The Rise and Challenges of Adapting Traditional Folklore into Vietnamese Horror Films

Delve into the rise of Vietnamese folk horror, where filmmakers adapt traditional folklore into compelling cinematic stories. Uncover the hurdles they face, from script originality to acting consistency, and their efforts to weave cultural heritage into unique narratives. Explore the success of "Tết

3/29/20255 min read

In recent years, the traditional horror folk tale, particularly those containing spiritual and historical elements, has become a notable trend in filmmaking in Asian cinema. Vietnam also utilizes this trend in filmmaking. Notable films like Banjong Pisanthanakun’s The Medium (2021) and Kevin Ko’s Incantation have become influential works for cinematic work that spiritually infuses cultural horror. With its advantages of rich cultural heritage, Vietnamese cinema has gradually participated in this narration trend by producing works that are deeply rooted in national culture. This shift offers a growing domestic preference for folktale horror, generating a new genre and attracting a new audience taste. So, what is the reason for this genre becoming trendy in Vietnam, and what are the challenges in making films in this genre?

In June 2024, Lê Thanh Sơn, a director known for his blockbuster hit Jailbait (Em Chưa 18), returned with his new movie Claws (Móng Vuốt). The film is categorized as a thrilling “road trip horror” featuring Tuấn Trần, Hồng Thanh, Thu Hà, and Nguyễn Lâm Thắng. It utilizes 30% of its investment budget for CGI to create a monstrous bear that appears in the movie, with two years spent refining the VFX, aiming to make a splash at the Vietnam box office. However, the result was a disappointment, earning just 156,000 USD (originally 3.9 billion VND), far below Jailbait’s 6.84 million USD (originally 171 billion VND) or Lê Thanh Sơn’s earlier successes like The White Silk Dress (Áo Lụa Hà Đông), which won the Audience Award at the Busan International Film Festival and Dragonfly (Long Ruồi), which earned 1.68 million USD (originally 42 billion VND).

There are several factors for this result. Firstly, the “road trip horror” subgenre, once very popular in the 2000s in Vietnam, recently can be very outdated in the Vietnamese market in cinematic landscape. By releasing this film in summer 2024, it seems to not capture the audience’s attention and taste that dynamically changes due to the influence from other countries' cinematic work like Hollywood, Korea, and many more. Secondly, its script is claimed for being illogical and inconsistent, which is a recurring flaw in the majority Vietnamese piece or in this subgenre. This raises a question: is Claws’ failure purely a matter of execution, or did it miss the critical element of audience preference that drives theater attendance?

Tết Ở Làng Địa Ngục (Hellbound Village 2023 TV Series) & Kẻ Ăn Hồn (The Soul Reaper 2023)

At the end of 203, The TV series Tết Ở Làng Địa Ngục (Hellbound Village) release, which gained a influential attention. This series is adapted from a Vietnamese horror literary work that was written by Thảo Trang. By blending social commentary with spiritual elements, the series offers both a cultural familiarity but also an innovative approach toward horror genre, gaining positive reception toward audiences and critics, exemplified by its securing the award of top TV series of 2023 at the WeChoice Awards. Building on this success, Kẻ Ăn Hồn (The Soul Reaper, 2023) followed, offering a new path for Vietnamese horror folk tales adaptation into cinema. The attraction element of these two pieces of work only come from the horror elements, but also the way they get in-touch with Vietnamese cultural identity. Rather fully reliance on the conventional elements such as jump scares, Hellbound Village (2023) and The Soul Reaper (2023) emphasizes on the cultural spiritual beliefs that exist within the ancient Vietnamese traditions.

Origins of Historical/Ancient Media Elements

The trend of exploring a sense of historical nostalgia is not new in Vietnam. Before its emergence in cinema, it had been successfully applied in Vietnamese music prior to 2020. Music videos like Đức Phúc's "Hết Thương Cạn Nhớ," inspired by Nam Cao’s novel, Chí Phèo, or Hòa Minzy’s "Không Thể Cùng Nhau Suốt Kiếp," based on the romance relationship of King Bảo Đại and Empress Nam Phương, or Chi Pu’s "Anh Ơi Ở Lại," inspired by the folktale Tấm Cám, all received positive reception from audiences. This success set the stage for cinema to also apply these concepts in film.

In the Vietnamese cinematic landscape, early attempts like Tấm Cám: Chuyện Chưa Kể (Tam Cam: The Untold, 2016) and Trạng Tí Phiêu Lưu Ký (The Spectacular Adventure of Little Prodigy, 2021), despite their inconsistent quality, attracted audiences with familiar cultural historical/folk tales. With The Soul Reaper (2023), the use of spiritual rituals like weddings and funerals introduces the concept of a rarely explored belief in cinema. These efforts enrich the genre and affirm that Vietnam can craft its own narrative without reliance on Hollywood tropes like zombies or monsters.

Challenges & Potential

Despite the undeniable potential of film adaptations from Vietnamese folk horror, exemplified by the numerous projects releasing and in development during 2025, producing films within this genre still presents some limitations, such as the need for original screenplays, inconsistency in acting quality, over-reliance on familiar formulas, and a lack of research skills or performances for historical roles due to limited opportunities and a generational shift in actors. Hence, a sustainable growth demands that filmmakers learn from past experiences, focusing on compelling storytelling that transcends initial curiosity to retain audiences, while leveraging the rich folklore and evolving censorship landscape to create unique narratives that celebrate tradition.

Therefore, the Vietnamese folk horror genre is not just a filmmaking trend; it is an opportunity to embed cultural identity on screen. Despite the challenges in balancing the entertainment aspect with cultural heritage and improving film production quality, these early steps are significant for filmmakers to refine their projects and shape future industry trends.