The Ancestral Home

After being away for years, a self-centered blogger comes back home to her family's house to prepare for a relative's upcoming funeral celebrations, only to find him hiding a secret about the house's history, forcing his ghost to help her discover the meaning of family to uncover everything.

Overall, this one comes off as a fairly enjoyable family-friendly film. A lot of the positives here come from the central setup for this one that provides an intriguing look at a cultural touchstone in a slightly different lens than expected. As the majority of the first half here is spent on the issue of how to deal with the specific house, whether through the idea of inheriting it through the next generation or putting it up for sale to a new owner, it makes a fine point to touch on the importance of their home. Making a point to relate how it's been in the family for nearly a century, and that the heirlooms and memories within are immensely important to keeping the family together, as that is soon revealed as the cause for him to stay around and haunt his sister while she stays there. As she spends more time with her family under his presence, partaking in his old routines by cooking for everyone, playing his music, or simply being present to listen to their stories and memories, the more she learns to be a more well-rounded and complete person through behavioral changes, lessening her mood swings, or just generally appreciating the little things in life rather than her social media following, creating a fine celebration of the burgeoning emotional bond between the two over the course of the film. By establishing this proper narrative, the film offers some well-received comedy involving the two bonding and building their relationship. Focusing on lighthearted scares at the very beginning with her not being able to handle the fact she sees the ghost hanging around the house talking to her, the interactions about trying to get rid of him turn into a series of exorcism attempts that fail spectacularly and forcing her to turn to understanding why she's been called upon to save the house. That gives way to more confrontations later on with the Shaman and other locals attempting to exorcise the house of his spirit but failing grandly due to his supernatural powers and presence, giving way to the scenes of them coming together to understand the importance of family and honoring the past. This is only enhanced as time goes on with the ability of properly respecting and honoring elders which she becomes more intune with after the different interactions with her brother teaching her about the value of family and why each of her relatives are after the sacred house of theirs through their interactions as he'll possess family members to help tell his story or taking her into the spirit world to meet other deceased relatives. As it all leads into a spiritual and thrilling finale that attempts to bring in emotionally-charged action as well as spiritual motivations for the house, these factors end up giving the film a lot to like. There isn't much wrong here, but there are some minor issues. The main factor against it is a bit of an overlong running time that really could've been trimmed down without much incident. Quite a large portion of the first act is watching the two try to see the error of her ways as she's left home for so long and forgotten the way of her ancestors, which is a fine purpose to have them together. However, the repeated attempts at doing so revolve around the same thing, with him using ghost tricks to drive people away and taunting her about it so that she stays. This becomes immensely repetitive and formulaic, doing the same tactic multiple times when one or two would've been fine, especially as the film then introduces multiple side-tangents due to the inclusion of these storylines. The idea of the various family members fighting each other for their past behaviors or failure to control the house tends to be the biggest factor throughout here which just runs the length out detailing these parts of the storyline. As well, there's also the final half, which feels like it's lifted from another film entirely, with way too many special effects and a fantastic whimsy that's not present in the rest of the film until this point. These end up being the main drawbacks of the film, even if they're not overly damaging.

Rated Unrated/PG: Violence and Language.

The movie begins with the main character narrating his entire life story to the audience. Then, it moves on to him narrating his afterlife to his sister.

And that, apparently, is the director's idea of storytelling-just having characters explain everything outright.

Every twist and conflict leads to long-winded conversations-conversations that, mind you, don't even sound convincing. And there are a lot of twists and conflicts. The film keeps introducing new ones out of nowhere but fails to land any of them.

The only redeeming factor is the lead actress's performance, refreshing and restrained enough, but even that falls apart whenever she tries to cry and can't manage a single tear.

This movie is just so emotional and so inspiring!! We cried and laughed throughout! We enjoy every moment of it. Everything was good, the script was good and flew very natural. Has unexpected and meaningful plot twist. Actors and actresses did an wonderful job too! I love how the grandpa also has a southern voice Eventhough the actor was from the north (if i remember correctly). It just makes everything flow very smooth and natural.

After watching i feel like ive been neglecting my ancestors altar for so long 😭 such an amazing movie. Mr Huynh Lap! YOU DID AN AMAZING JOB!!!! PLEASE DO MORE MOVIE LIKE THIS!!!! YOU ARE A SUPER TALENTED DIRECTOR AND ACTOR.

"Nha Gia Tien" is a rare Vietnamese supernatural horror film that manages to keep the audience engaged from start to finish. The movie not only delivers spine-chilling scares but also incorporates traditional cultural values related to ancestor worship.

The film's strongest point lies in its eerie atmosphere and haunting sound design, creating a sense of dread even without jumpscares. The cast's performances are also impressive, especially "Phuong My Chi", who excellently portrays the initial confusion and fear when facing mysterious occurrences in her own home.

However, the plot can feel a bit convoluted at times, particularly in the second half when the story reaches its climax. Some questions remain unanswered, leaving the audience slightly unsatisfied.

Overall, this is a must-watch for fans of supernatural horror who want to experience a film rich in Vietnamese cultural essence.