Safe Return Doubtful

or Nong Hak – Horror – Laos 2016

A teenage girl from a poor and remote Laos village arrives to the city to after her blind cousin, and finds out that her cousin has the ability to speak to the dead, though neither realise at first, that their messages are premonitions. 

This is an effective and enjoyable film from Lao Director, Mattie Do, and one of those films that isn’t really horror, rather, it uses the genre to tell a story and deliver its message. Those arriving to it hoping for jump scares and gore will be disappointed; the narrative, local culture and symbolism are to the fore. 

The main theme here is of class divide, and it isn’t long until the relationships between the young woman from the country and the wealthy couple become fraught. The different conditions that the young girl experiences, with days out into the city and the technology that is new to her, give this an intriguing appeal not seen in Western films. The film succeeds also as a ghost story with several gripping supernatural sequences A strength is also a chilling last quarter that heads in an unexpected direction, though that will not be to the taste of those wanting scares and violence.

These days horror is a broad canvas, Director Do demonstrate this well with this fascinating work and adds Laos to the growing number of countries producing quality horror.. (Malaysia, Kosovo, Philippines, Indonesia, Iran, to name a few..)

IMDb score 5.9/10 – My score 8 / 10