Returning to the Ancestral Home

Vietnamese Ghost Cinema and Cross-Border Cultural Flows

Abstract

In Vietnam, ghost and horror films rooted in local spiritual traditions and folk beliefs have gained increasing popularity and commercial success, being vehicles for cultural expression. This article seeks to investigate how such films engage younger generations with ancestral traditions and cultural identity, focusing on the ghost-comedy film Nhà Gia Tiên – The Ancestral Home (2025) by actor-director Huỳnh (Ngọc) Lập as a case study. The film follows a Gen Z content creator from Saigon who returns to her ancestral home in the Mekong Delta and reconnects with ancestor worship through the ghost of her deceased brother. While evoking supernatural motifs, the narrative also explores broader themes such as patriarchy, intergenerational conflict, filial piety, and guilt in Vietnamese families. The film’s domestic box office success was followed by its release in selected U.S. cinemas and promotion by Vietnamese-American influencers online, framing the film as not mere entertainment but as a means for diasporic youth to reconnect with their cultural heritage and ancestral roots. This study argues that Nhà Gia Tiên exemplifies how contemporary Vietnamese ghost films can serve as both a site of emotional and spiritual reconnection and a dynamic tool for cultural continuity, engaging younger generations with traditional values, both within Vietnam and across the diaspora. Through digital ethnography and qualitative content analysis of the film and its reception, including online promotional materials and audience responses, the paper investigates how cinema contributes to identity negotiation among Vietnamese youth and diaspora communities. By doing so, it positions Vietnamese ghost films as a vital medium for cultural expression in the global age.