Qie xiao jin jia de lu guan

The marketing for Secrets in the Hot Spring clearly failed miserably because at time of writing the film has less than 50 ratings on IMDB and zero reviews. I am breaking the cherry and telling you about this obscure little Taiwanese comedy horror.

It's such a strange little film, it tells the story of a young man who goes to visit his late parents hotel now run by his grandparents. In tow are two of his friends (And I use that term loosely) and they discover the property might be haunted.

It's brand of humor is a strange one, namely it's very very camp and the whole movie comes across rather homo-erotic considerably throughout. Taking a step back and looking at the film I do not think that was even remotely intentional either.

The film has its laughs, but most are so silly and childish they'll appeal to children yet the horror is certainly not appropriate for them. For this reason the movie falls into a very strange limbo where I'm not sure who the demographic is!

Most of the movies characters are deeply annoying which is exacerbated by the previously mentioned puerile comedy.

It's an odd little film and it's not bad, it's just excessively goofy and I have no idea who it was really made for.

The Good:

Some funny moments

The Bad:

A lot of it gets real old real fast

Just plain silly

Annoying characters

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

I've never used a hot spring and would like to rectify that!

Woolen knee pads and fingerless mittens are adorable and need to be a thing for all girls

This is a good movie to be watched by teens and since I am a teen at heart (73) I thoroughly enjoyed it. Very funny, makes you laugh out loud several times, no serious swearing and the actors are likeable! Best to be watched in original sound track with English subtitles! Go ahead and enjoy!

Having found many interesting and entertaining Asian movies on Netflix, I decided to give this particular one a look, even though teen movies in general don't really interest me. Sadly, I thought the movie was for the most part a misfire. It's a really strange movie, even by Asian comedy standards, and initially the extremely wild and goofy tone does grab your attention. And I admit that there were a few mildly amusing moments here and there. But for the most part, I watched the movie with a stony face. To be fair, the movie seems to be aimed at a Taiwanese audience instead of a western audience, which may explain why this western viewer didn't seem to understand a number of plot elements and attempts at humor. But most of the movie is played out in an "international" slapstick way, and I simply didn't find this humor funny. Also, much of the humor aimed at a gay character borders on being homophobic. Even worse is that the movie is dragged out to about 108 minutes in length; it could definitely have been wrapped up in much less time. The production values are good, and the actors are very likable, which does save the movie from getting the lowest rating. But all the same, I'd recommend you skip the movie, even if you are Taiwanese.

Secrets in the Hot Spring was actually a good movie.

For a comedy, it was solid, with many funny scenes that can actually make you laugh. And the whole story, even though rediculous, actually made sense. For a horror movie, well, it wasn't a horror movie. Even for me who can't stand the genre and can get scared easily, it wasn't scary at all. The vibes were good though and the atmosphere nicely presented.

The conclusion was good as well, although kind of cliche and cheesy. But I guess it suited the movie.

So, seven out of ten.

Qie Xiaogin is a bleached blond with a reputation for being a trouble maker. After an incident at school he forms an unlikely friendship with the slightly wimpy Lu Qun and the somewhat camp 'Little Princess'. One day his grandparents invite him to help at their rural hot springs hotel, his friends invite themselves to join him. The three of them go and find it to be a rundown establishment. They find it more than a little creepy and soon believe it is haunted! Will they get to the bottom of the strange goings on?

This film was recommended as a horror on Netflix but the PG rating suggested there wouldn't be many real scares. It turns out to be about as scary as an episode of 'Scooby Doo'... and in many ways it could have been inspired by that show. Thankfully what it lacked in scares it made up for in laughs. It is all very silly and rather camp but worked better than I expected. The cast do a fine job as they deliberately ham it up for maximum comic effect. The 'horror' elements are fun rather than overly scary meaning this can be enjoyed by younger viewers and those who wouldn't normally watch a horror film. Overall a fun little film; not perfect but better than I expected.

These comments are based on watching the film in Mandarin with English subtitles.