Vietnam, 1953. The First Indochinese War rages, and orphaned country girl Linh (Kate Nhung) finds work as a housemaid at a French plantation. She unexpectedly falls in love with the landowner Captain Sebastien Laurent (Jean-Michel Richaud), earning further suspicion from the rest of the house’s staff. When she learns of the Captain’s dead wife Camille, and when strange things start happening in the sprawling mansion, Linh soon comes to understand why the other staff are on edge…
A gothic romance with a healthy dose of sex and violence, The Housemaid is a fascinating film. Though showcasing everything you’d expect from a bodice-ripper and a haunted house film, its setting and its narrative turns keep the film vital and intriguing. Kate Nhung (Hollow) as Linh is the perfect Gothic heroine, and the film’s finale proves particularly memorable.
