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| Haunted Universities 4 Review and Full Movie Recap: Thailand’s Campus Horror Franchise Returns With Mixed Results. (Credits: Thairath) |
Haunted Universities 4 (เทอม 4) arrives with a bigger scale, louder ambition and four separate university ghost stories pulled from regional Thai legends, but the final result leaves audiences somewhere between impressed, emotionally exhausted and slightly confused why students in horror films continue making terrible life decisions near cursed buildings. The fourth entry in Thailand’s successful campus horror franchise clearly wants to evolve beyond simple jump scares, leaning harder into psychological tension, guilt, toxic relationships and the ugly side of human behaviour.
Sometimes it works brilliantly. Sometimes it feels like a late-night streaming short stretched far beyond its natural lifespan. Either way, it absolutely gives viewers something to argue about afterwards. Directed across multiple segments by filmmakers including Chakorn Chaiprecha, the movie builds its identity around four regional horror tales: White Bridge, Lady’s Pavilion, D-Day Night, and Pink Room.
Each story carries a warning attached to it, almost like the universe itself is tired of university students ignoring obvious red flags. “Don’t break up in the wrong place.” “Don’t trust the wrong people.” “Don’t join rituals at the wrong time.” “Don’t rent the wrong room.” Frankly, the safest option may simply be avoiding campus entirely.
The film opens with White Bridge, starring real-life couple Kao Jirayu La-ongmanee as Boss and Violette Wautier as Mild. The segment centres on a collapsing relationship that reaches its emotional breaking point on a bridge already infamous for tragic incidents and restless spirits.
Boss and Mild arrive there hoping for closure, but instead become trapped in a repeating emotional nightmare where regret and unresolved anger begin manifesting around them. The bridge itself becomes less about ghosts and more about emotional scars people refuse to let go of.
The ending of White Bridge reveals that the supernatural events are tied directly to lingering emotional resentment connected to previous tragic couples who met devastating fates at the bridge. Mild eventually realises the haunting is feeding off repeated cycles of heartbreak and selfish decisions.
Boss tries desperately to escape, but the story heavily implies that emotional dishonesty itself keeps the curse alive. The segment ends ambiguously, suggesting that even if they physically leave the bridge, the emotional damage follows them anyway.
It is bleak, emotionally heavy and visually strong, though many viewers felt the screenplay lacked enough depth to fully support its themes. Despite the strong chemistry between Kao and Violette, the story sometimes feels strangely underdeveloped for something positioned as the opening act.
Then comes Lady’s Pavilion, easily the strongest section of the entire film according to many viewers. Starring Jorin Khumpiraphan as Grace and Prapamonton Eiamchan as Biu, the story follows two young women pulled into the mystery of an abandoned traditional Thai house hidden inside university grounds.
According to local legend, outsiders can see the spirits inside the house, but those already emotionally trapped within cannot. That concept becomes the emotional backbone of the entire segment.
As Grace and Biu grow increasingly consumed by jealousy, insecurity and personal ambition, the house slowly distorts reality around them. Shadows move unnaturally, figures appear behind windows and the boundary between supernatural fear and emotional paranoia begins collapsing.
The ending reveals that the “spirits” haunting the house are deeply tied to unresolved emotional cruelty between the living characters themselves.
Grace ultimately confronts the reality that her obsession with status and validation pushed her toward destroying her closest relationships. Unlike standard ghost stories where the spirit is the true villain, Lady’s Pavilion suggests people are often perfectly capable of ruining each other without supernatural help.
Visually, this segment is the film’s standout achievement. Director Thamouya Tansanakulkit fills the story with flashing lights, suffocating framing and layered visual symbolism that make the haunted house feel genuinely oppressive. The performances from Jorin and Prapamonton also carry emotional weight far stronger than the script probably deserves.
The only frustration is that the segment ends just as its ideas become truly compelling. Many viewers online have already said this story should have been expanded into a full-length standalone film instead of remaining one chapter inside an anthology.
The third story, D-Day Night, shifts sharply into chaotic horror-comedy territory. Starring Tad Atlas as Pao, Jane Kunjiranut Intarasin as Nui and Tanggo Thitinan Rattanathitinan as Shutter, the segment follows a university initiation ritual that spirals completely out of control after freshmen accidentally violate sacred campus traditions during the wrong ceremonial night.
Suddenly former senior students who died under mysterious circumstances begin returning to continue the “welcoming activities” in increasingly horrifying ways.
The story never pretends to be subtle. It is loud, ridiculous and surprisingly funny in places, with Tanggo almost stealing the entire film through sheer chaotic energy alone. The ghosts chasing students around campus while aggressively continuing initiation rituals somehow becomes both absurd and entertaining at the same time.
