A Useful Ghost Review: Exhilarating Black Comedy of Thai Past 2026

A Useful Ghost is a stylish and exhilaratingly confident debut from 39-year-old Thai filmmaker Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke. This supernatural black comedy won the Critics’ Week Grand Prize at Cannes last year, blending national grief with a haunted vacuum cleaner that coughs up the past.

Plot and Premise

The story follows a queer academic, Wisarut (Wisarut Homhuan), who is startled when his new vacuum cleaner starts expelling the dust it just inhaled. He calls customer service, and repairman Krong (Wanlop Rungkumjad) arrives with eerie speed, revealing that the factory which made the hoover is haunted. The narrative then flashes back to a tragic tale of worker Tok (Krittin Thongmai), who collapsed from toxic dust and became a poltergeist. The bad karma extends to the factory owner’s family, including Nat (Davika Hoorne), the young daughter-in-law.

Themes and Style

A Useful Ghost tackles Thailand’s violent history—the 2010 military crackdown, coups in 2006 and 2014, and the 1976 Thammasat University demonstrations—by envisioning ghosts that refuse to stay confined. The film is a humorous twist on the spiritual realism of Thai master Joe Weerasethakul (e.g., Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, Cemetery of Splendour). You might also detect spectral echoes of western films like Ghost and Truly, Madly, Deeply.

Film Comparison Table

Key Takeaways

• Exhilarating black comedy that balances horror, humor, and deep sadness.
• Uses a haunted hoover as a metaphor for Thailand’s suppressed history.
• Won the Critics’ Week Grand Prize at Cannes 2024.
• Features dreamlike tableaux and crisp editing that evoke both Thai and Western ghost traditions.
• A queer protagonist adds another layer of marginalized identity.

Critical Reception

The film has been praised for its compositional flair and heartfelt elegance. Critics note that Boonbunchachoke imagines a Thailand aggressively erasing its inconvenient past—for example, removing a frieze from Bangkok’s Democracy Monument. The resulting metaphorical toxic dust is brilliantly visualized through the vacuum cleaner’s regurgitations. The performances, especially by Wisarut Homhuan and Wanlop Rungkumjad, are lauded for their emotional depth.

FAQ

In summary, A Useful Ghost is a must-see for anyone who appreciates inventive storytelling that tackles heavy subject matter with wit and visual brilliance. It is currently playing in select theaters and film festivals.