* Note: The article reveals part of the film's content
"House of Ancestors" is the Vietnamese film leading the revenue rankings, according to Box Office Vietnam data. The film is a horror comedy directed by Huynh Lap.
The work brings together familiar faces such as Meritorious Artist Hanh Thuy, Meritorious Artist Huynh Dong, Puka, Trung Dan, Kieu Linh, Le Nam... In which, Huynh Lap and Phuong My Chi take on the main roles.
The content of "House of Ancestors" revolves around My Tien (Phuong My Chi) - a Gen Z content creator - witnessing many spiritual phenomena in the ancestral home.
One day, she suddenly saw Gia Minh (Huynh Lap) - her brother who passed away 10 years ago. Many tragic situations occurred when the two brothers tried to keep the old house - which was being disputed by relatives, demanding to sell it to divide the family's inheritance.
Forced details
The film uses spiritual and mysterious elements to depict the connection between family members. However, some details were pointed out to be confusing and unfounded. For example, Gia Minh is a soul that has not yet escaped super normal but can arbitrarily "entering and entering" the body of a loved one. The reason My Tien suddenly saw her brother's ghost was also random, not explained.
Director Huynh Lap brought the film's flow to the climax with an exorcism ceremony, putting Gia Minh in a dangerous position because he could be completely extinguished. A village clerk instructed My Tien to call her brother to take shelter in the hereafter, but she could not save her brother in time. After that, Gia Minh suddenly appeared from a... box in the yard, without explaining why he could have hidden safely in such an "unknown" object.
The detail of the man who gave the house to his grandson who was still in school despite having 2 sons and 1 daughter was also commented as unreasonable.
At the end of the film, Gia Minh's transformation into a evil spirit, wanting to "tease" relatives, completely transformed the character, deviating from the original purpose of keeping the family tree. The fact that the soul appears to the whole family and disguises itself as a demon is also criticized as unreasonable.
The character was overbuilt and was the responsibility of the screenwriter when "turning the wheel", turning the character too far from its original nature.
In general, spiritual elements, ghost action, ability, and laws for preserving "soul" are built somewhat randomly and arbitrarily.
Unreal tricks
One of the negative points of "House of Ancestors" is the special effects. The special effects to recreate supernatural phenomena are still unreal.
When watching the scene where Gia Minh flew "super escape" or recovered his music, the audience burst out laughing because the effect was still gray, not touching the emotions.
The ending of the film caused controversy
After everything broke up, the couple of Uncle Ut ( Meritorious Artist Huynh Dong) and syncut Ut (Puka) had to pay a heavy price. However, Uncle Ut's prison sentences have also caused controversy. Because the case has been going on for more than 10 years, there is no evidence left, no forensic basis for conviction. It is most likely that Uncle Ut will surrender, but it is not mentioned in the film.
Meanwhile, the fact that Uot had gone crazy overnight was not convincing. Also after the incident, Uncle Ba (Le Nam) and Mrs. Tu (Kieu Linh) completely changed their attitudes. From small, greedy, and monogamous people, they suddenly became gentle, happy, and returned home to... sell banh xeo. The character's "pink bowl" ending received mixed opinions.
