Ku zak / The Lingering (2018) - Family drama with some mild social criticism and a few horror elements - 7/10 (07/12/20)

The Lingering is a drama with mild horror influences and a very positive message. The story in three parts revolves around Dawa, a young boy who lives in an old family mansion with his caring mother Qingyi. One year, the family father doesn't come home for the New Year celebrations and the mansion gets haunted by a mysterious spirit instead. As a young adult, Dawa leaves his devastated mother and the creepy mansion behind to move to a bigger city and get rich and famous. As an adult in his thirties, Dawa returns home with his girlfriend when he must verify whether the body of a drowned woman is his mother's or not.

The first twenty-five minutes taking place in the eighties and the final fifty-five minutes taking place in present-day are connected through some flashbacks that show character development and the negative progression of a complicated mother-son relationship. These connections offer some great ideas but are often lacking fluidity as they pop up randomly and are sometimes unnecessarily repetitive.

The movie's greatest strength is its message about spending time with your loved ones that is much more precious than any career that might provide money and fame. The film quietly criticizes the alienation, greed and selfishness of the contemporary Chinese society. This becomes most obvious when observing characters such as Dawa's self-centered business partner who likes to insert random English vocabulary in his sentences or the obnoxious real estate agent who goes as far as manipulating Dawa in order to force him into selling his family mansion.

The movie has a few mild horror scenes but is overall rather a family drama. The opening twenty-five minutes are quite atmospheric and have an authentic vintage spirit. Another highlight is the present-day scene at a hotel when Dawa and his girlfriend seem to get attacked by an evil spirit. The creepy scene in the hospital restroom also manages to grab attention.

The film's weakest element however is the story that has quite a few holes. It's never explained for instance whose spirit is haunting the couple in the hotel room. The movie ends with a twist that is supposed to be tearjerking but feels completely exaggerated.

In the end, you should watch The Lingering if you are in the mood of watching a family drama with some mild social criticism and a few horror elements. If you were simply expecting a creepy Asian horror movie, you might get disappointed however and should rather explore the Taiwanese The Tag-Along franchise.