Vietnamese films: Comedy, horror, and...

Released in the early days of the year, director Ham Tran's horror series "The Devil's Diner" currently boasts the highest viewership ratings on Netflix. Could this be seen as an extension of the horror genre on Vietnamese screens?

Falling in Love with My Best Friend is completely overshadowed in the Lunar New Year film race - Photo: DPCC

Looking back at Vietnamese cinema in 2024, it's easy to see that horror films dominated. This has formed a trend that experts predict will continue to hold the leading position in the Vietnamese film market in 2025.

Attracting audiences to Vietnamese films in theaters.

Within that larger trend, we can also see manufacturers. Vietnamese films The narrative space has shifted from contemporary, urban society to more intimate settings. It emphasizes folk elements, retelling legends, myths, and fairy tales from a different perspective.

Overall, Vietnamese horror films this past year have at least managed to draw audiences to theaters, generate attention, and spark diverse discussions. Familiar local elements have also contributed to their appeal to viewers.

However, recreating the cultural and historical context, and recapturing the ancient atmosphere, still requires more careful investment from the filmmakers.

While horror elements and the exploitation of folk legends still attract public attention, it's difficult to say whether they won't eventually become saturated.

Although today's audiences can name many more Vietnamese horror films, choosing one that deserves to be called a classic of the Vietnamese horror genre would require considerable deliberation.

On the 10th day of the first lunar month (February 7th), a Vietnamese horror film will be released. Ghost Lamp The film has been released to the audience. It is inspired by "The Story of the Girl from Nam Xuong," a tale that appeared in Nguyen Du's *Legends of the Strange* in the 16th century. From the audience seats, there is still hope that in 2025, Vietnamese cinema will have more horror films with unique characteristics and good investment.

Horror will undoubtedly remain a dominant trend on screen in 2025, but whether it will be a fleeting phenomenon or become a distinctive feature with a unique local flavor and impressive works, as Thailand and Taiwan have already achieved, remains to be seen.

The Devil's Restaurant Receives Praise During Lunar New Year Season - Photo: NETFLIX

Don't lose the element of novelty.

As mentioned above, while horror films are the dominant genre, the Vietnamese box office is currently dominated by contemporary comedies, and psychological dramas with family and kinship themes, such as those starring Tran Thanh and Ly Hai.

The Vietnamese film market typically kicks off with what we commonly call "Tet films." In 2025, Vietnamese cinema will begin with three romantic comedies: The Four Vengeful Spirits A billion-dollar kiss and Falling in love with the wrong person, my best friend .

In there Falling in love with the wrong best friend. It's difficult to break through in the Lunar New Year film race. This is partly because the shadow of the Thai version released in 2019 is still deeply ingrained in the audience's minds.

It's understandable that adaptations are always compared to previous versions. It's also normal for a film to have multiple versions.

Example film Man in Love (Men Love) from South Korea, released in 2014, has had two versions released in Taiwan (2021) and Thailand (2024) within 10 years.

Good The Taiwanese drama You Are The Apple Of My Eye (Vietnamese title: The Girl We Chased Together That Year) has also had adaptations in Japan (2018), Thailand (2023), and South Korea.

Remakes that are made too close to the original are often poorly received. Not to mention, they lose the element of novelty, as audiences haven't had enough time to forget the impressions of the previous version.

Back to The Revenge Quartet , the film that reached nearly 300 billion VND in revenue after 10 days of screening, far surpasses the 118 billion VND revenue of... A billion-dollar kiss - although this is also a very impressive number.

Comedy films have long dominated Vietnamese cinema, including many Lunar New Year films. Yet, very few of them leave a lasting impression on audiences. Some films are even acquired by online streaming platforms, and only then do audiences become aware of their existence.

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/phim-viet-nam-hai-kinh-di-va-3343184.html