A Useful Ghost

A possessed vacuum cleaner? It could've made for a campy genre flick, but instead, Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke's elegant and darkly comic debut blends its absurd premise with thoughtful social critique. After his wife Nat dies of a mysterious respiratory illness, March is confronted with her return... In the form of a vacuum cleaner. That surreal setup unfolds into a layered satire about grief, family ties, oppression, and modern Thai society. Narration comes courtesy of the eccentric technician Krong, who works at a factory where household appliances are inhabited by spirits. Though packed with absurdist humour, the film has an incredible philosophical depth, tackling themes like depression, individualism, and collective trauma. A Useful Ghost won the Grand Prix at Cannes' Semaine de la Critique - and sucks you into a ghost story like no other.