Shutter is a 2004 Thai horror film by Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom. It focuses a on young couple, Tun and Jane, who, after being involved in a hit-and-run accident, find themselves menaced by the ghost of a young woman named Natre, most prominently in mysterious and ghostly images seen in photographer Tun's developed pictures. As Tun's circle of friends start to kill themselves one by one, it soon becomes clear that there is a lot more to these images and hauntings than meets the eye - and Tun himself is hiding many dark secrets...The film was remade in 2007 as a Tamil film called Sivi, and as a 2008 American film, also titled Shutter.
Driven to Suicide: Natre. Also, Tun's friends all throw themselves off of buildings, although it is strongly implied that they are being influenced by Natre at the time. Tun later throws himself out of his apartment window (he survives, but with severe injuries), although whether this is accidental or a deliberate suicide attempt is up for debate.
Daylight Horror: Several unsettling scenes take place during the daytime, such as Jane's visit to the college and Tun and Jane's visit to Natre's mother, to name a couple of examples.
Face Revealing Turn - In a nightmare of Tun's, he is walking towards who he believes to be Jane. Suddenly, she starts coughing up blood, and then she turns around to reveal that she is Jane, who then starts spitting out her own teeth as well.
Foreshadowing: The white wisps that appear in Tun's photos from the college graduation turn out to be highlighting the room in which Natre was raped. Also, Tun's unexplained neck soreness and increased weight gain turn out to be the result of Natre sitting on his shoulders the whole time. The conversation about how sometimes spirits long to be with their loved ones also ends up foreshadowing the latter.
Four is Death - There is a scene in which Tun is running down several flights of stairs to escape Natre. However, no matter which floor he stops at, it is always "Level 4".
Ghostly Goals - Natre is a blend of both types. She longs to both exact revenge on Tun (as well as his friends) and to be with him forever, but also provides Jane with clues as to what happened to her.
Mummies at the Dinner Table: Natre's mother still keeps her daughter's decomposing corpse in her (Natre's) bed. She is eventually cremated, with everyone hoping that this act will put her spirit at peace. It doesn't.
Peek-A-Boo Corpse: It's pretty easy to see coming, but it still manages to be extremely jarring.
The Reveal - This film contains several, all centering around Natre. As it turns out, Natre was not killed in the hit-and-run accident - she had been dead a long time prior to that. She had, in fact, committed suicide. So, why is she seeking revenge, if she wasn't killed in a hit-and-run? Well, it turns out that Tun went to college with her, and started dating her. Natre fell deeply in love with him, but Tun kept their relationship a secret, even from his closest friends, due to everyone else finding the quiet, unassuming Natre to be "weird". He didn't love her, although he did care about her a lot. However, Natre fell into a deep depression and became suicidal, and shortly after that, Tun dumped her. Then, towards the end of the film, the entire truth is revealed: Natre became depressed and eventually killed herself because of Tun's friends holding her down and raping her one night. To add insult to injury, when Tun walked in on them, instead of helping her, chose to protect his friends instead by providing photos of Natre to his friends so that they could use them against her. Then, near the very end of the film, the reasons for Tun's neck ache and increased weight are revealed: Natre's spirit has been sitting on his shoulders the whole time, something which is only revealed when he takes a picture of himself.
Room Full of Crazy: In the American version. When it's revealed that Ritsuo's been publishing fake Spooky Photographs, he shows Jane a room full of real ones.
Rule of Symbolism: That's quite a weight you're carrying there, Tun. And she will never ever leave you.
The nature show featuring praying mantises in the act of mating and sexual cannibalism acts as this, especially when one factors in the ending.
Self Harm: Natre cuts her wrists in Tun's darkroom prior to taking an overdose of pills and throwing herself off a roof.
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