Review of The Unborn Soul (2023)
This time, Netflix released a Vietnamese horror film entitled Vong Nhi or The Unborn Soul. The film was directed by Hoang Tuan Cuong, and stars Lê Phương, Quốc Huy, Nhật Kim Anh, Hạnh Thúy, Lê Trang, Như Đan, Trà Ngọc, Lê Khâm, and other roles. Vong Nhi premiered in theaters in its home country on March 2, 2023, and can be watched globally on Netflix starting in May 2023.
The Unborn Soul is a Vietnamese film of the horror, psycho-emotional, drama genre. This is a drama film about abortion as a hot issue in society. Notably, the script of this movie was written by actress Thuy Hanh herself 7 years ago when she participated in the production of a program about life on a TV talk show about abortion.
Contents
The Unborn Soul Synopsis
It revolves around the character Thao (Le Phuong), a beautiful girl who has a perfect life with the husband she has been married to for 4 years. However, both of them still have one thing that is quite a concern, namely their long-term infertility.
So when she moved into a new house, Thao was thrilled when she became pregnant with her first child. The happiness didn’t last long when Thao felt strange things happening in his house, from the sound of children’s laughter to the nightmares that tormented him every night.
Since then, the secret regarding Thao’s cold and wrong decision is slowly revealed. At first, Thao helps his sister deal with an out-of-wedlock pregnancy, until her heartbreaking past comes back to torment her again.
Apart from Thao’s story, the film also tells the story of other characters such as Thao’s sister, female doctor Phuong and Mrs. Thuan presents a multidimensional view of the consequences of abortion.
The Unborn Soul Movie Review
The secret is slowly being revealed
The nearly 2 hour film is a relatively perfect amount of time to set a horror film on the subject of ghosts. But The Unborn Soul doesn’t make good use of this time to create a harmonious balance for the details, or even break the storyline.
In the first 30 minutes it clearly shows that The Unborn Soul truly has the potential to confuse the audience, and at the same time spread fear through music as well as unexpected scares. The Unborn Soul truly has the potential to confuse audiences and spread fear too through his music
Even though this half hour has several points that make the audience uncomfortable, such as the light out phase which will affect the audience’s eyesight, not to mention the fake jumpscare phase which makes the audience feel down. It is similar to when you play music to the climax, and when someone interrupts you, your emotions and rhythm will break.
The acting performance of the cast helps
The script could have been divided into two genres, the first half of the film is supernatural horror and the second half is psychological horror. The psychological horror section has rescued the lack of supernatural horror with the story Thao by Le Phuong having to make amends. Like Tung’s story, what role should a husband play in a family when his wife is in an unstable condition.
Diving is the acting of the main and supporting characters. The stories that revolve around them are enough to make the audience moved by sadness. Just like those stories that have conveyed humane lessons. The film’s technical elements are sometimes good and sometimes clunky.
Separate 2 horror elements
In general, The Unborn Soul it’s hard to satisfy horror movie fans, but the film conveys certain lessons and messages to its audience. Maybe the elements of horror and intimidation are not enough to provide a basic experience, but this film still shows deep feelings as parents while saying that revenge will come to the perpetrators. Vong Nhi might be a horror film that is suitable for audiences who like family themes and social issues.
The Unborn Soul opens directly through the story of a young girl who decides to give up her child because of many fears. After that, the film follows Thao, begins to create an atmosphere of horror, mixed with a bit of crime with a series of scary and sensational scenes of the souls of children wandering in the young couple’s house. However, these segments are scattered when intertwined with the everyday stories of other characters.
The second half begins to divide into three distinct main storylines, including the story of Thao, the love story of Doctor Phuong’s mother and the human and everyday values of Mrs Thuan’s character. Each story serves a purpose and is set in a different perspective on abortion, but the horror or spiritual elements are not evenly distributed in this direction, leaving audiences as a whole uncomfortable with the genre’s consensus.
The Unborn Soul it has a few surprises at the end of the film and the part where Thao meets his first child is a bit touching, but the film has a lot of different problems and it tilts a bit from one perspective so it feels good enough. The way the story develops in the film is quite reasonable but there is no emphasis, it is easy to read, so it is less natural.
The Unborn Soul Conclusion
When the issue of abortion becomes so frightening, it is supported by nuances of horror and ongoing trauma. The acting of the players saved the story which seemed to be divided into fragments, even like different genres. The confusing first round, closed with a little plot twist that you might have known since the middle of the film.
