Cam: The entire script was spoiled right after it was released in theaters, is the $1 million investment suspected of being 'lost'?

Although it has only been released for nearly two days, Cam has already taken social media by storm with a series of positive and negative comments. The film also set many box office records, showing the appeal of the Tam Cam brand.

However, along with that popularity comes a negative consequence when a TikToker posted almost the entire content of the film on social networks. Before Cam, many Vietnamese films also encountered this situation such as Chi Chi Em Em 2 (2023), Ke An Hon (2023), Nha Ba Nu (2023). This is not only an act showing the poor awareness of a part of the audience but also causes great loss to the film. Worse, s.ecretly filming in theaters is a violation of the law and can be prosecuted for criminal liability for copyright infringement and related rights.

Filmmakers have strongly condemned this behavior. Actress Minh Hang once posted a story: "Speechless because of the uncultured problems" when Chi Chi Em Em 2 was s.ecretly filmed. Thao Trang - the author of the original novel of Ke An Hon - posted a long article expressing her indignation. More seriously, Ngo Thanh Van sued the person who livestreamed Co Ba Sai Gon on social media in 2017. However, it seems that a part of viewers still want to take advantage of this behavior to gain likes and views.

The movie Cam is a horror version inspired by the fairy tale Tam Cam. In it, Tam Cam's family made a deal with the devil, sacrificing the virgins in the family in exchange for wealth. Cam (Lam Thanh My) was born deformed, and was discriminated against and 'interacted' by everyone in the family. Tam (Rima Thanh Vy) was the only one who loved her half-sister. Until one day Cam was sacrificed by her father Hai Hoang (Quoc Cuong).

Take a look around social media platforms. It is easy to see that most of the audience's reviews praise Cam. It is known that Lam Thanh My considers Cam as a project to mark her own maturity. No longer the scariest g.irl on Vietnamese screens, Thanh My has been "upgraded" to the scariest young woman with an excellent darkening performance in the film. Viewers are taken by Lam Thanh My from one surprise to another through her extremely convincing performance of the two stages of the character Cam.

Besides some comments saying that the main villain's appearance - the ghost Bach Lao - is not very scary, most of the audience highly appreciated Cam's appearance. From the unique setting, the crew's meticulous re-enactment of the image of an old Vietnamese village with a communal house yard, lotus pond, festival, to the character's appearance, all were highly appreciated by netizens.

Besides the reviews praising the female lead or the visuals, there are also many reviews on social networks about the horror of the film. The audience is divided, some think that Cam is not too scary compared to the previous works of director Hoang Quan, others are surprised by the horror of the work. The film's script also encountered some controversial opinions when it was considered a bit long and tried to insert classic details of the fairy tale Tam Cam in a rather forced way. In particular, the film's dialogue made many audiences disappointed because it was quite forced.

Besides, the acting of some actors also caused confusion, especially the second male lead Doan Hoang, who plays Bom. Although he has an impressive appearance and not bad expressions, his dialogue is very "mood-breaking", especially in emotional c.limax scenes, having to express the character's fear.

Even before its release, the film has attracted attention and set a record for the horror film with the highest number of early tickets sold in history with over 110,000 tickets. The film also took the top spot at the box office on its first day of release with 200,000 viewers. Currently (as of 9:00 p.m. on September 21), Cam's revenue is nearly 34 billion VND after less than two days of release.

Movie Cam: Beautiful enough setting, scary enough, engaging enough acting, but minus 1 point Thảo Mai16:56:20 19/09/2024Tam Cam is a national fairy tale that everyone knows by heart. Turning the film version of Cam into a horror film is a curious move, but also risky because if done poorly, the audience will react.