Horror movie 'Thai chieu tai' - the villain's fairy tale

Opening the Asian horror stories universe of director Tran Nhan Kien, the film 'Thai chieu tai' takes the audience into a world of dark magic.

The main character Nhon (played by Hong Thanh) is a villain.

Instead of the usual scares, the film chooses to tell the story in chapters, forcing viewers to uncover and decode the villain's past, a successful businessman using forbidden tricks and rituals.

This psychological horror film was just released to the press in Ho Chi Minh City on the afternoon of November 4, and is currently having early screenings, before its nationwide release from November 7.

Keep your identity, break the mold

The film revolves around the character Nhon (played by actor Hong Thanh), a seemingly successful businessman who owns a wealthy estate. However, his career is built on many tricks and tricks. When his business begins to decline and his luck seems to run out, Nhon falls into fear of losing everything.

Driven by greed and obsession with money, Nhon decided to seek out a dark and taboo form of black magic called Thai chieu tai. This is a terrifying spiritual ritual that uses resentment to attract wealth, in the belief that it can help him maintain his wealth and prosperity.

However, the trade-off with black magic is never free. The ritual has inadvertently opened the door to dark forces. The terrifying obsessions from the past begin to rise, threatening not only himself but also those around him. The film uncovers the story of family tragedy, generational psychological trauma and the inescapable cycle of karma, showing that the price to pay for greed is extremely high.

Sisters Minh Phuong (left) and Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc play the roles of two mysterious midwives.

The author shared that he has incorporated the culture of the Southwest into every detail of the film, from the setting, music , customs... The indigenous culture is not just an added "spice", but has become the soul of the story. That is the image of the washed stone house, a typical architecture of the West, turning it into a vivid "character", imprisoning both faith and karma. That is the sound design, the music has a distinct Southern influence, from the sound of wooden fish, chanting to folk sounds, creating a creepy atmosphere, both familiar and strange.

However, there are many reproduced audio segments that are too loud, making it difficult for the audience to hear the story clearly and even causing discomfort.

Actress Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc (as the midwife) also commented about director Tran Nhan Kien: "She loves national culture intensely, choosing to pursue a film genre that is both artistic to introduce Vietnamese culture to the world , and also meets the revenue for reproduction. I hope the film will be well received so that this young director can recharge his energy to continue on his journey of doing a decent job."

Image of a lucky fetus.

In particular, the film " Thai chieu tai" is labeled T18 not because of the horror of a few scenes, but because of the heavy psychological obsessions, quite throughout. The director chose a unique direction when stepping out of the beaten path of Vietnamese horror films, he broke the mold right from the script, deciding to "let the villain speak" to tell about his past.

"This is the first time I've shown the dark side of a villain in their journey. I want to let the villain speak up and say 'we also have a past' and 'why do we have to act so evilly?' No one naturally wants to become a character that is ostracized and shunned by everyone like that," director Tran Nhan Kien shared.

Instead of leading a simple scare story, the director pulled the audience into the dark journey of Nhon, a man with heavy psychological and past inhibitions, where the line between human and demon is blurred by "greed, anger, ignorance" and the tragedy of the desire for recognition.

Escaping the shadow of comedy, Hong Thanh proves his ability with the role of Mr. Nhon.

In addition, the film's structure also refuses to be easy, when choosing a unique chapter-by-chapter narrative. This way of telling is like peeling back each layer of the cover, peeling off the fate of each character, each layer of sin and intergenerational obsessions likened to a cycle of reincarnation with no way out. The chapters are interwoven sequentially and complement each other, leading to the audience watching, initially vague, then clear later.

However, this way of storytelling is quite picky about the audience, the female lead Ta Lam (playing Nhon's wife) also admitted: "This is the first time Ta Lam has seen the completed version, although Ta Lam had previously imagined what the movie would be like, but when Ta Lam watched the movie in theaters today, Ta Lam also felt that this was a very difficult movie to accept."

Diverse cast

From left to right: Director Tran Nhan Kien, actor Ta Lam and actor Hong Thanh at the film premiere.

The risk of " Thai Chieu Tai" also lies in the "gamble" of choosing actors. Particularly noteworthy is actor Hong Thanh, who was "chosen" by the director to play the male lead role of Nhon.

Having been "nailed" by the audience with comedy, the pressure to shed that shadow to take on the tragic lead role was Hong Thanh's biggest challenge. Admittedly, Hong Thanh succeeded in making the audience "believe" in the character, expressing the complex inner feelings in a complete way.

However, this performance was successful in terms of "will" (escape from the label), but not complete in terms of "emotion". It seems that to ensure the success of the role, he chose a safe path, causing the expression throughout the film to fall into monotony, lacking explosion and diversity at key moments.

Similar to Hong Thanh, the main actress, actress Ta Lam is also an interesting "unknown factor" of the film. This is the first film project in which Ta Lam takes on the main role. Previously, Ta Lam accidentally became known as an "internet phenomenon" with the hit " Going to the rising sun" , a song that spread strongly, was widely covered and was also involved in a copyright "stick" scandal.

Although she was lucky enough to "become famous" thanks to music, she affirmed that acting is the path she pursues, and this role is the answer. Despite her lack of experience and shortcomings in expression, Ta Lam still convinces viewers thanks to her natural, rustic acting. In particular, her clear and reasonable dialogue is a big plus that helps her "play her role well" and proves her ability to pursue cinema.

Along with the young cast, the return to acting of writer Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc and her younger sister, artist Minh Phuong, is a professional guarantee for the film. With the roles of two mysterious midwives, the artist sisters Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc - Minh Phuong become the film's iconic characters. Their appearance is both mysterious and "metaphorical", containing many complex layers of meaning about karma and faith.

Overall, Thai Chieu Tai is an ambitious opening shot by director Tran Nhan Kien. The film succeeds in creating a horror atmosphere rich in Southern culture and a script that dares to "swim upstream" to tell a fairy tale exclusively for adults from the perspective of the villain.

According to Sports & Culture

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/phim-kinh-di-thai-chieu-tai-chuyen-co-tich-cua-ke-phan-dien-525811.html