ZIAM (ปากกัด ตีนถีบ) (NETFLIX) (2025)

SYNOPSIS: In a world gripped by food shortages, a tenacious Muay-Thai boxer battles a zombie outbreak inside a hospital to save his lover from the jaws of death.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Ziam, the latest Thai zombie flick streaming on Netflix, starts with a promising setup: Earth is dying, food shortages are rampant and governments are imposing strict curfews. A new species of fish is discovered, possibly offering a fresh food source but as you might guess, consuming the contaminated fish comes with horrifying consequences.

However, Ziam isn’t the kind of movie interested in exploring the implications of ecological collapse or bio-contamination. Instead, it quickly shifts focus to a couple: Singh (Mark Prin Suparat), a former Muay Thai fighter now making ends meet through shady jobs and Rin (Nychaa Nuttanicha), a doctor at the local hospital.

From there, everything unfolds predictably. A mysterious zombie virus breaks out at the hospital, trapping Rin inside. Singh springs into action, fists flying and feet kicking to rescue his beloved. The rest of the movie takes place largely within the hospital as Singh battles the undead in increasingly repetitive fight scenes.

To his credit, director Kulp Kaljareuk who also co-wrote the story had a decent idea in combining Thai martial arts with zombie horror. Unfortunately, the execution falls flat. The post-apocalyptic setup feels tacked on, the story lacks originality and the action choreography pales in comparison to the jaw-dropping stunts of early-2000s Tony Jaa films.

Ziam is a major step down for the genre. Even the basic jump scares are absent. Kaljareuk struggles with building tension, reducing the zombie threat to little more than a horde of extras in makeup running aimlessly after the leads. One scene involving a young boy named Buddy teetering on scaffolding, narrowly escaping a zombie, had the potential to be thrilling but it fizzles due to lackluster direction. Most of the attack scenes feel like filler just to keep the story moving.

Suparat and Nuttanicha do what they can with their thinly written roles. Suparat, channeling a Thai version of Won Bin, delivers a few bone-crunching moves while Nuttanicha is relegated to playing a damsel in distress. Aside from a minor spat at the beginning, the couple’s dynamic remains static throughout. Also thrown into the mix is a sinister wealthy man, Visu (Johnny Anfone), who seeks to cure his ailing wife using the tainted fish possibly the source of the zombie outbreak. It’s a half-baked subplot that doesn’t add much to the narrative.

In conclusion, Ziam is a poorly executed Thai horror-thriller that squanders its potential. Despite flashes of Muay Thai action, it serves more as a cautionary tale on how not to make a zombie film. If the genre is already staggering toward the grave, Ziam may well be the final nail in the coffin.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee