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Something in My Room thai drama review
Completed
Something in My Room
2 people found this review helpful
by KingC
Mar 29, 2022
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 9.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

A Surprisingly Haunting and Emotional Drama.

My rating is a bit subjective —- I'm a sucker for old school ghost stories and have always had a certain liking for books and movies related to the paranormal and humans.
9 is definitely an overblown rating for a production such as this, but I might be one of the few people who had no trouble following the plot. (I watched the Uncut version.) And mostly, Something In My Room gave me a strong sense of nostalgia as it reminded me of the Mediator series, Anna Dressed in Blood, Hotel del Luna and Shadowkiss.

Most of such stories have repeated tropes, myths and endings. This might also be the reason why I liked this series a lot. One note for viewers who come for the "Romance": the drama isn't romantic per se. It is rather the side dish that comes along with the ghost mystery. If you are a fan of old school romantic ghost novels that we've heard a million times, this drama is perfect for you to binge through.

Phat and his Mom Chris move into a new home following his dad's permanent retreat into monkhood. Phat, who still struggles to come into terms with the separation instantly has a strong ill feeling at House No.88, but his mom refuses to listen to his very real concerns about it being haunted. Taunted into renting it by a weird neighbour/housekeeper Aunt Nuan, they attempt to settle in. Until Phat breaks down for real and seeks help from his friend Dream in order to find out more about the haunting. The ghost happens to be Phob, who is unfortunately an amnesiac. He needs Phat's help to find out who he was and move on from the living realm in peace within 49 days.

The first time I heard of the 49 day deadline was in Shadowkiss by Richelle Mead. Meg Cabot's Mediator series dealt with the concept of the dead staying around for a while, or wandering aimlessly until they find out the reason for their haunting. It even has the same premise: a ghost haunts her new bedroom and she falls for him. Trouble was that she did not know why he was still around. And would she keep him with her for her own reasons? Or should she help him and let him move on?

If Susannah Simon was a certified Mediator whose job was to purposefully help ghosts move on, Phat is the forced mediator who slowly warms upto Phob, who undoubtedly is a prankster and the only genuinely funny character in the entire drama. (Probably because he was an amnesiac.)
Something In My Room is not just about finding out Phob's true identity —- it dealt with heavy themes such as separation, death, goals, parental love, and the importance of life in general.

Phat and his Mom's relationship was a strong one. I adored how they really cared for each other and how Phat was ready to share all his secrets with her, whoever outlandish it might be. I absolutely loved this aspect of the show. Yes, somethings can't be revealed without stirring ill emotions, but their genuine understanding and support for each other is a highlight. Both the actors nailed their roles. I particularly liked Phat's 'introvert, but secret extrovert' attitude. He was funny in the beginning, but he is definitely one of the most loneliest characters I've seen. This is a largely negligible point, but I've seen "heteronormativity agenda being pushed into everyone" arguments. Personally, from my observation, Phat starts appreciating and falling for a person based on how close he was and how much he knew them. Not because of their sexual orientation or looks.

Phat's friend Dream was interesting in her own way. I've heard that she was badly written, but I think they randomly added the plot in to show how difficult it was for her to accept herself and her father's deeds. Also, as I said, I'm a sucker for ghost tropes, which might be the reason this part did not annoy me. Luck was the only character who was really "off". He piqued my curiosity, but his real trouble was with himself.
Ghost stories, especially long ones, come in with filler content.

Phob is definitely the real hero. Mostly, because when we begin the drama, he is a fun loving jester who has zero idea about himself. This slowly starts to change as the story progresses and we begin discovering bits of his memories. Kudos to the actor who played him as there were emotional scenes that were just plain hard to watch. (Apparently his past role in a BL romance left many viewers hopeless, but I guarantee that this one can change your mind.)

Luck was one character that they could've done away with. His sceptical view of events and his own trauma appeared conflicting to me.

Production wise, it's evident that they were short on budget. The editing is not perfect. On episode 5 and 6, there is a play performed by a character and I still do not know what was real and what was fake. Or I might just be too stupid to appreciate his art.

There are scenes that appear to be still missing, particularly in EP1. Product Placement was minimum, but when it did appear, they did not even attempt to hide the promotion. Nothing is prim and polished. It irked me so much that House No. 88 was always dark at night. Yes, Phat's mom was out of the province, but that doesn't mean that the electricity went with her, right?

The BGM was beyond fantastic. Particularly the synthwave that played during the first time that Phob meets Phat in his dream and the finale.

Extra round of applause to the screenwriter for the very satisfying conclusion. The FB scene is one of the most bittersweet moments I've seen on TV. The finale can be interpretted as either sad, bitter or happy. But, it's definitely an ending that nobody would easily forget. This is definitely an easily bingeworthy watch which I would highly recommend to lovers of ghost stories.
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