Hong yi xiao nu hai

When I found "The Tag-Along" I was quite interested in getting a chance to watch it and did rush at the chance to do so. I must admit that I did have some expectations to the movie.

However, these expectations were not really met. And the movie just never really managed to impress me. Sure, it was an entertaining enough movie for what it turned out to be. But the movie just failed to be scary, or actually be interesting enough to make a lasting mark. Or perhaps I am just too hardened and seasoned of a decades of watching horror movies...

Regardless, this movie just wasn't particularly scary, and I doubt that even to Asians this is not overly scary. Unless you live in Taiwan, perhaps, and is familiar with the urban legend of the little girl in the red dress.

It should be said that the acting in the movie was quite good, and it was nice to see new faces on the screen. The actors and actresses were actually doing quite good jobs with their given roles and characters, just a shame that they had only so much to work with in terms of script and story.

There were very little special effects in the movie, and that is perhaps also a major part of why the movie just failed to latch on and hang on. It was a shame, because effects are usually crucial to horror movies, and very few of them manage to pull off having little or no special effects whatsoever. "The Tag-Along" failed at its attempt with whatever little special effects were present.

I managed to sit through the entire movie, because I wanted to see it to the end. And I just learned now that there is a sequel to "The Tag-Along" here in 2017. I can't really claim that such news are overly thrilling, since the first movie wasn't particular much of an outstanding movie in any way.

For an Asian horror movie, then "The Tag-Along" differentiates itself from the mainstream horror movies that is often seen in the Asian horror genre. However, it just wasn't unique enough to stand on its own and be particularly impressive. This wasn't a bad movie either, don't get me wrong, and it is actually watchable for sure.

The end result of how this movie turned out was, for me at least, mediocre, and I am rating the movie a mere 5 out of 10 stars.

Different kind of ... well not the one where you do not text your friends for sure. Well former friends that is of course. No this is about "real" ghosts that you wouldn't mind getting rid of. Interesting and intriguing premise that is set up right from the beginning, where we get an explanation for those beings. And their purpose if you want to call it that.

That being said, the rest of the movie is quite predictable, as a few nice jump scares here and there and has a nice overall mood. But does nothing to really get your juices flowing. At least in my humble opinion. Not a bad movie either of course.

A story based on Taiwanese folklore of a spirit in the guise of a little girl in red. She tags along when she's haunting someone; she's always on the trail of guilt. Guilt is her first wave of torment. She comes for grandma which prompts all kinds of guilt from the grandson who has the normal feelings of love/resentment that families engender. The story forces the traditional a tad too much for me. The heroine is an incomplete person until she decides to marry and make babies. Still, it's an interesting glimpse into a different culture.

The Haunted, also known as The Tag-Along, is a highly entertaining Taiwanese horror movie. An elderly woman from a vast apartment complex has mysteriously disappeared and her worried best friend starts having strange visions and hearing weird noises. Soon after, the disappeared woman suddenly returns and is in a confused state of shock. She remembers being held captive in the mountains outside of Taipeh and pronouncing her best friend's name who has now also disappeared under strange circumstances. Her busy grandson and his fragile girlfriend start investigating with the help of an elderly security guard. They soon realize that numerous recent disappearances in the region are related to the ghost of a little girl living in the mountains. While they are getting closer to uncovering the truth, they start risking their own lives facing abominable witchcraft.

This overlooked movie convinces on numerous levels. First of all, it's one of the most important Taiwanese horror movies, starting a popular franchise and being the first of its kind to get limited international release. While this movie might seem like another ghost story at first sight, the movie incorporates numerous elements of Taiwanese culture that add a fresh perspective. The locations are perfectly chosen from desolate apartments over gloomy hospitals to foggy forests in the mountains. The round characters are intriguing and especially the difficult relationship between the ambitious son and his fearful girlfriend is cleverly developed throughout the movie. Being a horror movie, the film has an uneasy vibe right from the start and showcases a few unsettling moments while always favouring atmosphere over jump scare tropes. With a length of one hour and a half, the film doesn't overstay its welcome and remains dynamic from start to finish. The production values are above average as the movie makes the best out of a low budget.

I'm glad that I was able to pick up this movie along with its good but not as convincing sequel in a collective set for only seven bucks. However, this movie is worth much more than what I've paid for it and will certainly convince international horror movie enthusiasts. The combination of Taiwanese culture and a creepy ghost story adds something new to horror cinema and I can only encourage genre fans to give obscure international filmmakers a chance instead of only focusing on Hollywood reboots, remakes and sequels.

Tag-Along is the first movie of a trilogy that is based on an urban legend. A little girl with a red dress haunt down people with regrets, by "kidnapping" them: basically she take over their mind and she make them go to a forest, where they'll be trapped. It is a pretty basic plot, pretty standard for a ghost story.

The movie has nice premises, compared to the average occidental horror movie has less jumps scares. The real problem with the movie is the CGI, extremely bad. Ghosts that appears are clearly fake, and instead being scary, they are actually funny to watch.

Actors were kinda okay, maybe Wei-Ning Hsu that portrayed the girlfriend of the main character, was a little bit better, but no one really stand out. Usually horror from Asia are better, but in this case I was very disappointed.