The Tag-Along (2015) User Reviews

A rather mediocre foray into the Taiwanese horror cinema...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 2 May 2017]

When I found "The Tag-Along" I was quite interested in getting a chance to watch it and did rush at the chance to do so. I must admit that I did have some expectations to the movie.

However, these expectations were not really met. And the movie just never really managed to impress me. Sure, it was an entertaining enough movie for what it turned out to be. But the movie just failed to be scary, or actually be interesting enough to make a lasting mark. Or perhaps I am just too hardened and seasoned of a decades of watching horror movies...

Regardless, this movie just wasn't particularly scary, and I doubt that even to Asians this is not overly scary. Unless you live in Taiwan, perhaps, and is familiar with the urban legend of the little girl in the red dress.

It should be said that the acting in the movie was quite good, and it was nice to see new faces on the screen. The actors and actresses were actually doing quite good jobs with their given roles and characters, just a shame that they had only so much to work with in terms of script and story.

There were very little special effects in the movie, and that is perhaps also a major part of why the movie just failed to latch on and hang on. It was a shame, because effects are usually crucial to horror movies, and very few of them manage to pull off having little or no special effects whatsoever. "The Tag-Along" failed at its attempt with whatever little special effects were present.

I managed to sit through the entire movie, because I wanted to see it to the end. And I just learned now that there is a sequel to "The Tag-Along" here in 2017. I can't really claim that such news are overly thrilling, since the first movie wasn't particular much of an outstanding movie in any way.

For an Asian horror movie, then "The Tag-Along" differentiates itself from the mainstream horror movies that is often seen in the Asian horror genre. However, it just wasn't unique enough to stand on its own and be particularly impressive. This wasn't a bad movie either, don't get me wrong, and it is actually watchable for sure.

The end result of how this movie turned out was, for me at least, mediocre, and I am rating the movie a mere 5 out of 10 stars.

Overly derivative Taiwanese ghost story

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 25 January 2018]

THE TAG-ALONG is a popular Taiwanese horror film that takes the form of a ghost story heavily indebted to the likes of RING and THE GRUDGE. Sadly, those Japanese classics were far more interesting than this lacklustre, by-the-numbers outing which is content to copy and imitate rather than innovate. The story's background - about a little girl in red whose appearance foreshadows disaster - is by far the most interesting thing about the production, given that it's based on a true story. Sadly, the film has a cheap, blue-tinted digital look and actors giving indifferent performances throughout. It becomes more and more reliant on ridiculously cheesy CGI ghosts as it goes on, and the one or two genuine scares are borrowed from better fare.

A solid if somewhat flawed ghost effort

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 7/10 · 7 July 2019]

Attempting to move on his life, an ambitious real-estate agent and his girlfriend find their relationship struggles interrupted by the disappearance of his grandmother, but once he goes missing as well she finds a potential cause to be the legend of a local ghost coming after them.

This ends up being quite a decent if flawed effort. One of the brightest aspects here is the rather intriguing storyline that utilizes a wholly effective rationale for the ghost haunting. Tackling a popular and chilling local legend that's built into the local folklore and tells a rather interesting concept for a ghost film. A mischievous being that preys on guilt and regret, especially with children and the elderly, there's potentially a lot to really get into with the concept of a ghost following a person around to torment them for their feelings of guilt in their lives. This is particularly evident in the fact that the central relationships present in the film that borders on their regrets in life, from failing to keep childhood promises to their lack of understanding the romantic feelings that pop up in their romantic side. Once this early setup is accomplished, the later series of jump scares and ghostly interactions becomes all the more intriguing. Directly aping the original legend with the video footage of the girl in the red dress following a group of unknowing hikers in the mountains, these scenes come off nicely mixing together some rather traditional elements with the folklore trappings. These early scenes of the ghost influencing their dreams as they both end up getting their own dream-like encounter with the ghost popping up out of nowhere to generate scares or the stand-out hallucination of him supposedly eating bugs and worms instead of a regular meal. These are accomplished in conjunction with the creepy-looking ghost itself that looks quite chilling and really helps to sell some of the scares in the scares, especially evident in the scares of it crawling around on the floor chasing after them. There are later scenes in the jungle searching for everyone that manages to generate some reasonable suspense with the frantic search based on the earlier knowledge of their interactions with the ghost and the creepy setting is put to good use as well with these frantic scenes. Overall, these are what really hold this one up. There are some problems with this one. The main issue here is the overly familiar feeling that runs throughout the film, mostly centered on the overloaded sense of stylistic choices taken from other films. With the film focused on thinking these elements drive the main fearful aspects instead of its generally captivating storyline, there's a somewhat bland feeling that can emerge at times. As well, the other big issue here is the rather weak story that tends to be more confusing than anything. This one offers up a wholly intriguing storyline about a young ghost girl that can foreshadow strange incidents and calamities afterward, yet really doesn't do much with it. In the end, this relies more on an intriguing premise more than actually having anything with this ghost and just causes some confusion as for why include that backstory in the first place. These are what hold it down the most.

