With a series of impressive entries in the last few years, the explosion of genre fare from Taiwan has steadily increased the country's vantage point in the international market with their titles coming out into the world. Ranging from the first two Tag-Along films to higher-end entries like Mon Mon Monsters, Detention, and The Sadness, the country has provided a wide-ranging and diverse slew of efforts that now includes director Shen Dan-Guei's latest film “The Funeral,” screening at the New York Asian Film Festival for its International Premiere.
The Funeral is screening on New York Asian Film Festival
After being away from home for years after cutting her father off, Chun Hua (Selina Ren), receives the news of her grandfather's death and has no choice but to return home with her daughter Qin-xuan (Bella Wu) for the funeral. Her father Chuan Cai (Chen Yi Wen), whom she hasn't seen in years, is as cold and rude as ever and doesn't look kindly at them. And when night falls, the family seems to be hiding more horrible secrets. As she gradually uncovers the truth about what's going on at the house, she races to stop it from continuing to put her and her daughter in danger.
For the most part, there's a lot to like with “The Funeral.” One of the better features here is the great storyline that gets everything in motion by offering a strong series of interconnected plotlines to get the events rolling. Getting an early glimpse into Chun Hua's life, featuring the issues with her daughter Xin-quan's illness that requires a stern eye on her since she's entering adolescence and yearns for independence despite the complications preventing her from doing so. As well, that's all complicated by the series of issues at work involving trouble with her boss and numerous colleagues who have to keep covering for her due to dealing with Xin-quan. On top of that, the pain of losing her grandfather that's clearly the closest person to her growing up, and forced to return to the family home that's none too thrilled to welcome both of them in due to long-standing resentment and anger issues but is unable to do anything about it, combine into a highly compelling drama at the center of the film.
Alongside this great setup, “The Funeral” has a lot to like with the supernatural elements on display. This is mainly centered on the use of arcane practices and occult rituals that are shown to take place during the time Chen Hua and Qin-xuan are there, detailing the elaborate arrangements that are being undertaken to send the grandfather off to the afterlife that is corrupted into terrifying encounters. The crosscutting going on between the family preying at his altar or preparing ceremonial items to be used later with the scenes of the evil altar being set up or the spirits interacting with the family creates some genuinely chilling scenes. That carries over into the enjoyable sequences of the curse coming to bear on Chin Hua and the rest of the family, from ghostly interactions to hallucinations and even vivid dreams that signal that something is going on. The big final reveal of everything, including the purpose of the funeral and the series of ghostly encounters seen throughout the house, brings about a highly effective and chilling series of confrontations with vengeful spirits and black magic practitioners that offers some cathartic brawls and chases. With it all ending on a high note due to these scenes, there's quite a lot to like here.
There are some drawbacks to be had with “The Funeral” but luckily these aren't too detrimental. The main factor comes from the overabundance of family drama at the forefront of the film which is mainly focused on Chun Hua returning home to her cold parents. The fact that the coldness and emotional distance are blamed on her not being back to visit in over a decade doesn't excuse the detachment that was present in the flashbacks to her childhood growing up. Those scenes featured her father openly ignoring her, partying alone with her grandfather on her birthday, or just generally treated like the black sheep of the family without any reason. That this is all presented more to draw audience sympathy and engagement following up the initial struggles trying to keep Qin-xuan healthy alongside the financial hardships imposed on her comes off as overkill when no purpose for it exists in the film. The hashing out of the issue and settling the score with everyone would've made it all worthwhile yet nothing much comes of it beyond pushing the start of the supernatural scenes until the second half of the film. There's a bit of a slow start to this one with all the family and interpersonal drama to get out that the true horror thrills don't start until a bit later than some might be willing to sit through. However, neither of these issues harm the film that much in the end.
Offering up plenty of thrills and some highly enjoyable imagery, “The Funeral” is one of the finer entries of the year and manages to hold itself up incredibly well in the long run. Anyone who appreciates this kind of supernatural-tinged genre cinema or are curious based on the positives will be well advised to check this out.
