Creepy, such a down-to-earth Chinese horror film, I haven’t watched it in a long time

Sir will teach you a gesture first.

First align your little fingers.

Ring fingers crossed.

Fold your middle fingers and align them.

Extend your index finger forward.

Thumbs crossed.

What’s the use?

If you read this article and encounter a place where you are afraid, remember to make this gesture in time.

Then he said in his mouth:

"Urgent as a rule!"

The precautions have been explained.

Let’s get to the point.

"Kui Jiang: Zong Xie 2"

The sequel to the 2018 Taiwanese hit horror film "Zong Xie", the original cast Team production.

Starring Golden Horse Best Actor Lee Kang-sheng, director Tsai Ming-liang’s favorite male lead.

The story takes place in central and southern Taiwan.

Many ancient folk customs are preserved.

The secrets of Feng Shui, temple sacrifices, taboo legends...

Compared with the first part, "Zongxie 2" has made progress in production and story completion.

The gimmick is also more extreme.

It introduces Thailand's traditional evil spirit, the ghost master.

Confront the traditional ghost king of China, Zhong Kui.

The so-called "Zong evil".

People who hang themselves are full of resentment and evil spirits. They will look for living people to be their scapegoats in order to achieve salvation and reincarnation.

People who are hanged one after another will be like strings of meat dumplings hung on a beam with straw ropes.

At the beginning of the movie, there is a large-scale "rice dumpling binding".

In the basement of an abandoned factory, six rice dumplings were hung neatly, one, two, three, four...

The deceased, a group of drug dealers.

Cause of death, worshiping ghosts.

Ghost Master, the most ferocious evil spirit in Thailand, is often supported by drug dealers in order to prosper.

If you have watched too many horror movies, you must be aware of the evil customs of ghost worship in Southeast Asia.

When you make offerings to evil spirits and evil gods, if you are not careful, you may suffer terrible backlash.

The male protagonist A Huo (played by Li Kangsheng) is an apprentice in a local temple.

Delivering meat rice dumplings is a daily job for him, his master and his three brothers.

This time the drug dealers' collective hanging was extremely vicious and must be given away.

But can Master Ghost allow them to achieve KPIs so easily?

When Ah Huo was untying the rope, a burst of dust fell into his eyes.

Geez, it’s so itchy.

And the more I rub it, the more it itches.

Senior brother came over to take a look at him, and damn, Ah Huo’s eyes turned blood red.

High energy ahead! High energy ahead!

3!

2!

1!

The master has quick eyesight and quick hands. "The magic weapon is as fast as the law." Ah Huo instantly spit out a ball of black air.

He was fine, but the black energy got into the master's body again.

The old man knew that he could not escape this disaster, so he took off his tag, hung it around Ah Huo's neck, and attached his last words.

"Don't escape

This is your destiny"

After saying that, the evil spirit in the old man's body broke out, and a sharp and harsh spell suddenly sounded in the basement. The ghost master The statue's eyes flashed red, and the dark wind blew, and the fire was extinguished.

"I want you to be unable to go to the sky or to the earth."

Suddenly, a Zongzi pretended to be a corpse.

After a fierce struggle, Ah Huo finally strangled him to death.

You can take another look.

The person he strangled to death was actually his master...

From then on, A Huo, who killed his master with his own hands, carried a heavy burden and became depressed.

He no longer cares about ghosts and gods, becomes a low-level worker, and is addicted to alcohol all day long.

Five years have passed in a blink of an eye.

The ghost master who was suppressed by them at a huge cost has made a comeback.

The first blood this time is a drug dealer Chang Zai who is waiting to make a profit.

He squatted under the bridge, sneaking around and waiting for his informant to bring the goods - a box of Thai smuggled drugs hidden in coconuts.

In order to secure the box, he picked up a piece of hemp rope from the water and tied it up.

You know, people who pick up random things in horror movies usually don’t end well.

He was riding his beloved motorcycle in the desolate suburbs, when suddenly a group of something came towards him, blocking his sight.

Under a big tree, he overturned the car.

Gan, my eyes are so itchy!

Knead it like crazy.

When I looked up again, I saw a person hanging on the big tree next to me.

I saw the corpse slowly turning around.

How come it’s me? (The original picture will not be posted)

The next day, Changzi’s hanging body was discovered by local residents.

His death was unlucky. The local villagers wanted to ask a mage to do something to ward off the evil spirits. The person they invited was Ah Huo's senior brother.

He was keenly aware that this hemp rope was related to the collective hanging of drug dealers they encountered that year.

The prologue has begun.

If this evil spirit is not sent away, it will be like an infectious disease, killing those who come into contact with it one after another.

However, now that his vitality has been damaged and his body is weak, it is difficult for him to complete the most crucial ritual in sending off evil spirits - the Zhongkui Dance.

Jumping to Zhong Kui is a way for a mage to communicate with Zhong Kui and dress up as Zhong Kui to deter evil spirits.

He had no choice but to go to Ah Huo and beg him to jump.

Five years later, Ah Huo was forced to face this darkness and his inner guilt.

Is it true that as Master said before his death, this is his destiny and there is no escape?

The other end.

