Intensity: 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
Written and Directed by Timothy Linh Bui
Daydreamers (Nguoi Mat Troi) announces that Vietnamese horror has arrived, boldly and with style. It takes the traditional Western tropes of vampires and packages them in a wholly Vietnamese wrapper. Two vampire brothers have taken different paths in their acceptance of vampirism. The older brother, Marco, revels in the power that is bestowed upon him. His younger brother Nhat seeks freedom from the restrictions and curse of vampirism and seeks to become human again. Themes of family honor, redemption, recovery, betrayal, and forbidden love play strongly throughout the film.
Full admission: I haven’t seen many Vietnamese Horror Films. I have watched a lot of Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese, and Indonesian horror (Man, is Indonesia kicking it lately!). So, this was new to me, except for a couple of Vietnamese horror shorts. I had no expectations for this film, but the trailer sent to me by Dark Star Pictures piqued my interest. I’m glad I watched the whole screener.
The Cast of Daydreamers
- Trang Ngoc Vang plays Nhat, a young vampire who desires to become human. Although he is powerful, he yearns desperately to be among humans.
- Thuan Nguyen is Marco, Nhat’s older and dashing brother. He has returned from exile to regale Nhat with the exotic life in the big city, imploring his little brother to join him.
- Chi Pu plays Trieu, a gorgeous young woman who happens to be the 100-year-old vampire queen of Ho Chi Minh City. She is a significant underworld power broker and should not be trifled with.
- Trinh Thao is Ha, a feisty student who lost both of her parents to an auto accident. She is a scrappy and street-smart survivor who bumps into Nhat while fleeing an attempted mugging and later sees him at one of Trieu’s nightclubs.
- Thiên Tư plays Vy, the matron and leader of the vampires who aspire to return to their humanity. She is the spiritual leader of the boat colony and teaches the history of their people.
- Thach Kim Long portrays Loc, Vy’s human son, who protects the community from his position as a high-ranking detective in the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department.
- Lê Tuyết Anh is Mộc, a skilled fighter and sexy member of Trieu’s vampire cadre.
- Hoàng Phi plays Nguyen, a flamboyant and volatile member of Trieu’s gang.
- Ngân Hoà portrays Mai, Ha’s best friend, who convinces her to go clubbing one fateful night in the city.
A Short Summary of Daydreamers
“Resist human blood. Conquer our inner demons. We are Daydreamers. And one day we will be humans again.”
Vy, speaking the law of the blood trial to her charges.
Daydreamer’s baseline premise is that 400 years ago, vampires fled Europe, where they had been hunted to near extinction, and arrived in Indochina (Then known as Annam), and the curse followed them to Asia. In Daydreamers, the vampire society in modern-day is on the ropes, with most of the community living on fishing boats on a secluded river near Ho Chi Minh City. There, they look to reform and swear off human blood so that they can be human again.
Nhat is one of the vampires living peacefully on the boats. When his long-lost brother, Marco, arrives, he tells Nhat of a better life in the city. The appeal seduces Nhat, and he follows his brother to see how the other half of vampire life thrives. Marco’s lover, Trieu, is a beautiful vampire queen who leads a counter movement. She is running gambling dens and underground nightclubs, exerting her influence through the city. Not surprisingly, she and her minions revel in their power. When Nhat breaks vampire law when meeting a rebellious human, Ma, in one of Trieu’s clubs, and reveals himself to be a bloodsucker. (The invisible vampire mirror trope has never been done better than in this movie.)
This pits brother against brother, and the urban vampires against the traditionalists. Despite their monstrous abilities, the vampires still have a severe vulnerability to daylight, so not only are the vampires waging war against each other, but they risk their whole society being discovered and destroyed by the humans that surround them.
Evaluation of Daydreamers
When comparing Daydreamers to Western vampire films, consider The Lost Boys as a good comparison. There is also a little bit of Queen of the Damned, Blade, and Underworld here too. Truth be told, it’s also more interesting than those movies because of the culture it brings to the forefront. Bui is well-versed in the tropes of Euro-vampires. He adheres to many of the classic themes: flight, strength, beauty, arrogance, vulnerability to silver, a lack of reflection, and, perhaps most importantly, nocturnal necessity. Of course, vampires are highly vulnerable to sunlight, which keeps them in check.
As you may see from the stills and the trailers, Daydreamers looks fantastic. It exudes exoticism and serves as a travelogue to Ho Chi Minh City, showcasing both its shantytown mazes and the modern skyline. The color palette and art direction are crisp and elegant. The strength of the brotherly bonds is potent. It helps that the three leads, Vang, Nguyen, and Chi Pu, are all insanely attractive. Sexy vampires translate well into any culture. Although not well-known in the US, Chi Pu is an established pop star, and she certainly looks the part. She is magnetic. Nguyen could headline a boy band if he could demonstrate his singing chops. This movie will certainly make him a star in Vietnam, as he has all the leading man traits.
But it’s Vang who makes this movie sing. His portrayal of Nhat has depth and texture. He is an awkward vampire, not fully embracing the powerful gift/curse that he has. The battle between wanting to be human and his brother embracing full vampire glory is the main story here. Again, think Lost Boys. Dreamwalkers delivers from a familiar menu, but it is the distinctly different flavoring that makes this a good watch.
The plot has some predictability, but it never falls into cliché. The story maintains high stakes for the fates of multiple individuals, as well as for the community of vampires and the innocent human citizens. The martial arts fighting and wirework in this movie are Hong Kong worthy, and the action flows with appropriate savagery. It does flow more than explode, though, so it isn’t quite an adrenaline rush. I would have appreciated more practical and fewer digital gore effects. The visual effects are nonetheless better than I had expected, particularly the vampire’s ashy death sequences.
Concluding Thoughts on Daydreamers
Vietnam’s film legacy is relatively young. Vietnam’s emerging economic strength enables its cinematic industry to flourish. It has started well behind Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong in East Asian moviemaking, but Daydreamers is a sign that they are ready for prime-time viewing. The sets and location scouting anchor the movie squarely in Vietnam. The movie must resonate with its culture to become a breakout success in an emerging film industry like Vietnam’s. This movie embodies the youthful energy of a country and an industry poised to take the next step.
A similar condition is emerging in Thailand. Thailand produced The Lake, a Kaiju monster film that came as a total surprise from Thailand’s nascent movie industry. The Lake was fun, but sloppy, as even though it had a terrific monster, the plot unraveled with awkward side stories, and the acting was a bit stiff. By comparison, Daydreamers brims with confidence. I was expecting a film along the lines of The Lake, but Daydreamers surpassed that hurdle and then some. It delivers narrative clarity, clean editing, and terrific lead performances. Timothy Lin Bui could lead a genre vanguard out of SE Asia if Daydreamers catches the proper breaks.
Daydreamers is unrated. It would likely receive an R rating for violence and some gore, but the blood isn’t particularly visceral. Teenagers would likely enjoy this movie, as it explores the struggles of youth and the journey of finding one’s way in the world. Dark Sky Films has announced a limited theatrical release in the United States. On May 2, 2025, Daydreamers is scheduled for a limited theatrical release in 15 cities where the Vietnamese diaspora has established a presence. I suspect that would be LA, San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Houston, Minneapolis… and hopefully Portland. We shall see.