AceShowbiz - Inherit marks the highly anticipated return of Thai filmmaker Banjong Pisanthanakun to the director’s chair after a five-year hiatus. Known for his influential work in the horror genre, including the landmark titles Shutter and Pee Mak, Banjong’s latest project is backed by GDH 559, Thailand’s most versatile and commercially successful studio. The film’s international sales are being handled by Korean company Barunson E&A, renowned for their involvement with Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar-winning Parasite.

Banjong Pisanthanakun has established himself as one of Southeast Asia’s top genre directors. His debut horror film Shutter (2004) became a defining title in the Thai horror wave of the 2000s, while the 2013 comedy-horror Pee Mak broke domestic box office records by becoming Thailand’s highest-grossing film ever and the first Thai movie to exceed ten million admissions. His most recent work, The Medium (2021), a supernatural found-footage thriller co-produced with Korea’s Showbox, earned critical praise but faced distribution challenges due to the pandemic.

The narrative of Inherit revolves around a wealthy family whose seemingly perfect facade begins to unravel when an ancient centipede spirit infects their bloodline. The film is adapted from Tayat Asun, a seminal Thai horror novel first published in 1991. This novel, which has been reprinted multiple times and adapted for television several times, is being brought to the big screen for the first time. The cast features Davika Hoorne, who recently starred in A Useful Ghost, a movie that won the Grand Prize in Cannes’ Critics’ Week and was also distributed in Thailand by GDH.

GDH 559 has been a powerhouse in Southeast Asian cinema. Their 2024 release How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies earned approximately $73.8 million worldwide, becoming the first Thai film shortlisted for the International Feature Oscar. The film was also acquired by Miramax for an English-language remake. In 2025, GDH expanded its festival presence with Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit’s Human Resource, which premiered in the Orizzonti section of the Venice Film Festival.

GDH CEO Jina Osothsilp described the project as "haunting," noting that it draws on a beloved piece of Thai horror literature while presenting a fresh and unsettling narrative. She emphasized that the story is deeply rooted in Thai culture but explores universal themes of family, legacy, and the inescapable forces that shape our lives.

Barunson E&A will manage international sales for Inherit across North America, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North Africa. This collaboration extends Barunson’s expanding presence in Southeast Asia, following their exclusive sales partnership with Indonesian director Joko Anwar’s production company Come and See Pictures. Anwar’s latest film, Ghost in the Cell, premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival with Barunson serving as co-producer and sales agent. Barunson E&A CEO Yoonhee Choi revealed that discussions with GDH are ongoing for future co-development and co-production projects beyond Inherit.

With the combination of Banjong Pisanthanakun’s visionary direction, the cultural weight of the source material, and the support of two major studios, Inherit is poised to be a significant addition to contemporary Thai horror cinema. It is set to explore complex themes through a chilling supernatural lens, continuing the legacy of impactful storytelling that has defined Banjong’s career.

As the film prepares for release, industry observers are watching closely to see how this collaboration between Thai and Korean cinematic powerhouses will translate to both regional and international audiences, potentially further elevating the global stature of Southeast Asian genre films.