The efforts of the young cast can hardly save the absurd script and the old scare.
In 2019, Thien Linh Cai had to go through a lengthy editing and cutting process to be able to hit theaters with the name That Son Tam Linh. However, the work at that time was only a disaster. Thinking that everything ended there, three years later, director Le Binh Giang continued to release the after-story Dac Dac – Tu Mau Thien Linh Cai. As it turned out, the movie this time was worse than before.
Contents Dac Dac Island – Tu Mau Thien Linh Cai continues the events in the previous part. Soi (Hoang Yen Chibi) was pregnant with Luu Huynh (Quang Tuan). Mr. Bac (Le Huynh) had to take his daughter to an island far away to live to start over. There, she gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. However, they did not know that the island was cursed because people accidentally caught and killed a pregnant mermaid.
One day, Soi accidentally found the old mermaid shrine. She began to practice charms from the books left by her husband, causing disaster to befall the villagers. Many years later, a group of young people including Tam (Tran Phong), Linh (Sam), Kim (Tieu Vy), Long (Tran Nghia), Ha (Phuong Lan) and Cuong (Minh Du) come here to travel. They accidentally awaken the evil forces that have been sleeping on the island, causing each member to gradually die.
Faint scare, disaster technique
Although set in a deserted island with luxuriant forests, Dac Dac Island – Tu Mau Thien Linh Cai does not bring a creepy, gloomy feeling like works of the same genre. Even the details of the evil forces lurking in the dark to stalk a group of young people did not frighten viewers. The image of the talisman altar or the mermaid skeleton is far inferior to Luu Huynh’s basement in the previous movie.
However, that is nothing compared to the effects of fake goods and disaster. The image of a drowned character is clearly sloppy in the background instead of having a focus on filming a few minutes underwater. However, this scene kept appearing over and over, making the movie experience extremely inhibiting. The voice acting sometimes doesn’t even match the actor’s mouth. Dressing up as a devil looks ugly and painful and feels like going out for Halloween.
Finally, the most important point of a horror movie is to scare, then Dac Dac Island – Tu Mau Thien Linh Cai also does not do well. The laughter of the wild spirit appeared from time to time without any purpose. Movies often abuse sound and startle. However, most of the segments do not happen, so the later it gets boring. Rarely, a few scenes of dead bodies resurrected with distorted gait are not done well.
The script has many absurdities
The film has a fairly familiar scenario when a group of “close friends” go out together. Over time, smoldering cracks gradually appeared. However, it is difficult for viewers to understand why this group plays together because the connection between them is very loose. Some characters even hate each other right from the beginning of the movie. The creation of contradictions is therefore extremely awkward.
Right after that, the work entered the old path of horror movies from decades ago. When a group of young people see something scary, they have to discover it. They keep saying the island is haunted but keep separating the group. Even when a member is in distress, the group still leaves the character… lying on the sand and not looking after.
The events unfolded indistinctly to the point of confusion and had no connection whatsoever. It is not really necessary for Doc Dac Island to be a sequel to That Son Tam Linh. Director Le Binh Giang struggled not to know whether to give the work the direction of murder horror or the devil. The ghost in the movie or the amulet Thien Linh The last one is nothing to fear when it is almost harmless.
Minh Du carries the acting part
Possessing famous names like Tran Phong, Tran Nghia or Sam, but Minh Du is the best performer. “The curse” has a makeover when playing the role of a greedy man, ready to sell out his friends for money. Minh Du has well restrained the familiar comedy act when there are only a few “punching” lines throughout the film. Phuong Lan is still Phuong Lan as in the series Old Lady Chieu.
After the role of a “bad boy” in Mat Biec (2019), Tran Phong repeatedly played the role of a “good boy” and became entangled in a love triangle in later films. The heart of Doc Dac Island – Tu Mau Thien Linh Cai is not much different from what he used to show. Meanwhile, the role of a guy with a careless, rebellious personality is too much for Tran Nghia. The character Long is also not very convincing to viewers.
Aside from screaming and being scared, Sam’s Linh is not memorable. Later, she also forgot that she had just experienced a great loss and had a conflict with her sister. In the end, Tieu Vy had an unforgettable cinematic encroachment. Kim should have had a lot of inner conflicts and struggles, but the queen could hardly show it. The way the director built Kim was as faint as Tieu Vy’s acting.
Scoring: 2/5
In general, Dac Dac Island – Tu Mau Thien Linh Cai is another forgettable film of Vietnamese cinema in 2022. This is an unnecessary sequel, just to follow That Son Tam Linh with the old filmmaking style. careful and negligent.
Photo: HK Film
