Upamanyu Biswas
Created by Chayan Laoyodtrakool, ‘Terror Tuesday: Extreme’ is a Thai horror anthology series that delves into different horror stories across the season with varying plots and cast members. Originally titled ‘Angkhan Khlumpong: Extreme,’ the Netflix show explores unique haunting incidents ranging from episode to episode with the central premise of ordinary people being flung into unfortunate scenarios. Its primary focus lies on creating chilling cases of supernatural horror that are both intriguing in their lore and interesting to consume as individual tales.
However, viewers will notice the presence of a radio show named ‘Terror Tuesday’ operating in the background of the show, often attracting attention as the narrative progresses. In between the scary appearances of ghosts, spurned goddesses, and haunted spirits, the show builds around the concept of small, contained stories that are tied together in a larger whole by the background forces at work. As the radio show plays an integral part in tying the anthology narrative, questions arise about the show’s connection with the horror stories presented and whether they are rooted in reality.
Terror Tuesday: Extreme is Inspired By Real Experiences of Radio Show Listeners
The horror stories featured in ‘Terror Tuesday: Extreme’ are all based on real-life experiences recounted by listeners of the Thai horror radio show ‘Angkhan Khlumpong,’ which airs on the EFM94 radio channel. Written by Chayan Laoyodtrakool, Prueksa Amaruji, Abhichoke Chandrasen, Pun Homchuen, Prin Keeratiratanalak, Kanokphan Ornrattanasakul, Chookiat Sakveerakul, Kasidej Sundararjun, Eakasit Thairaat, and Thanamas Thalerngsuk, the show dramatizes the accounts phoned in by the listeners by filtering them through sinister occult narratives. They portray a more frightening version of these stories, or as it is aptly addressed in the show’s title, an extreme version of events. However, regardless of the modifications, the basic premise of the tales is drawn from real accounts.
Each episode is handled by different directors, bringing a distinct style to their independent stories. They mainly revolve around historical practices of occultism, religion, and tradition, which often clash with unsuspecting families, couples, and individuals. For instance, the fourth episode, ‘The Vow,‘ deals with a young couple’s run-in with a local shrine goddess, who seeks vengeance upon them for their dishonesty. The deep dive into the supernatural elements is often grounded through the lens of spiritualism, which provides a fresh perspective into how ordinary people come across myths, legends, and folktales in Thailand. Even the show’s tagline on Netflix reads, “Eight macabre stories that explore the occult side of Thailand.”
The Occultism At the Heart of Terror Tuesday: Extreme
In the show’s third episode, ‘Ode to My Family,’ a family of four moves to an isolated house in the middle of nowhere, where they discover a warding charm blocking entry to one of the rooms. Other stories in the show include dark, unseemly rituals to summon spirits, cases of possession, haunted apartments and houses, and many more that fall in and around the same theme. Therefore, the world of occultism and mysticism plays an integral role in providing the building blocks of the narrative, which are layered on top of the chilling true accounts. As the stories change from one episode to another, it helps the writers to cover a wide breadth of topics and narratives that have disparate but similar tones.
While ‘Terror Tuesday: Extreme’ keeps a close connection to reality through its source material, the show is not the first to take inspiration from stories originally told on a radio show. In fact, many have followed that premise when constructing their anthology narratives. The horror anthology series ‘Lights Out’ which ran from 1946 to 1952, was based on a popular eponymous radio show at the time, and so was the show ‘Suspense.’ Adapting radio shows into horror narratives brings an added thrill as the narratives espoused by eager listeners can be visualized in a terrifying format when turning into a live-action series. The chilling stories can be expanded upon by the writing team and made into a more fully realized version of events.
Although the stories presented in ‘Terror Tuesday: Extreme’ are heightened with supernatural elements for dramatic effect, the nucleus of events central to each episode is intimately rooted in people’s fears and anxieties. The couple who get plagued by a vengeful goddess in the previously mentioned fourth episode have a penchant for lying and keeping secrets from one another, which ultimately forms the basis of their haunting. The monsters lurking in each individual tale are born from the inadequacies of the characters themselves, lending a sense of believability to their stories and emotions. Overall, it is an authentic depiction of both the mundane and supernatural clashing through disparate stories about human deficiencies.
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