Vietnamese Folk Horror "Phi Phong: The Blood Demon" Sets Hong Kong Release for Sept. 10
AM730 · 1 SOURCESabout 1 hour ago2 MIN
Summary
The Vietnamese folk horror film Phi Phong: The Blood Demon is set to debut in Hong Kong on September 10, bringing the country's most mysterious mountain sorcery and blood demon folklore to the big screen. Upon its Vietnam release, the film created unprecedented box office records, becoming the fastest horror movie in Vietnamese history to reach 1000 billion VND and the first to break the 2000 billion VND barrier. The production features cross-border collaboration with Thailand, starring Nina Nutthacha Jessica Padovan from Death Whisperer, who plays the pivotal character Lưu Nhã. The director Du Quoc Truong led the crew on a challenging 40-day shoot in the pristine wilderness of Mộc Châu, northwestern Vietnam, avoiding green screens entirely.
Key Points
- Phi Phong: The Blood Demon will open in Hong Kong on September 10, bringing Vietnamese folk horror to local audiences
- The film became the fastest Vietnamese horror movie to reach 1000 billion VND and the first to surpass 2000 billion VND, claiming the 2026 domestic box office crown
- Thai-Mixed child star Nina Nutthacha Jessica Padovan from Death Whisperer makes her Vietnam debut, playing key character Lưu Nhã in her first Southeast Asian cross-border collaboration
- Director Du Quoc Truong rejected green screen entirely, filming for 40 days in the caves and misty valleys of Mộc Châu, northwestern Vietnam
- Lead actor Lưu Minh Tuấn described grueling scenes including being hung upside down and exorcism rituals, with oxygen-deprived cave environments causing near-suffocation on set
Why It Matters
The record-breaking success of Phi Phong: The Blood Demon signals the growing global appeal of Southeast Asian horror cinema beyond the established Thai market, with Hong Kong audiences now gaining direct access to fresh folklore-based content. This Thailand-Vietnam collaboration exemplifies how regional talent exchanges are reshaping the Asian horror landscape, offering viewers authentic non-Western supernatural narratives at a time when the genre continues to dominate regional box offices .
The record-breaking success of Phi Phong: The Blood Demon signals the growing global appeal of Southeast Asian horror cinema beyond the established Thai market, with Hong Kong audiences now gaining direct access to fresh folklore-based content. This Thailand-Vietnam collaboration exemplifies how regional talent exchanges are reshaping the Asian horror landscape, offering viewers authentic non-Western supernatural narratives at a time when the genre continues to dominate regional box offices .