เฮี้ยน (2003)

The orphaned student Mai is having a secret affair with Thanit, a married lecturer at her university. She eventually becomes pregnant and decides to have the baby despite the social ostracism she faces; she refuses to reveal the father’s name. The expectant father is furious because he fears a scandal. They argue, and Mai falls, lying motionless on the floor. Frightened, Thanit turns to a medical assistant and a notorious drug dealer, asking them to dispose of the supposedly dead pregnant woman in a nearby lake. But, disastrously, Mai regains consciousness, so the two men kill the student in the university lecturer’s presence. They then stage the crime as a suicide. Mai’s body is later recovered from the water and examined by Dr. Rudee, Thanit’s mother, on behalf of the authorities. The doctor protects and supports her only remaining relative, and certifies the death as a suicide. Two years later, a young woman named Porawee works as a bartender and sells various illegal drugs for her violent dealer. When the beautiful young woman once again cannot hand over the sum of money her furious supplier demands—she needs larger quantities of the substances for her own use—he loses his temper, assaults her, and then throws her into a nearby lake, the same place where he once chose to dispose of the student’s body. As Porawee is close to drowning, she begins having disturbing visions of a strange drowned woman. A little later, the drug addict is pulled unconscious from the water as if by an unseen force and rescued. When Porawee wakes up in the hospital, the chief doctor, Dr. Rudee, tells her that she is only lightly injured but is nearly three months pregnant. The compassionate head of the maternity department offers to help the shocked and horrified pregnant woman, and invites her to stay at the hospital while she combats her drug addiction. There, the expectant mother is plagued by horrifying apparitions and the ghost of a disfigured woman. Her attending doctor thinks these incidents are strange manifestations of long-term drug use. Whenever Porawee comes into contact with water, the mysterious and terrifying ghost of the young Mai appears to her, seemingly trying to draw her attention to something. Gradually, the intimidated Porawee finds the courage to overcome her fear and follow the clues she keeps receiving. She gets support from Pat, a young social worker and the official in charge at the rehabilitation facility. Together, they investigate the origins of the mysterious apparitions. The pair uncover the tragic events of the recent past. Mai’s grandparents tell Porawee that the unborn, dead baby was cut out of the murdered woman’s body to appease the superstitious villagers. The baby was then supposed to be burned, but unscrupulous villains stole it, intending to sell it as a profitable amulet, a kuman thong (roughly, “Golden Child” or “Golden Prince”). The baby’s body has been missing ever since. Por and Pat’s investigation puts the medical assistant, the dealer, and soon Thanit under pressure. Following the clues in her visions, Porawee tracks down not only those involved in the crime, who are all held accountable for their actions, but also Mai’s fetus. Eventually, the public takes a keen interest in her discoveries, the police reopen the investigation, and Thanit becomes a suspect in the eyes of the law. However, driven by daydreams, he takes his own life. Mai’s body and the fetus are buried, and evil and the visions seem to have been defeated—until Porawee goes to Dr. Rudee for a pregnancy checkup. Rudee gives her powerful drugs and reveals that she is Thanit’s devoted mother and intends to avenge her son’s death. But Pat manages to stop the doctor. At the end of the film, Por embraces her role as a mother and discovers the deep love and devotion she feels for her now-born baby.