The heroine Jia Min is the niece of drug dealer Chang Zai’s wife.

Both of his parents died when he was young, and he lived with his aunt and uncle.

She can see ghosts and foresee people's deaths. Whoever she dreams about may soon GG.

Like Ah Huo, she is a psychic and a person with "destiny".

The death of her uncle also made her involved in this dangerous struggle.

Ahuo’s master once said something.

There is a thin line between fate and evil.

People chosen by destiny may represent justice and drive away evil spirits, or they may be used by evil spirits to cause disaster.

After a fierce ideological struggle, Ah Huo decided to face his "destiny" bravely.

He puts on facial makeup, wears red clothes, and then dances Zhong Kui.

A long procession of rice dumplings was walking in the deserted streets late at night, and the talismans were scattered in the wind.

There are many things to pay attention to during the rice dumpling ceremony. The more fierce the evil spirit, the more careful you must be.

Before delivering the rice dumplings, every household along the street must close their doors, put up talismans on their doors and windows, and stand on a broomstick.

If you encounter someone sending rice dumplings on the sidewalk, you need to turn your back to avoid it.

The most important thing is not to be interrupted, otherwise you will fail in your efforts or cause a greater disaster.

But you know, horror movies will definitely follow Murphy's Law.

It is impossible not to have an accident.

Jiamin’s aunt found half a statue of Master Ghost at home and wanted to give it to the team to destroy together.

As a result, I was struck by evil spirits.

She frantically drew talismans on the paper and kept rubbing her eyes. It was obvious that she was deeply possessed.

Then, people in the town were strangled to death one after another.

What’s the problem behind this?

Aunt Jiamin’s ghost-drawing talisman has become the key to cracking the secret.

The story of "Zongxie 2" is actually not complicated. It is a very basic exorcism-themed commercial film model.

That is, the evil force is reborn to cause trouble, and gradually becomes stronger, and finally begins the ultimate contest with the exorcist party.

Its highlight lies in the use of regional characteristics and traditional folk elements.

Sending meat dumplings, dancing Zhongkui, and the Taiwanese folklore chair girl...

In recent years, Taiwanese horror films that explore traditional folklore as a selling point have formed a trend.

For example, in "Memories of the Corpse" with the theme of ghost marriage, a man picks up a red envelope on the road and is haunted by a ghost bride.

There is also the famous horror film IP "The Little Girl in Red" created by the director of "Hunting Soul" Cheng Weihao, which is based on the folklore of Taiwan's "Demon Boy" and the urban legend of the "Little Girl in Red".

The vast Chinese countryside, those ancient legends and mysterious taboos are all rich sources of horror movies.

In 2016, a small-budget horror film "The Evil" from Mainland China shocked everyone. It was also based on the bizarre "returning human beings" ceremony in rural areas.

Compared to exorcism and cults in Western horror films.

These traditional and local things can arouse the fear and identity deep in the Chinese people's hearts.

"Zongxie 2" is undoubtedly the ultimate work that takes advantage of this "folklore" characteristic.

But it is also the one that most clearly exposes the problems of such horror films in Taiwan in recent years.

The plot advancement is unreasonable and the characters cannot stand.

The high-energy scenes are full of excitement, but they lose an imaginative aftertaste.

The madness and distortion of the aunt after she was possessed by the evil spirit contributed to most of the horror scenes in the movie. (Auntie is acting so hard and the crew doesn’t make sense for not adding an extra lunch!)

High energy warning!

High energy warning!

But the deeper reason is.

"Zongxie 2" takes a stand first.

Compared to horror movies.

This is more like a promotional film to protect and promote traditional folk customs.

In the movie, the way to be possessed is to rub your eyes first and then hang yourself.

And these evildoers are either drug dealers, domestic violence, or bending the law for personal gain.

This also confirms the theory of retribution - they were all blinded and brought about their own destruction.

The negative force in the movie is the foreign ghost master, and the method of confrontation is traditional Taoist belief.

Things got aggravated several times in the movie because the live broadcast guy wanted to die.

The police took away Xiehu’s rope on the grounds of collecting evidence, preventing the ceremony from being completed.

The mayor refused to listen and took the lead in digging up the tree where the man was hanged.

Released the ghost master buried under the tree.

It boils down.

The disaster occurred because modern people have no respect for and disbelief in traditional beliefs.

It’s not wrong to shoot like this.

But the movie also lost the sense of mystery it should have had.

Just imagine, if traditional customs are completely positive energy that protects people, how can you still have fear?

Even the "Chair Girl" scares people at the beginning.

He also became a helpful little ghost.

At the climax of the movie.

The sense of terror was completely wiped away.

We only saw one, the mission inheritance, the high-octane scene of the superhero defeating the boss.

The ending of the movie.

It is to promote traditional culture and protect the warm and positive energy of the village.

In Sir’s opinion.

"Zongxie 2" wants to explore folk elements too much, relies too much on folk elements, and overemphasizes folk elements.

On the contrary, a good subject matter has lost its original charm.

Just when Taiwan’s horror movies are going too far.

What we are faced with is a creative waste.

Compare the two.

Which one is more embarrassing and helpless?

Editorial Assistant: The Motor of the Summer Palace