The ending reveals that the haunting itself was triggered by generations of institutional pressure and blind obedience repeating endlessly across student culture. Underneath the comedy, there is actually a sharp little commentary buried there about toxic traditions continuing simply because nobody questions them.
Still, compared to the stronger emotional arcs elsewhere, D-Day Night feels extremely lightweight. The script barely develops its ideas beyond surface-level entertainment, almost like a short film expanded into a longer runtime at the last minute. Fortunately, the cast’s chemistry and frantic pacing keep the segment entertaining enough to survive its thinner narrative structure.
The final chapter, Pink Room, starring Punch Puntita Boonchuan as Khaning, closes the anthology with perhaps the most emotionally disturbing premise but also one of its weakest executions.
Khaning rents an unusually cheap dorm room painted entirely pink, only to discover the cheerful appearance hides traces of tragedy connected to a former student whose isolation and suffering ended horribly years earlier.
The film attempts to explore themes of loneliness, shame and emotional abandonment, but the storytelling leans heavily into familiar horror clichés rather than building fresh emotional tension. The ending reveals that the room itself functions almost like a prison holding unresolved emotional trauma in place.
Khaning survives physically, but the final scenes strongly imply the room continues waiting for another vulnerable student to enter, continuing the cycle once again. It is meant to feel tragic and haunting, though the overly predictable execution weakens the impact considerably.
Even so, visually the segment works far better than its script. Director Salinee Khemcharas creates several genuinely striking sequences using colour contrast, confined spaces and distorted lighting.
Punch Puntita may not receive enough material to fully showcase her acting range, but her screen presence carries enough charm to keep the story watchable even when the dialogue drifts into unintentionally awkward territory.
What ultimately ties all four stories together is the film’s recurring message that human behaviour can often be more terrifying than supernatural forces.
The ghosts in Haunted Universities 4 are frightening, but the real emotional damage usually comes from betrayal, selfishness, insecurity, toxic relationships and unresolved guilt. The anthology repeatedly suggests that legends survive because people continue repeating the same emotional mistakes generation after generation.
From a review perspective, Haunted Universities 4 is probably one of the franchise’s most ambitious entries, but not necessarily its most consistent. Some segments genuinely feel cinematic and emotionally layered, while others resemble overly extended internet horror shorts padded with stylish lighting.
The film never fully collapses into disaster, though it frequently brushes against frustration because glimpses of greatness appear throughout. You can see a stronger film hiding inside this anthology somewhere, especially within Lady’s Pavilion.
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| Sanook |
The performances overall remain solid. Kao Jirayu and Violette Wautier bring believable emotional exhaustion to White Bridge, while Jorin and Prapamonton completely dominate their segment through layered emotional performances.
Tanggo Thitinan emerges as the film’s unexpected scene-stealer, injecting chaotic humour into D-Day Night whenever the pacing threatens to stall.
For international viewers, Haunted Universities 4 is currently screening theatrically in Thailand, though reports suggest wider digital distribution plans are expected later. Industry speculation points toward eventual availability across major Asian streaming platforms with English subtitles included for overseas audiences.
Thai horror titles have increasingly performed well internationally over recent years, making broader global release plans highly likely even if official confirmations remain limited for now.
Importantly, despite drawing inspiration from campus folklore and regional ghost legends, Haunted Universities 4 is entirely fictional and not based on one true story. The anthology borrows elements from Thai urban myths and university rumours, but the characters and central events are dramatised specifically for cinematic storytelling.
As for whether Haunted Universities 5 could happen, nothing has officially been confirmed yet. However, sequel rumours are already spreading online, and fans are clearly hoping the franchise continues.
Reports surrounding the production suggest the creative team may already have ideas for how the series could eventually conclude, though not immediately.
Given how long-running horror anthologies survive through reinvention, there is still room for future chapters exploring new regional legends, deeper mythology connections or even crossover elements between previous stories.
If a fifth film does happen, viewers will likely expect stronger scripts and more consistent emotional storytelling rather than relying purely on atmosphere and nostalgia.
The franchise clearly still has creative potential, but audiences are now asking for sharper writing alongside the strong visuals and folklore concepts. You cannot keep returning to the same haunted university forever without eventually upgrading the curriculum.
In the end, Haunted Universities 4 is messy, uneven, occasionally brilliant and strangely emotional beneath all the supernatural chaos.
Some stories linger in your mind longer than others, but the film succeeds at reminding viewers why Thai campus horror continues holding such a unique identity in Asian cinema. Even when it stumbles, it still understands how to turn ordinary university spaces into places filled with dread, loneliness and unresolved memory.
And honestly, after watching cursed bridges, haunted dormitories and supernatural initiation nights unfold for two hours straight, some viewers may never look at university orientation week the same way again. Which story disturbed you the most, and which segment do you think deserved a full standalone movie instead?