Spirits (2004)

Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

A Disappointing Continuation

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

This movie did a great job of taking three of Viet Nam's ghost stories (truyen ma)into a horror movie that can be appreciated by the "west". After viewing many Asian horror movies, from many countries, much can be lost in the difference of culture and what the different cultures perceive events as frightening. This movie does an excellent job of doing that.However the movie is not without its flaws. It does lack a bit in character depth. My theory is that since they are based on Vietnamese stories, characters do not need the depth that many foreign audiences require. In Vietnamese culture the characters may take on various archetypes that are common in Vietnamese stories. For example the traveling author whose only companions were his paper and pen. This is just my thought that the original stories do not go into complete depth of the characters either.In conclusion, I felt this movie was like watching three very good episodes of the Twilight Zone, rather than a complete movie. I think anyone who is interested in Vietnamese literature may like the movie, along with those who want to enjoy a psychological thriller instead of the cliché gore flicks that inundate our theaters.In conclusion, I felt this movie was like watching three very good episodes of the Twilight Zone, rather than a complete movie. I think anyone who is interested in Vietnamese literature may like the movie, along with those who want to enjoy a psychological thriller instead of the cliché gore flicks that inundate our theaters.

I am into foreign films, especially the ones made by new directors. So, I bought this movie. I am very sorry to say that I was extremely disappointed.It was a waste of money. No plot at all, story was terrible. Acting was not good, all the actors/actresses are pretty stiff. Photography was okay, not great. Also, why it is always so dark?? It was the first movie for this director and acting crew so I hope they'll do better in the future. For this director, I'll have wait and see it least one good review on his next movie (if there will be one) before I see it.I'll continue to support new directors and new talent.

Based on the tradition Vietnamese ghost stories, Spirits is reminiscent of stories told around the campfire. The creepy introduction of the characters and the culmination of their fate leaves you numb until hours later when a scene or an image (mine was in the second story about Linh) sends shivers through you. It's not a Hollywood movie and doesn't rely solely on special effects to sell (although there are a few effects similar to those used in movies like The Ring or The Sixth Sense). Victor Vu used some familiar accents to draw in his audience but stayed true to the unique 'Spirit' of this story, which is what makes it so good. If you like ghost stories, see this movie!

This movie is separated into three different acts, all telling the story/history of a family that lives in a house haunted by ghosts. Each act focuses on a different character over the years. The overall plot and characters are really quite bland, as you never really feel that engaged enough into the film. They all come off as being very superficial, and not really having much depth, despite a good job by all of the actors. This lack of depth makes the few scary scenes in acts 2 and 3, not as scary as they could have been. Overall a pretty dull movie, that probably had a lot of promise on paper, but when executed, it just failed to succeed on many levels. Still worth watching if you are really bored one night.3/5