Vietnam warns against "extreme horror" in movies

HANOI (Reuters Life!) - Vietnamese authorities have warned film makers against producing ghost and horror movies "with incomprehensible plots and extreme horror", a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Thanh Nien (Young People) said film makers and importers responded by saying that if ghost movies failed to cause fear, they could not be called horror movies.

They added that if the plots were easily comprehensible, the movie was probably poorly made.

A recommendation from the National Department of Cinematography suggested movie makers and importers reject "horror movies that instil fear and panic". It said horror films with endings "celebrating the triumph of justice over evil" were acceptable.

In Vietnam, where the communist authorities approve the content of all cultural programmes including film and art, the most popular movies tend to be of the Hong Kong or Hollywood-style action genre. Romantic movies and comedies are also popular.

"We warn against movies lacking art or humanism, with incomprehensible plots and extreme horror, and managing to convince viewers into believing in ghosts and other supernatural things," Lai Van Sinh, author of the guidelines, was quoted by the newspaper as saying.