Last year a film I saw a film at the Wales One World Film Festival changed the game on how I view ghost films! The horror genre is saturated with “Copy and Paste” ghost plots full of cheap jump scares that forget the existential potential in the existence of ghosts. But I was pleasantly surprised that while Hollywood is rarely getting the genre right, there is filmmaking going on around the world that is still doing ghosts justice. Not only are they making ghost films that are genuinely chilling, but also philosophical and deeply thought provoking!
Mattie Do is Laos’ only female director and first horror film director. Having previously directed Chanthaly (2013) and Dearest Sister (2016). The latter of which was an entry for the 90th Academy Awards.
The Long Walk 2019 is her third feature film, and my favourite watch of 2021. It transcends time and space to examine the human issues that people currently and will continue to face in the future that this story shares with us. The story is told to us through The Old Man (Yannawoutthi Chanthalungsy) who since his childhood has made a companion of The Girl (Noutnapha Soydara) the ghost of a young woman in who’s dying moments he offered company. The Old Man has made a career euthanising women who he deems to be suffering and creating a commune of ghostly women. Doing to quell his immense guilt over
not being able to help his sick mother many decades prior. The film is deeply woven in character analysis and questions the seemingly mild mannered man, it questions not only the overwhelming guilt he felt as a child (and how it guides his future decisions). But in some of the darkest moments of the film, it also puts the Old Man under intense scrutiny, questioning his actions and demonstrating that he is not as altruistic as he seems to think.
One of my favourite aspects of this film is the blending of genres, you walk in knowing you’re about to watch a ghost film and The Girl is introduced very early on, however before the ghosts come into it, The Long Walk has made its way into Science Fiction, set in a futuristic Laos, that blends the Rural Laos setting with futuristic technologies, the microchip everyone carries in their wrist becomes a recurring visual motif, not unlike the jets that fly overhead to demonstrate to the Old Man’s child self that he has travelled in time. Mattie Do herself commented that there was some commentary on Laos’ relationship with modern technology, and how the old often juxtaposes with the new. As well as science fiction The Long Walk delves into mystery and crime genres, as police approach The Old Man for help in finding the lost spirits. The most important aspect of the genre elements is the film’s treatment of Ghosts. While a more western production might spend half the runtime establishing the existence of ghosts, while a protagonist questions their own sanity. The Long Walk capitalizes on the superstitious beliefs of Laos. A country
for whom ghosts, dragons and mythical creatures are an accepted part of life, makes for an added layer of authenticity in an already gripping film. Time Travel in the film is utilised in a darker way than I’ve seen before. Films like Back to the Future (Zemeckis 1985) and Hi, Mom (Ling 2021) often approach time table in a far lighter way, or a more straight forward plot device to fix a problem. The darkness of the final act juxtaposes a great deal with the earlier scenes of an old man trying to help his younger self, a plotline
that could have been utilized as heart-warming, is instead twisted by the overwhelmingly brave script.
The film is one of the most unique and interesting genre films I’ve ever seen, it’s production story is just as interesting as the film itself. From purchasing and moving an entire wooden hut to create the film’s setting, to seemingly supernatural occurrences. The making of a film Mattie Do compares to a “…Shitty Camping trip…”.
It’s a deeply personal story and an incredible piece of filmmaking. Now being distributed by Yellow Veil Pictures, The Long Walk is being released in theatres and will soon be available digitally worldwide. https://www.thelongwalkfilm.com/.
If you love horror, science fiction, or arthouse film, or just like great films in general? Make sure you don’t miss out on this one!
T H E N A I V E F I L M M A K E R 