Buddhism in Asian Horror Films

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Buddhism in Asian Horror Films
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Introduction

• There are many themes and motifs that can be
  found within Asian horror films. This
  presentation will focus on perhaps the most
  predominant feature of Asian Horror films-
  spirits and ghosts.
• Within many Asian cultures there is a rich
  background of folklore, oral tales and religious
  literature about spirits and ghosts. Whilst these
  do not have to be understood in order to enjoy
  the horror films they do provide an interesting
  background to the plots.
• The cultural motifs found within such horror
  films often include, to some extent, Buddhist
  outlooks and teachings.

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Ghosts in Buddhism

• Rebirth can take a number of different forms. In
  Buddhist thought there are 5 or 6 rebirth
  destinations (gatis). These are as a god (deva),
  demi-god (or asura which do not feature in all
  lists), human, animal, ghost and hell being.
• Rebirth as a ghost is not desirable and is the
  result of bad karma.
• In some Buddhist cultures it is understood that
  one can become a ghost if they have a bad death.
  That is, if one dies in a violent or untimely
  manner.
• These ghosts are often seen as dangerous and
  there are rituals and festivals in which the
  living can placate ghosts by feeding and clothing
  them.

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Spirits in Buddhism

• Spirits are found within the Buddhist
  cosmological system. This can be in the form of
  asuras and hungry ghosts (peta).
• Buddhist ideas about spirits can differ form
  culture to culture. This is because many ideas
  about the nature of spirits are assimilated into
  Buddhist thought and practice from pre-existing
  notions found within specific cultures.
• An example of this is the ancestor worship that
  can be found in Laos and Chinese forms of
  Buddhism.

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• Offerings have been made to the deceased in the
  Boun Khau Salak festival in Laos (2007). The
  ritual is performed by Buddhists in order to
  provide for ancestors and ghosts.

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Spirited Away (2001)

• Chihiro and her family are on their way to their
  new house in the suburbs when her father decides
  to take a shortcut along a lonely-looking dirt
  road. After getting out of the car and walking
  along a path for a while, they discover an
  open-air restaurant filled with food but with no
  workers or customers present. Mom and Dad don't
  hesitate to sit down and dig in, but Chihiro
  senses danger and refuses. As night falls, she is
  terrified to see the area fill with faceless
  spirits, but when she runs to find her parents,
  she discovers that they have been turned into
  pigs. She is found by a mysterious boy named
  Haku, who promises to help her. He gets her a job
  working in a nearby building, which turns out to
  be a bathhouse for the thousands of Japan's gods
  and spirits. Though the work is hard and the
  people strange, she does as well as she can. Her
  parents, however, are still waiting in the
  hotel's stockyard...

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Spirited Away

• Trailer for Spirited Away
• Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
• The film touches on Buddhist themes such as
  feeding ghosts, attachment and greed.

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• Belief in ghosts and spirits is not exclusive to
  Japanese Buddhism. This image is of food that has
  been left for ghosts in Chengtian monastery in
  China as part of the ghost month ritual that took
  place in 2008.

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The Coffin (2007)

• Inspired by a true Thai ritual of lying in
  coffins to get rid of bad luck and prolong life,
  The Coffin is a supernatural thriller about a
  young man and a young woman who decide to go
  through the ritual in Thailand. Chris, a
  claustrophobic architect does it in the hope of
  saving his fiancée who's dying of terminal
  cancer. Sue, a nutritionist visiting Thailand
  from Hong Kong does it to save her own life after
  being diagnosed with a lethal brain tumor - one
  week before her wedding. After the ritual, Chris
  and Sue experience what appear to be miracles in
  their respective lives. But soon, they find
  themselves confronted by a series of bizarre and
  terrifying incidents. With the help of a
  professor specializing in paranormal cases
  associated with the ritual, they set out to
  exorcise the ghosts that haunt them, and attempt
  to reverse the wheel of karma.

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The Coffin

• Trailer for The Coffin
• Directed by Ekachai Uekrongtham
• Performing short versions of death rituals for
  the living is an old practice in Thailand which
  has recently seen a revival.  People believe that
  participating in these rituals will allow them to
  shed bad luck (khro) or to trick spirits that may
  have invaded their bodies. Going through the
  rituals that Buddhist monks conduct during
  funeral ceremonies is believed to offer a new
  start in life, a rebirth while still alive.
• During these rituals people lay down, either on
  the floor or in a real coffin, and hold a bunch
  of flowers. They are then covered with a white or
  red cloth and the monks chant a short text
  usually recited during funerals and bone
  collections. Some temples offer this service on a
  rather commercial basis and hundreds of people
  queue to be cleansed in this way for a small
  fee.
• A short clip of the ritual can be found here
• A gallery of pictures and a detailed account of
  the ritual can be found here

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• A mass coffin ritual taking place in Wat
  Phammanee in Thailand 2008.

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Nang Nak (1999)

• Based on an Thai legend the film follows the fate
  of a young family. In rural Thailand Mek leaves
  his pregnant wife Nak at home whilst he goes to
  fight in the Siemese-Vietnamese War. He returns
  home to his wife and child. Things however are
  not as they seem. Meks neighbours are uneasy and
  try to warn him that something is wrong. Those
  who attempt to warn Mek are killed. Mek must
  uncover the truth about what happened to his wife
  and child whilst he was at war.

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Nang Nak

• Trailer for Nang Nak
• Full film
• Directed by Nonzee Nimibutr
• In many Asian cultures the most dangerous type of
  ghost is that of a pregnant woman/ woman who died
  in childbirth.
• The film looks at the relationship between
  Buddhism and ghosts. The Buddhist monk is the
  only person who can control Naks ghost and stop
  her from tormenting and killing the locals.
• At the end of the film Mak becomes a Buddhist
  monk himself.