Rated Unrated/R: Violence and Language.

Tense, atmospheric and unsettling, this tale of loss, regret and familial love packs a surprisingly moving lesson on cherishing our loved ones whom we often take for granted

[moviexclusive · 7/10 · 19 January 2016]

'The Tag-Along' takes a well-known urban legend in Taiwan and turns it into a bone-chilling mystery built around themes of loss, regret and familial love. Depending on your knowledge of Taiwanese folklore, you may or may not have heard of the 'little girl in red', who was infamously captured by a group of climbers on home video making their way along a mountain trail. That video was broadcast on television way back in 1988, and since then, others have reported similar sightings of a little girl in a red dress just before they had met with some form of calamity. Legend has it that the girl is a mountain demon known as 'mo-sien' (or 魔神仔 in Chinese), which preys on fear and guilt and is particularly drawn to children and the elderly.

So it is that the first to disappear in the film is an elderly woman who happens to be good friends with our lead male protagonist's grandma (Liu Yin–shang), a curmudgeonly lady confronted with the same fate one typical morning after making breakfast for her grandson Wei (River Huang). It will be a couple of days before Wei realises that she has gone missing – despite being his caretaker from young, Wei's busy work schedule as a real estate agent have kept the two apart in recent times, leaving his grandmother in constant lament about how little he sleeps every night and how little time he spends at home with her. Their estrangement is also in part due to Wei's relationship with his girlfriend Yi-chun (Hsu Wei Ning), who harbours no plans to get married, settle down or have kids even after five years, much to Wei's grandmother's dismay.

As you can expect, there is a lesson here on taking the ones who love us for granted – and as we learn through a series of flashbacks, Wei had made a promise to his grandmother when he was a kid that he would have dinner with her every night, even scribbling it on the underside of their dinner table. But it isn't just Wei who has a lesson to be learnt; midway through the film, Wei's grandmother is found walking lost and disoriented along a stretch of highway, right after Wei himself vanishes. Just as Wei had been taking his grandmother for granted, so has Yi-chun been doing likewise of Wei, and the second half of the film is as much about Yi-chun digging deeper into the legend of the 'mo-sien' as it is about her learning the depths of Wei's love for her.

If there is one thing that Jian Shi-geng's screenplay gets right, it is in establishing the relationships between Wei and his grandmother as well as between Wei and Yi-chun with careful attention and detail. Not only do we feel for Wei mourning the loss of his grandmother, we empathise with Yi-chun coping with the sudden departure of Wei, and within these two relationships, Jian makes keenly felt the regret we often face when the people who love us but whom we take for granted are abruptly taken away from us. The latter allows the climax set deep in a patch of dense forest to be both scary yet heartfelt, as Yi-chun resolves to save Wei from the clutches of the mountain demon that assumes the form of the 'little red girl'.

On his part, Cheng Wei-hao, who makes his feature filmmaking debut here, largely succeeds in sustaining a tense and uneasy atmosphere throughout the film. There are a couple of nicely earned 'jump' scares here, but what lingers is the sense of dread that he builds with the creaking of a door, the rustle of the wind and the voice of a little girl. Cheng loves to play with his audience's sense of focus, and an oft-used but nonetheless effective technique is how he teases us with something that we should be seeing on the periphery of the frame just before it jumps in our face. Just as well, Cheng hits the emotional beats of Jian's script nicely – in particular, an early sequence that shows Wei's grandmother trying to wake Wei up for work when his alarm rings and then preparing his breakfast and lunch box for him pays off subsequently in unexpectedly emotional ways.

