Watched all three episodes of the 2022 Vietnamese Horror Story, a trilogy of very gothic stories:

--"The Sugarcane Juice Lady", about an actress who never ages because of a grisly secret

--"The Magician", about a street vendor who performs mediocre magic and discovers, in the end, what his real identity is

--"Three Souls and Seven Spirits", about a female shaman tasked to search for the victim of a heinous crime.

For a 2022 production, the concept and treatment of the stories seem terribly outdated. They are about helpless male and female victims unable to release themselves from what they fear--in short, stereotype horror movie characters. Everything is predictable, which is the last thing horror movies should be. The endings are downbeat, as though the writer and director firmly believe that downbeat endings make horror stories more horrific. 

The other problem with ASEAN movies (including those produced in the Philippines, of course) is that they are shot in real, available houses, the space restricting the director's and cinematographer's creativity. Since these houses are not sound sets, they don't have walls and floors and roofs that could be disassembled if necessary. As such, there is no ample space for the cameraman to utilize versatile setups.

In this movie there are a few theatrical and camera tricks here and there, plus an ample use of shadows and spotlight gels, but those just can't compete with other horror movies being produced in the Digital Age.