Horror films are having a boom.

Always a genre beloved by audiences, it's no surprise that the second half of 2024 saw a surge of horror films on Vietnamese screens, including some highly anticipated works.

The "four-horse" race

From now until the end of the year, at least four horror and supernatural films will be released, including: *Ma Da* (directed by Nguyen Huu Hoang, scheduled for release August 16), *Lam Gioi Voi Ma* (Trung Lun, August 30), *Cam* (Tran Huu Tan, September), and *Linh Mieu* (Luu Thanh Luan, November 22). A common thread, following the box office success of recent Vietnamese horror films such as *Quy Cau*, *Ke An Hon*, *Bac Kim Thang*, and *Chuyen Ma Gan Nha *, is the increasing trend among Vietnamese filmmakers to incorporate elements of folklore into their works.

"Ma Da" is based on haunting stories from the riverine region. Photo: DPCC

Ma Da draws its material from age-old legends of people living in riverside areas; or, with Cam , considered a horror adaptation inspired by the famous fairy tale Tam Cam , with new characters and details, giving the audience a feeling that is both strange and familiar. Cam is also considered the most heavily invested horror film in the history of Vietnamese cinema, with a long-term release strategy, not only domestically but also internationally. Linh Mieu is the sequel to the trilogy of horror films with folk material. This time, Creative Director Vo Thanh Hoa and Director Luu Thanh Luan chose the story of a demon possessing a corpse as the main theme.

According to Mr. Vo Thanh Hoa, this is a completely new story, separate from "The Demon Dog ." The team hopes to bring new life and color to the second film in the series of folk horror films. " Making Money with Ghosts " is different, choosing a story that combines family, humor, and spirituality, while also marking the directorial debut of actor Trung Lun.

According to critic Tuan Lalarme: “Perhaps with so many box office failures across different film genres, filmmakers, investors, and producers have realized that making horror films minimizes the risk of box office failure. Producing a horror film doesn't require a large budget or star power; all you need is a sufficiently terrifying and engaging story. Not only in Vietnam, but the world also favors horror films. If a horror film is successful, the profits are enormous.”

Establishing a position

Not only in Vietnam, but many film experts also believe that 2024 could be considered the year of the horror genre. A prime example is Exhuma: Grave Robbery , which grossed over 212 billion VND in Vietnam and nearly 100 million USD globally. More recently, the sequel to the popular horror franchise A Quiet Place also continued to dominate the box office with a total global revenue of over 220 million USD.

Longlegs , an independent horror film released in the US in early July, has also received many positive reviews and is predicted to be a potential "new blockbuster" of this summer's movie season. Especially after a series of innovative horror films such as Get Out, Hereditary, Us, Nope, Lamb, M3GAN, Talk to Me, Beau Is Afraid ..., horror films are also finding their place at major film awards. Some notable horror films released in 2024 include: Abigail, Immaculate, Late Night with the Devil, Nosferatu, MaXXXine …

Chad Archibald, a veteran producer who has worked on over 30 horror films through Black Fawn Films, told IndieWire: “It’s a very open genre. You can break all the rules. It’s a genre that tends to be a little more artistically adventurous, because horror fans are also film enthusiasts. They want to see different things, interesting things, new perspectives.”

Meanwhile, according to film critic Tuan Lalarme, despite facing many difficulties such as competing with streaming platforms and audiences still being hesitant to go to theaters to watch horror films, this genre still has a loyal audience and much potential to be exploited.

"Perhaps because humans are always curious about what they don't know or see, and always want to experience extreme emotions, that thrillers, horror films, and those with elements of horror, mystery, and scares are so captivating. This is different from other film genres, where it's difficult to achieve a breakthrough that touches on feelings of joy or suffering... Meanwhile, fear seems to be the easiest thing to find when watching a horror film," film critic Tuan Lalarme commented.

VAN TUAN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/phim-kinh-di-duoc-mua-post751982.html