The Ancestral (Bong de) is a 2021 Vietnamese movie that had a promising, albeit cliche start. It started off as a typical haunted house movie that involved a bereaved family trying to have a fresh start in a strange place.

The movie was heavy with jump scares which, to be honest, kept me from dozing off during the first half. The musical score was able to set up the eerie atmosphere.

It's as if the scriptwriter wanted to have a shocking big twist but couldn't decide if he wanted a supernatural or psychological horror story as the reveal was a bit confusing. He either thought he'd do both or the supernatural element was all in a certain character's head. I just couldn't take the CGI seriously which ruined some scenes for me. As for the acting, I thought the child actors did very well. Overall, I thought there were a lot of interesting ideas in the film -- IG: cof.feestains.