Vietnamese horror film “Phi Phong: The Blood Demon” secures sales in over 10 territories as regional distributors line up for its spring rollout.
International distributors are betting on Southeast Asian horror again — this time with a chilling legend from Vietnam’s northern mountains.
Phi Phong: The Blood Demon, the latest supernatural feature from Bluebells Studios, has been sold to more than ten territories ahead of its theatrical debut, signaling growing demand for regional horror stories on the global market.
The film’s sales are being handled by Mockingbird Pictures, an affiliate of the studio, which has been securing distribution partners across Asia and beyond. The strategy positions the film for a broad international rollout shortly after its home-market launch.
Directed by Do Quoc Trung, the supernatural thriller will premiere in Vietnam on April 24, timed to the country’s major Reunification Day holiday — a prime moviegoing period that typically draws large domestic audiences.
From there, the film will quickly expand across Southeast Asia. Indonesia will be the first overseas market when the film opens May 13 through PT Omega. A day later, Malaysia and Brunei will follow via Golden Screen Cinemas, while Hong Kong audiences will see the release through Sil-Metropole Organisation.
Additional theatrical launches are also being arranged for North America, Taiwan, Cambodia and Laos, with distributors working toward a summer window.
The film brings together a cross-border cast that reflects the region’s growing collaboration in genre filmmaking.
Vietnamese actors Kieu Minh Tuan, Diep Bao Ngoc and Doan Minh Anh star alongside Thai child performer Nina Nutthacha Padovan, known for appearing in the horror series Death Whisperer.
Set in a remote mountain village, the story draws on a chilling piece of folklore from Vietnam’s northern highlands. The legend centers on the mysterious “Phí Phông,” a supernatural entity believed to walk among humans during the day while secretly feeding on the blood and life force of victims at night.
Passed down through generations in local spiritual traditions, the myth has long been considered one of the region’s most unsettling tales.
Studio executives say the film was designed as a large-scale horror production that blends traditional mythology with cinematic spectacle — from ritualistic scenes to the eerie isolation of Vietnam’s dense forests.
Bluebells Studios CEO Trang Doan said the goal was to bring a distinctly Vietnamese horror story to global audiences increasingly drawn to Southeast Asian genre films.
Meanwhile, Mockingbird Pictures’ business director Phong Duong pointed to the wider surge of interest in the region’s supernatural storytelling.
With audiences worldwide discovering Southeast Asian horror, he said, Phi Phong: The Blood Demon represents a new level of ambition for Vietnam’s genre filmmaking — and a chance for its folklore to reach far beyond the mountains where the legend began.
