Movie

The Paper Man Returns

2023 · 96 min

A slow, unsettling folk-horror investigation that lingers on paper effigies and old secrets, more dread than jump scares.

Directed by: Cheng Siyi
Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Horror
Starring: Han Dong, Chen Zihan, Danny Chan Kwok-kwan

Overview: Folklore journalist Lu Xiaosheng visits the Liansheng Paper Effigy Shop to investigate a strange tale. Twenty years ago, Qiao Yuanyuan died unjustly, and a paper figure made for her burial was said to bring her spirit back to kill her father. Only the craftsman’s apprentice knows the truth.

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Directed by: Cheng Siyi
Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Horror
Starring: Han Dong, Chen Zihan, Danny Chan Kwok-kwan

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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: eeriestrength 3 of 3
darkstrength 2 of 3
tensestrength 2 of 3
melancholicstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: mystery
death
revenge
guilt
memory
Places: small town
workplace
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: nonlinear
twist ending
Content intensity: Gore mild
Language mild
Violence mild
Sex none

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	3
Horror	6
Humour	1
Realism	5
Romance	1
Tension	7
Darkness	7
Complexity	6
Emotional weight	6

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