The Thai horror-comedy movie My Boo, directed by Khomkrit Treewimol, who previously co-directed the cult classic coming-of-age flick My Girl (2003), is a sweet, emotional story revolving around the romance of a young man and his ghost girlfriend, which, though it doesn’t introduce anything radically new to the genre, hooks viewers through a simplistic premise and brilliant chemistry between the leads. The horror gets unintentionally over the top and funny at certain points, and the humor is mostly decent as well, but viewers will find their attention fixated on the love story at the core of the narrative. Despite being conventional and following a lot of clichés of the genre, My Boo is an endearing, delightful experience that will stay with you for quite a while if you are a fan of sentimental romance stories.
Spoilers Ahead
How Did Joe Meet Anong?
Joe is a jobless young guy in his mid-twenties whose only source of income is video game streaming, especially horror ones at that. As the movie begins, Joe wakes up from a nightmare where he witnesses the death of a girl inside an old, derelict house, and the significance of his nightmare isn’t revealed until the end of the movie. Anyway, Joe accompanies his mother to the declaration of his recently deceased, wealthy grandfather, Amnaj’s final will, and finds out that, he had passed away even before including Joe’s inheritance into the will. One of Joe’s cousins consoles him by giving away a property owned by him, an old family mansion nestled inside the wilderness. Joe takes a loan from a local lender, Mha Jai Dee, with the intention to refurbish the mansion and sell it. However, as Joe takes a real estate agent to the location to do a valuation of the property, the agent experiences a supernatural presence around the place and flees. Joe meets a local elder, Uncle Pom, who refuses to be of any assistance either and disappears. That night, Joe is unable to leave the mansion as a heavy downpour begins, and just as the clock strikes midnight, Joe is creeped out by an unearthly presence inside the house. To his horror, he witnesses three people get killed right in front of his eyes by unseen forces, and one of them is the girl from his nightmare. A frightened Joe makes a run for it, but later, with the help of Uncle Pom, he organizes a ritual by inviting monks to purify the house and ward off spirits—but even then, the situation remains the same the next night, the spirits of three deceased persons return once again. The trio has been living in this house for a long time and is unwilling to leave it at any cost.
Joe decides to do a background search by scouring online and learns that the mansion belonged to a certain Lord Damrongyothanarong, whose daughter, Anong, and two servants, Thong Gon and Thong Yip, went missing after a robbery took place at the mansion in the absence of the Lord and his wife. Apparently, the trio were murdered and haven’t been able to transcend or reincarnate due to the fact that their remains were never discovered. As a result, since the last seven decades, they have been trapped inside the mansion, existing as ghosts, and now Joe has to share the space with them until their remains are found and their spirits find peace. Joe shares the truth with the trio and offers to help them. Joe has found a picture of Anong along with her parents, which he shares with her, and overwhelmed by emotions, Anong asks him whether he knows how her parents spent their final days. The truth is Anong’s parents faced a tragic end, as her father was imprisoned for killing multiple people whom he suspected to be responsible for his daughter’s disappearance, and Anong’s mother died of heartbreak over losing her husband and daughter. But Joe lies to Anong by stating that they spent their final days in peace, to offer her departed soul some much-deserved peace.
Joe and Anong Fall in Love
Joe begins his efforts to find the remains of the trio, and the lender, Mha, begins to pressurize him to pay up his dues. While visiting a local carnival, Joe meets a couple, Kong and Soda, and their friends group, as they take part in a haunted house ride, and seeing their reaction, Joe hits upon a plan of using the haunted mansion as a tourist attraction. Anong, Gon, and Yip seem eager to help Joe as they use their trickery to scare Kong, Soda, and their friend group, whom Joe had invited as a test audience. Words spread fast online, and in no time, the haunted mansion becomes a major travel destination for tourists, with local business growing at its outskirts. Joe is able to pay off his debts, and gradually, he and Anong grow fond of each other.
Joe learns about Anong’s past life; she was a dance teacher and shared a close bond with her parents, and Anong learns about Joe’s profession as a streamer. Anong teaches Joe to dance while Joe introduces her to gaming character designs and stuff like that. Joe plants Anong’s favorite plumeria tree in the house premises, and through his care and affection towards her, Anong begins to feel alive once again. However, Joe becomes a bit concerned about learning about how a relationship between a ghost and a human can never come to pass, as it can entail dangers he cannot even fathom, and begins to fear Anong for a while, wondering whether she will take him along with her. Anong saves Joe from two robbers by possessing Joe’s body, and as Joe shares his concerns with her, she assures him nothing of that sort will happen. Joe realizes that Anong shares feelings for him as well, but belonging to two different worlds, they cannot be together even if they want to. Joe makes a temporary solution by inviting Kong and knocking him out by spiking his drink, and letting Anong possess his body as the duo go for a New Year’s Eve celebration. However, the next day, as Kong learns about Joe’s actions, he berates him and, promising to never share the incidents with anyone, asks Joe to find a better solution. Anong possessing Kong’s body and going on a date with Joe presents an interesting romance angle that is not bound by gender constraints but at the same time raises the question of consent, though the movie doesn’t delve too deep into that aspect.
Some time later, Joe’s ex-girlfriend, Miw, pays a visit to the haunted mansion carnival, and seeing her close to Joe, Anong becomes a bit too jealous and heartbroken. Anong realizes the reality of their predicament. She feels insecure being a ghost; she will never be able to replace a human association in Joe’s life. However, Joe manages to comfort Anong by professing his love for her, and Anong reciprocates as well.
What Happened To Joe And Anong At The End?
However, tragedy strikes when people least expect it to, as Joe’s cousin, to whom the mansion originally belonged, decides to sell the land to a realtor to make up for his own growing financial difficulties, and Joe isn’t able to do anything except break down in pain and anger, as the deeds to the property still belong to his cousin. A crestfallen Joe desperately cries out to apologize to the departed souls and finds the remains of Anong, Gon, and Yip inside the rubble. Joe sees a vision that makes him realize that the reason he had the nightmare about Anong is because one of his ancestors was responsible for the deaths of the trio, who buried their corpse underneath the mansion as well. Joe meets the spirits for one last moment, and Anong thanks him for offering her a chance to live, to love, and to be human once again. With their remains found, the spirits pass over to the afterlife to reincarnate once again, while Joe mourns their loss. Later on, he arranges a proper cremation for them inside a temple, making a separate mausoleum for Anong. The only memorabilia he has of her is her bracelet, which he puts on his hand as a remembrance to his former lover. It was destiny that brought them together, and once again its thanks to the inscrutable whims of fate that they are separated.
Anong’s presence and ensuing departure gave Joe a purpose in his life, and with a newfound sense of direction, he decides to become a game developer, using his experiences with the spirits of Anong House. Joe finds success, and sixty years later, an old Joe still remembers Anong as the love of his life as her favorite plumeria tree blooms in his luxurious apartment. The clock strikes midnight, and Joe remembers the much-cherished moments of his days spent with Anong. Presumably, Joe leaves his mortal coil, and the star-crossed lovers, who never had a chance to be together, live on in the memories they shared with each other. As the movie ends, a beautiful dream sequence plays out, where a young Joe and Anong dance together and share a kiss, which can either be interpreted as Joe’s dream or the duo having finally reunited in the afterlife, depending upon how viewers choose to look at it.
