A Useful Ghost – Movie Review (3/5)

A USEFUL GHOST is a dark satire with a supernatural plot. Essentially, it’s a ghost story where a spirit attaches itself to a vacuum cleaner. However, there is so much more to the story that you’ll just have to watch it to truly understand. It’s a true genre hybrid that had me completely enthralled. Read our full A Useful Ghost movie review here!

A USEFUL GHOST is a new supernatural dark satire. It’s very much a ghost story, but one that manages to also revolve around a love story, a new meet-cute romance, and a very serious social commentary. Sounds like quite a lot for one movie, I know, and it absolutely is. With a runtime of more than two hours, there’s plenty of time to tell this story.

The official genres for this Thai genre-mix are comedy, drama, fantasy, horror, and thriller. And yes, we will get through all of these genres.

Admittedly, the runtime is too long. Not by too much, but it could do with a little trimming to ensure people aren’t exhausted up-front. Having said that, I must admit I could not take my eyes off the screen. Constantly, something new and strange would happen. This movie does not hold back… at all.

Continue reading our A Useful Ghost movie review below. Find it in select theaters from January 16, 2026.

A vacuum cleaner romance

I know the plot of A Useful Ghost sounds very strange, and it absolutely is. However, more importantly, it works. It really works. We meet March, who is in deep mourning for his wife, Nat. She passed away due to dust pollution, just as they were about to begin their family. Overall, his family isn’t very conventional as his mom runs a factory, and his older brother is gay and married to an Australian man.

His mom took over the factory after the passing of her husband, and she is doing a great job. Well, a great job in terms of profit, not so much for the workers. Then again, it doesn’t appear that she’s worse than anyone else, so the workers are actually quite happy with their jobs.

In any case, the plot really kicks off when a young man believes his vacuum cleaner has been possessed by a ghost. A repairman arrives, and he starts telling the story of when another vacuum cleaner was possessed by a ghost.

This is when the story of March and Nat is really told. March discovers that his beloved wife’s spirit has returned by possessing a vacuum cleaner. For the record, this isn’t just March’s belief, but a fact. We all know and see that the ghost of Nat has indeed possessed a vacuum cleaner, and now, March and Nat want to continue their marriage in this strange new constellation.

Get ready for the craziest moments

If you think the plot of A Useful Ghost sounds wild, I have to tell you that it’s nothing compared to the actual movie. There is no way to prepare you for this movie. Not just because it would mean spoiling some amazing moments, but also because they cannot be explained very well.

I mean, the plot alone sounds crazy, and if I were to try to explain how it all plays out on screen, it would sound even stranger.

That’s why it’s truly amazing that I found myself completely accepting the romance between March and Nat, despite his wife now being a vacuum cleaner. Yes, it works. “How?” you wonder? Well, that’s what you need to watch A Useful Ghost to fully understand.

Also, there are quite a few steamy moments. And yes, they will involve a vacuum cleaner on more than one occasion!

Watch A Useful Ghost in theaters

Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke is the writer and director of A Useful Ghost, and despite it being very different than what I expected, I really recommend watching this Thai genre treat. The only reason our rating isn’t higher is that it was too long for my liking. Again, not by as much as I feared when I first saw the runtime, but it could and should have been trimmed.

Without spoiling details for you, I do want to say this much: Nat being a vacuum cleaner is not what makes her a useful ghost. Instead, it’s the fact that she’s a ghost and what this enables her to do. You see, the factory that March’s mom owns is also haunted by the ghost of a worker who died there.

The factory is desperately in need of dealing with that situation, and how better to deal with one ghost than to work with another?! Or, as mentioned in the official plot, “To become a useful ghost, she must first get rid of the useless ones.”

While I wasn’t familiar with any of the actors in this movie, I felt they were all perfectly cast in their respective roles. Everyone clearly understood the assignment and went all in on this wild ride of a film. The fact that this movie is the official submission of Thailand for “Best International Feature Film” at the 2026 Academy Awards should tell you that this isn’t just a crazy genre-mix, but one with heart.

A Useful Ghost is out in select theaters January 16, 2026.

Details

Director: Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke
Writers: Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, Geoffroy Grison
Cast: Davika Hoorne, Witsarut Himmarat, Apasiri Nitibhon, Wanlop Rungkumjud, Wisarut Homhuan