Detective Kien: The Headless Horror

Miss Moon’s village is like the Sleepy Hollow of Vietnam. The decapitated victims of the sinister “Drowning Ghost” keep washing up on the shore of the river. Supposedly, her niece (whom she raised as a daughter) was the exception. The waters only returned one of poor Nga’s shoes. Since the useless village chief refuses to investigate Miss Moon petitions the Judge’s Detective. That would be Kien, who conscientiously answers the call in Victor Vu’s Detective Kien: The Headless Horror, which is still playing in select theaters.

Kien an analytical but empathetic investigator, who represents the full authority of the [unseen] Judge, so Chief Liem Quan must cooperate. The good detective soon learns Nga was tragically inconvenient. Her father resented Nga, because he suspected she was her mother’s illegitimate daughter, with the lover she later absconded with. Similarly, Liem and Lady Vuong, his Lady Mabeth-ish wife, harbored ill will towards Nga, because their entitled daughter Tuyet’s arranged fiancé, Thac, fell in love with her.

Of course, Kien wants to maintain the integrity of his investigation, but Miss Moon insists on joining him—and she is the sort of person who is hard to say no to. That is especially true as the romantic attraction between them grows. Ominously, the Drowning Ghost also apparently takes an interest Kien, appearing in dreams and visions—and maybe even real life, at inopportune times.

Perhaps by Vietnam’s standards, Detective Kien might be a horror movie. For American audiences, it is more of a mystery with some genre elements, but either way, it is wonderfully atmospheric. There is a lot of sneaky skullduggery and 19^th Century detective business afoot.

The chemistry between Quoc Huy and Dinh Ngoc Diep is also quite winning. Shrewdly, Vu keeps their flirtation understated but constantly present, rather than amping it up to Moonlighting levels. Doan Minh Ahn is also acutely sad as the unfortunate Nga. Yet, My Uyen often upstages everyone as the manipulative Lady Vuong, who is flamboyantly nasty in a Cruella de Vil kind of way. She is something else.

As a bonus Vu and cinematographer Dominic Pereira strikingly feature Vietnam’s lush natural beauty during their daylight scenes. Of course, much more happens during the dark of night, as genre fans would hope. Clearly, Vu enjoys all the lantern-lit period mystery trappings and ghostly intrigue—and his enthusiasm is infectious for viewers. Highly recommended for fans of the Judge Dee novels, the Detective K films, and similar historical detective franchises, Detective Kien: The Headless Horror is now playing in select markets worldwide, including the Regal Garden Grove in Orange County.