slot at Thai box office

Supernatural horror 'The Coffin' by Thai helmer Ekachai Uekrongtham ('Beautiful Boxer') nails top spot at Thailand's box office last weekend - outpacing Jason Statham's 'Death Race' which opened across the country on the same day. The theme song from 'The Coffin' soundtrack is also storming the local charts and has already topped the 'G Member' chart on one of the nation's most popular websites.

Inspired by a controversial but true Thai ritual of lying in coffins to get rid of bad luck and prolong life, 'The Coffin' tells a thrilling, mysterious and moving story of a Thai architect and a Hong Kong dietician who decide to go through the ritual to cheat death only to be faced with a series of stange and terrifying incidents afterwards.

Shot in Thailand on actual locations including a 100-year-old temple, real cemeteries, inside active crematorium chambers and an ancient meditation cave, this Thai-HK-Singapore co-production stars Karen Mok ('Shaolin Soccer'), Ananda Everingham (Original Thai version of 'Shutter'), Andrew Lin ('Infernal Affairs II'), Napakpapha Nakpasitte ('Art of the Devil 2 & 3'), Suchao Pongwilai ('Ong Bak'), Tassawan Seneewongse ('The Unseeable') and newcomer Aki Shibuya.

"Plenty of Jump Scares! Superb Acting!
Ceaselessly Beautiful..."

Thailand's Daily News says the film "manages to shock and instill fear in audiences". It also praises all its stars for their "superb acting" and advises cinema-goers to "watch this film not just with your eyes - but also with your heart and brain". Thai Film Journal says the film has "plenty of jump scares" and is "ceaselessly beautiful". "Horror is rarely this gorgeous. There's the symmetry of hundreds of coffins, arranged in concentric circles around a giant sitting Buddha, as well as a long closet, full of mirrors, all reflecting terror."

Thailand is the first country to release 'The Coffin' which is presented by Live Inc., NGR, Global Entertainment Group and Scorpio East. Produced by Pantham Thongsang for Bangkok-based production company TIFA, this English-language horror will hit cinemas across Asia in the coming months.