Wandering Soul, a horror short film by Josh Tanner, has a great ghost story set during the Vietnam War that is inspired by bizarre but absolutely true events: The film is portrayed from the unique perspective of the ‘enemy’ Viet Cong soldiers in the claustrophobic tunnels of Cu Chi.
The film had a great festival run, taking out Best Horror Short at the Hollyshorts Film Festival in 2017 and playing at many prestigious festivals including Palm Springs, Sitges and Moscow. Now it’s time for us to release it to the wider public!
Brisbane based Josh Tanner, director of Wandering Soul, is known for his focus on dramatic performances and arresting visuals and has directed many short films, commercial and video content for clients including Village Roadshow, Commbank and Hewlett Packard.
Josh’s short films have also screened and won at film festivals internationally, with his latest film, The Landing, screening at over 50 film festivals worldwide and winning 11 awards, including taking out Best Short Film at the prestigious 46th Sitges International Film Festival in Spain, and LA Shorts Fest 2014, both of which qualified the film for 2015 Academy Award nomination.
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Synopsis (Spoiler Alert)
The narrative is told from the perspective of the Viet Cong – a viewpoint rarely depicted in cinema. Taking place in the claustrophobic tunnels of Cu Chi, Dao (Lap Phan), a Viet Cong soldier, is going about the grim task of burying a fallen comrade.
Being deeply spiritual, he begins a burial rite believing it is vital to putting the soul of his deceased companion to rest. He is interrupted by another solider, Quan (Henry Vo), who insists they must evacuate the tunnels before American forces arrive.
Refusing to leave until he completes the ceremony, Dao and Quan begin experiencing terrifying phenomena indicating the soldiers are not alone deep within the pitch-black bowels of Cu Chi.
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To view Mystery Tribune’s online archive of crime, horror and thriller short films, please visit here.
