Thai Horror Drama Death Whisperer is not your typical possession film. Yes, the possession does begin with eating raw meat, and there’s an attempted exorcism, but there are also guns, host trees, and some strange rituals like you’ve never seen before. Death Whisperer, or Tee Yod, tells the story of a family of eight that finds itself in a supernatural situation when the second daughter begins to act strange. The family is a simple farming family living in Kanchanaburi province in 1972. The film does a good job of establishing the family, and you do feel like rooting for them as it progresses, and you can predict how things are going to turn out for them. There are rumors about a sequel, so before that starts shooting in March, let’s quickly dive into Death Whisperer.
Spoiler Alert
How Does Yam Get Possessed?
In a remote village in Thailand, in 1972, a young girl named Nart dies of mysterious causes after being severely ill for a really long time. We then see the point of view of another family with six kids, one of whom was Nart’s classmate. The three sisters go to school together, while two brothers work on the farm, and one (the eldest) lives away from the family because he wants to be a soldier. In school, Yam and Yard find some terrifying-looking sketches made by Nart in her desk drawer. There’s news that the eldest is returning abruptly, and the family is excited and surprised at the same time. They have a strict dad who seems to only really care for his farm and doesn’t know how to show his love to the kids, though he worries for them. The youngest daughter, Yee, sees a strange woman in black clothing by a massive tree on their farm. However, unlike regular horror movies, the other two girls see it immediately as well. One of the boys comes to pick them up, and they’re quite shaken up by the whole situation and feel afraid when he shows up out of nowhere.
They go to a fair the same night, and Yam, the second-oldest daughter, feels sick. However, she tells her elder sister that she may not get the chance to go on the Ferris wheel again, so she asks to tell their parents afterwards. However, on the wheel, Yee sees a scary-looking old woman pointing towards her. Yam sees it, too, and she immediately tells the older one. When they get off, she feels sicker than before, and her father yells at her for falling sick all the time. Yak returns with Yam and one of the other kids from the hospital. It’s made clear that he’s the rebel son, and the dad and the second-eldest son are always mad at him for “running” away. The siblings are all really close, except for Yak and Yos. Yos blames Yak for leaving them behind while he enjoys a better lifestyle. Soon, the kids start hearing sounds, and Yam sees things. It becomes clear that she’s the chosen host. Even the workers are afraid to work on the farm because they know something’s wrong.
One day, when the parents are away, the boys get drunk on alcohol in the backyard while the girls sleep in their room. Yam wakes up in the middle of the night and walks out of the house. Yard hears some strange noises, like a whisper from the girl, and it stops her from going near her. Like taking hold of her body in a hypnotic way. Yak, who is the only one of the lads who manages to stay awake, notices his sister leaving and tries to stop her. He, too, isn’t able to go near her, and when he sees a flame by his side, he tries to touch it. So, if they are in pain, the whispers aren’t as effective, and you can stop yourself from going unconscious. Yard bites herself for the same reason. Yak wakes up his brothers, and they start to chase whatever is around the house, thinking that’s who is messing with Yam. They bring Yam home unharmed, but she has an ache in her stomach. This is when Yard tells them what’s happened thus far, and now all six kids have seen the ghost.
They don’t tell the parents what’s happened because Yak says he’s going to get help first. However, when it’s only the girls and their mom in the house, a possessed old woman named Chauy comes into the house, removes one of Yam’s teeth, and swallows it (bleh). Yard and her mother find Yam and throw Chauy out of the house, but it’s already too late. Yak brings a man called Sarge with him, who tells him that his sister is possessed. Yak is, of course, a skeptic, but when he sees what’s happened to his sister, he starts to think twice.
Does Yak save Yam?
In typical horror movie fashion, things escalate quickly. Yak and Sarge go to Chauy’s home, where she’s already done a ritual to make Yam the new host for the evil spirit (you’d rather not know how), and she ends up killing herself in front of them unprovoked. Yam gets worse, and the dad doesn’t believe Yak when he says she’s possessed; however, the spirit acts up at that moment and proves to him that it’s real. After the family tries to fight the spirit themselves, they end up calling a priest named Mr. Puth, who agrees to help them. In their father’s bamboo trees, they find a load of internal organs, including a heart that appears to still be beating. They light it on fire, and then Puth tells Yak to take his sister to the hospital. Only Yee, the dad, and one brother stay back, while the rest of the family, including Sarge and Puth, heads to the hospital. Apparently, saline will help Yam more than holy water right now.
Puth gives Yak a special gun to deal with the spirits that will attack them on the way. It’s like a scene from a fantasy film where you must not listen to the fog because it’ll turn into your biggest fear. Though everybody is terrified, Yak drives a certain distance until he sees his own family in front of him, and nobody’s in the car with him. Puth had told Yak that he’d know exactly when to shoot with the special gun, and he used this nickel-plated gun on his family, making all the spirits disappear and leaving the family safe. Or so they think. Yam is suddenly awake now, and she starts whispering again, making Yak go dizzy. She takes the wheel, and when Puth tries to stop her, she bites his finger off, ultimately crashing the car into a tree. Puth is dead on impact, (kind of like that scene from “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” where his mom dies), and Yak wakes up with nobody else in the car. The spirit teases him through Yam with a gun in her hand. She kills Sarge and is about to shoot at Yard when Yak tells her to come get him instead. When she goes towards him, Yard hands him a knife, and Yak pierces it through Yam’s arm.Puth had said that this spirit is fond of strong hosts. Apparently, Yak thinks that if Yam is physically hurt, the spirit will leave her body, and it works. He takes the gun and shoots it in the mouth. Finally, the family is safe, and they finally get to the hospital.
Death Whisperer‘s ending revealed that Yak knew something was wrong at home, which is why he decided to return. Yard is with her sister, who seems to be much better than before. However, Yam asks Yard something strange and then proceeds to pull out her own tooth (I still don’t understand how people can just watch when something like this happens). By the time the rest of the family comes into the hospital room, it’s too late because Yam’s body has swollen up, and there’s blood coming out of all her orifices. Unfortunately, Yak does not save Yam, and Yard sees the spirit outside the hospital window. The family has a funeral for Yam, and then Yak goes to destroy the tree the girls first saw the spirit near. The closing scene of the film is a fire burning in Yak’s eyes as he says it’s not over yet, with the spirit in the middle of the flame.
We’re told somewhere in the film by Puth that this is a very manipulative spirit, and the first thing I noticed when Yam has the gun in her hand is that it’s black in color and not nickel-plated like the one Yak used. I don’t think such a production mistake could be possible, so we can assume that the ghost manipulated Yak into believing he’s getting rid of her, only to come back for them when they’re happy and rejoicing. Yak’s always been short-tempered, and Puth reminds him to have patience, so it’s possible he was too blinded by his anger to notice the difference in the guns. Additionally, it could be possible that Yam wasn’t actually possessed but was simply a puppet, and one of the other sisters was the actual host. Yee was pointed at by the old lady, and she was the one who spotted the ghost first, plus she’s the youngest daughter and is somewhat unharmed, a “strong” host. We know for a fact that Yam gets sick often because her father reminds her every time she’s unwell. I suppose we’ll be able to find out the truth in Death Whisperer Part 2.
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