Lầu Chú Hoả: The Deadliest Mansion, the Vietnamese found-footage horror hit, is finally making its way into North American theaters – directed by Hùng Trần, the film opens in North America on September 4, 2026, with Mockingbird Pictures handling the theatrical release across AMC, Regal and Cinemark locations.
From Vietnamese Box Office Hit to North American Release
The film opened in Vietnam in June and became the country’s first theatrical found-footage horror movie, going on to attract more than one million admissions and passing VND78 billion, which works out at around $3 million, which is a pretty good result for a Vietnamese horror film, particularly one built around a filmmaking style that hasn’t exactly been a major part of the country’s theatrical horror scene.
The film is based around the famous Vietnamese urban legend of the Ghost of the Hứa Family, a story connected to an old mansion and rumours that have been around for generations, and this time around, a group of young streamers decide that breaking into the supposedly haunted Hứa family estate is probably a brilliant idea – they’re looking for fame and money, but once inside, their cameras begin recording something considerably worse than the content they came there for.
The entire film is presented through the cameras being used by the characters, putting the audience directly into the mansion with them rather than constantly cutting away to traditional cinematic shots.
Hùng Trần Directs
Lầu Chú Hoả is also Hùng Trần’s feature directorial debut, although he wasn’t completely new to filmmaking before making it, as he previously worked as a screenwriter on Vietnamese films including Đèn âm hồn and Heo năm móng, before moving into the director’s chair for Lầu Chú Hoả.
The film was produced by Runup Vietnam alongside South Korea’s Hive Media Corp, marking Hive’s first production investment outside South Korea, where the company has been behind films including 12.12: The Day, Inside Men, The Man Standing Next and Harbin, as well as the found-footage horror film Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum.
And rather than filling the movie with recognisable Vietnamese stars, Hùng Trần chose a younger cast including Trần Kỳ Anh, Nguyễn Minh Thời, Nguyễn Công Nương, Ngọc Chi Bảo, Hà Dũng and Phụng Hoàng – the director felt that using newcomers would make it easier for audiences to believe they were watching ordinary content creators rather than established actors playing them.
Lầu Chú Hoả: The Deadliest Mansion opens in North American theaters on September 4, 2026.
More Asian horror movie news.
- Kathmandu Horror Film Fest Returns to Kathmandu for Three Days of Horror, Fantasy and Folklore
- Visitor Q Gets a New Limited Edition Blu-ray from Radiance Films This October
- Bakemono Is Bringing Its Japanese Practical-Effects Monster to Blu-ray
- Cyclops Gets Its First-Ever North American Blu-ray Release from Visual Vengeance
- Honto ni Atta! Noroi no Video 117 Brings More Supposedly Real Ghost Footage to DVD on September 2
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