[Fantasia 2025] FILM REVIEW: Haunted Mountains The Yellow Taboo
- Gav
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Haunted Mountains: The Yellow Taboo - Fantasia International Premiere Review
Director: Tsai Chia Ying
Starring: Jasper Liu, Angela Yuen, Yu-Ning Tsao, Spark Chen, Hsiao-hsuan Chen
Written by: Zou Wan Zhen
Produced by: Shi-Chi Chen
Cinematography by: Chun-Li Chang
Original Score by: Rockid Lee
Synopsis:
A legend in Taiwan's mountains says that when lost, hikers encounter a figure in a yellow raincoat who points to a blurry path, leading them to disappear.
Thoughts:
Part time-loop mystery thriller, part ghost story, 'Haunted Mountains: The Yellow Taboo' is a heartbreaking and chilling tale loosely based on an ancient Taiwanese urban legend that starts off really well but gets a bit muddled towards the end.
Hiking enthusiasts Chia Ming and Yu Hsin are a young couple visiting a hikers retreat as they attempt to explore an infamous forest in the mountains. The trip is also doubling up as a romantic getaway of sorts as Chia Ming has bought the ring and intends to propose to his girlfriend. But what should be a dream come true turns into a nightmare when Yu Hsin dies, over and over and over again and Chia Ming must relive the worse day of his life until he finds a way to stop this repetitive torture.
There's a fantastic concept here and the set-up is genuinely intense and agonising. The first half of the movie basically works the same way as 'Groundhog Day' only instead of Chia Ming waking up to Sonny and Cher in a hotel room every morning, he wakes up in a cabin dormitory, water dripping on his face as he tries to come to terms with what is happening. He must try to save Yu Hsin at all costs. As the film progresses we discover the history behind the couple and that there are dark secrets that will eventually reveal themselves.
I did enjoy all the folklore stuff and the idea of the ritual. The antagonist of the film is an evil spirit who wears a yellow raincoat. I liked this idea but I feel that the film showed too much and at times we actually see the ethereal figure float away, which sort of took away some of the scare factor.
The second half of the film becomes very convoluted. It's battling with too many ideas and doesn't know where to place it's focus. There's a couple of reveals that don't really land well and overall I just think the structure could have been executed better.
'Haunted Mountains' definitely has it's creepy moments and the emotional aspect of the film resonates very well. The love story is tragic. It's got a lot of atmosphere for sure and Jasper Liu and Angela Yeun pour their soul into their performances. but I think the complexity of the script actually hindered the final product.
Verdict: ⭐️⭐️½
-Gavin Logan
'Haunted Mountains: The Yellow Taboo' received its International Premiere at Fantasia '25 on July 26th