The vampire is a figure of Western dread, a creature born of European castles and gothic gloom. Timothy Linh Bui’s Daydreamers relocates this myth to the bustling, humid streets of modern Ho Chi Minh City. The film posits that these creatures of the night arrived with colonialism, ancient parasites seeking new hosts.
To survive in this new land, they forged a pact: abstain from human blood, and perhaps, one day, regain their humanity. This fragile peace is embodied by Nhat, a quiet vampire living on a riverboat, who clings to this hope for redemption. His world is thrown into chaos by the return of his brother, Marco, a charismatic sybarite who leads a crew of vampires living a life of open indulgence in the city.
When Nhat’s vampiric nature is accidentally revealed to a mortal woman, Ha, he chooses to protect her. This act of mercy breaks the foundational law of their kind and ignites a war between his brother’s hedonistic faction and his own ascetic existence.
A Symphony of Style
The film’s aesthetic is its most potent weapon. Director of photography Phu Nam paints a lurid, intoxicating picture of Ho Chi Minh City, a true neon wonderland where death and beauty coexist in every frame.
The screen pulses with kaleidoscopic visuals, particularly during the kinetic nightclub encounters and lavish vampire gatherings. This visual feast is supported by intricate production design and makeup that renders the vampires as gorgeous, sinister figures.
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The auditory landscape is just as dense, shifting between the pulsating electronic beats of MiSS NiNE and the atmospheric neoclassical compositions of Jérôme Leroy. This approach, reminiscent of the slick, high-energy music sequences in modern Indian cinema, aims for total sensory immersion.
At times, however, this commitment to style becomes a liability. The relentless, high-gloss presentation can feel excessive, with certain action sequences looking more like a video game cutscene than a cinematic event, where technique threatens to drown out feeling.
The Heart of the Drama
Beneath the stylistic gloss lies a solid emotional core centered on the film’s characters. The narrative is driven by the potent conflict between the two brothers, a classic Cain and Abel dynamic transposed onto a supernatural stage.
Nhat’s tormented internal struggle with his monstrous nature gives the story its central question about identity and humanity. Tran Ngoc Vang portrays Nhat with a quiet, intense vulnerability that makes his dilemma feel genuine. In sharp contrast, Thuan Nguyen’s Marco is a picture of seductive charm, a classic urban predator who draws others into his orbit.
Standing apart is Chi Pu as the vampire queen Trieu, whose commanding presence is felt in every scene she occupies. The film succeeds in making their relationships the source of the horror; the emotional stakes established between the characters give the moments of violence a weight they would otherwise lack, grounding the fantastic in recognizable human connection.
Ambition Exceeds Its Grasp
Daydreamers begins with a confident stride, building its world and emotional conflicts with skill through its first two acts. The setup is strong, drawing the audience into a well-defined and atmospheric setting. The trouble arises in its final part.
The story reaches what feels like a natural and satisfying resting point, only to continue for another half hour. This extended finale overstuffs the narrative, damaging its pacing and making the picture feel laborious as it approaches its end. The film also suffers from a lack of focus, dedicating too much time to auxiliary characters and their subplots.
While these figures add texture, they divert attention from the central drama between Nhat and Marco. Trimming these extraneous threads would have produced a tighter, more forceful story. As it stands, Daydreamers is a visually inventive and thematically rich piece of work, a fresh entry in a tired genre that benefits from its unique cultural perspective, even if its structural flaws keep it from greatness.
Daydreamers is a 2023 Vietnamese vampire thriller that premiered in limited U.S. theaters on May 9, 2025, via distributor Dark Star Pictures, and became available on streaming platforms, including digital purchase and VOD, starting June 3, 2025.
Full Credits
Director: Timothy Linh Bui
Writers: Timothy Linh Bui
Producers and Executive Producers: Timothy Linh Bui
Cast: Tran Ngoc Vang, Thuan Nguyen, Chi Pu, Trinh Thao
Composer: Jérôme Leroy
The Review
Daydreamers
Daydreamers is an ambitious and visually stunning piece of genre filmmaking, breathing new life into vampire lore with its vibrant Vietnamese setting and a potent central story about brotherhood. Its aesthetic brilliance and strong lead performances are unfortunately held back by a messy, overlong final act and a narrative that loses focus. It is a memorable cinematic experience whose reach slightly exceeds its grasp, making it a beautiful but flawed creation.
PROS
- Striking, neon-drenched cinematography.
- A fresh cultural perspective on the vampire myth.
- Forceful performances from the central cast.
CONS
- A bloated and poorly paced final act.
- Too many unfocused secondary plots.
- Style sometimes overwhelms the storytelling.
