Secrets in the Hot Spring
Taiwan | 2018 | 109 minutes | Horror comedy | Mandarin (English subtitles)
Director: Lin Kuan-hui | Cast: Zhang Ting-hu, Huang Yan-xiang, Lin He-xuan
20 years old and still in high school, Hsiao-chin (Zhang Ting-hu) is a slacker without a future. For winter vacation, he is tricked by his grandparents into visiting the family’s hot spring hotel, which he is expected to take over someday. If having two goofy classmates tag along isn’t bad enough, imagine what happens when they start running into things that go bump in the night.
It’s easy to see why Lin Kuan-hui’s debut already won a prize at script stage — Secrets in the Hot Spring is a cheeky and rollicking tribute to Hong Kong supernatural classics like A Chinese Ghost Story. Lin pulls off an ambitious juggling act, taking her audience on an unpredictable roller coaster ride that defies genre rules. Spooky, cute and sporting a surprisingly heartwarming ending, this rambunctious comedy is enhanced by beloved Hong Kong comedians Mimi Chu and Law Kar-ying (Stephen Chow’s A Chinese Odyssey).
See more: Kriterion Website and Cinemasia Film Festival Website
Text source and photocredit: Cinemasia Film Festival
