"Underworld beauty salon" is full of flaws and feels forced.

The horror film "Underworld Beauty Salon" (currently showing in theaters) by director Nguyen Huu Hoang features Ngoc Trinh, Xuan Lan, Le Xuan Tien, Rima Thanh Vy, and others. The title and the cast's attractive appearance are factors that draw audiences to the theaters, in addition to the film's concept and message. Unfortunately, the weak script, numerous flaws, and forced plot points have resulted in many negative points for viewers.

Doctor Thanh (Ngoc Trinh) and her lover in the film.

Thuan (Le Xuan Tien), the boyfriend of doctor Thanh (Ngoc Trinh), is involved in a serious traffic accident. Thanh accepts a lucrative job at a secluded beauty clinic in the forest run by Mrs. Xuan (Xuan Lan) to earn money for her boyfriend's treatment. There, Thanh is constantly harassed by strange and eerie phenomena. Mrs. Xuan tells her she needs to perform a ritual of soul-traveling (ascending to the afterlife) to find out the reason. Unexpectedly, these "round trips" between the realms of the living and the dead gradually unveil many secrets related to this beauty clinic…

Beauty salons and stories of cosmetic surgery are familiar themes in films. This time, the story is "upgraded" to a horror version. The combination of these two elements creates novelty in the film's concept and theme. However, instead of delving into secrets, greed, and the price of blindness, the film focuses on horror and scares. More than half of the film's running time is filled with scenes of ghosts and demons, with continuous scares from the mortal world to the underworld, leaving viewers both shocked and... bored. Many unnecessary scenes only make the film rambling and drawn-out.

The film has little dialogue and a lot of visuals. This should be a highlight of a film, but it backfires when the dialogue is minimal, meaningless, and difficult to understand. For example, when they first meet, Thanh asks Ms. Xuan who she is. Ms. Xuan replies, "I am a safe person," leaving the viewer bewildered. Or when an employee at the beauty salon expresses admiration to Thanh, saying, "You have opened my eyes," even though Thanh hasn't done anything yet, hasn't treated any patients!

Thanh is a doctor, a knowledgeable and scientifically- minded person, but when Mrs. Xuan tells her she's possessed and asks her to perform strange rituals, she doesn't question it at all, simply obeying like a puppet. The characters' dialogue is so minimal that they only briefly state things in one direction, and everything unfolds naturally, leaving the audience to accept it. Even when Thanh is told by the ghosts why Mrs. Xuan opened the beauty salon and invited her there, the explanation is incredibly simple.

At the end of the film, Thanh and Mrs. Xuan finally have a confrontation, but Thanh is at a disadvantage as she fails to assert her position as the protagonist in both her words and actions, completely overshadowed by the antagonist. Viewers expected a balanced questioning and debate about right and wrong, about what happened, but everything simply faded away with the villain's arguments prevailing.

The forced nature is also evident in many other details, such as: the girl kidnapped at the beginning of the film in the middle of the night is unknown, and her role in the film is unclear; Thanh rejects her boyfriend's marriage proposal to focus on her career, but when talking to others, she casually refers to Thuan as her husband; the extent of Thuan's injuries and why Thanh has to work extra jobs to earn money for his treatment are not mentioned at all…

"Underworld Beauty Salon" conveys a message about the consequences of an extreme desire to change one's appearance for the better, or how unfulfilled desires and dreams gradually turn into obsessive obsessions. The film also touches on love and motherhood, but each theme is explored only briefly and not in sufficient depth. The film features many supporting characters, but they are hastily developed and then disappear without a clear ending.

CAT DANG

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/tham-my-vien-am-phu-nhieu-san-va-guong-ep-a204498.html