No wonder then that 'The Tag-Along' has gone on to become the most successful horror movie in Taiwan in a decade – like the best of its genre, it isn't just a scattershot collection of scares but rather a poignant lesson on human nature that tugs on your heartstrings as much as it rattles your nerves. To be fair, it does owe its audience a couple of loose ends, and the CGI-heavy climax does border on overkill, but on the whole, Cheng's maiden entry to the horror genre is a spooky atmospheric affair that bears a foreboding omnipresence. At no point do you ever feel that its thrills are cheap or convenient, nor does it lose its emotional hook along the way, so if you're looking for a good scare, you'll find yourself in good company if you follow the little girl in red.

A Clever Ghost Story That Would Have Been Better With Less CGI

[HorrorOverEverything · 6/10 · 10 June 2016]

I don't watch a lot of Asian horror films, mainly because I have never really been much of a fan of paranormal movies, and for the most part Asian horror films tend to focus on paranormal type things (mostly scary little kid ghosts). But the other night I was bored and in the mood for a horror film, I decided to not be picky at all and basically just randomly pick one of the newer releases from the genre. I stumbled onto a Taiwanese film called "The Tag Along" and honestly I am glad I did.

The film follows Zhi-wei He, a young adult who lives a fairly busy life trying to juggle his job, his girlfriend, and spending time with his grandmother who lives with him. Zhi-wei He's life is turned upside down when a little ghost girl in a red dress shows up and takes his grandmother away. From there things get pretty wild as the little ghost girl makes multiple appearances to terrorize Zhi-wei and the other people in his life.

Early on "The Tag Along" does a lot of things right, the characters are interesting and the story is set up well, plus there are a lot of very well done subtle scare scenes that did a good job of catching me off guard. Unfortunately as the film progresses it becomes more and more dependent on CGI and less on practical scares. At this point it was still entertaining, however the CGI caused the film to lose a lot of it's creepiness. There are actually quite a few scenes that had me giggling a bit due to the goofy effects.

I liked "The Tag Along", overall it was a pretty fun ghost story that was clever at times and didn't rely too much on the normal Ghost Movie clichés (even though there are quite a few present here). Without the CGI I feel like this could have been a lot better, but even with it the film is still entertaining and worth checking out.

6/10

Ghosting

[kosmasp · 5/10 · 18 April 2022]

Different kind of ... well not the one where you do not text your friends for sure. Well former friends that is of course. No this is about "real" ghosts that you wouldn't mind getting rid of. Interesting and intriguing premise that is set up right from the beginning, where we get an explanation for those beings. And their purpose if you want to call it that.

That being said, the rest of the movie is quite predictable, as a few nice jump scares here and there and has a nice overall mood. But does nothing to really get your juices flowing. At least in my humble opinion. Not a bad movie either of course.

Surprisingly good

[imrancgs · 6/10 · 26 August 2018]

Well watched this movie since I had no other good movies. But I ended up being satisfied with the movie. Interesting concept and I came to know it's based on true events. In some portions of the movie, ghost is not well portrayed and looks like a low budget movie . Overall can be watched with no doubts . Better than other foreign movies released this year.

A little bit better than the average horror movie nowadays, but still very weak and generic

[fciocca · 4/10 · 26 May 2020]

Tag-Along is the first movie of a trilogy that is based on an urban legend. A little girl with a red dress haunt down people with regrets, by "kidnapping" them: basically she take over their mind and she make them go to a forest, where they'll be trapped. It is a pretty basic plot, pretty standard for a ghost story.

The movie has nice premises, compared to the average occidental horror movie has less jumps scares. The real problem with the movie is the CGI, extremely bad. Ghosts that appears are clearly fake, and instead being scary, they are actually funny to watch.

Actors were kinda okay, maybe Wei-Ning Hsu that portrayed the girlfriend of the main character, was a little bit better, but no one really stand out. Usually horror from Asia are better, but in this case I was very disappointed.

Marriage isn't in my plan

[nogodnomasters · 7/10 · 28 November 2017]

First hour of Plot, expansion of story line at Amazon US.

This is a Taiwanese film with English subtitles. The film initially centers on Ho Chih Wei, a young man who lives with his grandma and sells real estate. He has a number of issues. His girlfriend of 5 years doesn't want to marry him. Aunt Shui has gone missing. Grandma has wandered off. A girl in a red dress from the mountains has been coming to the city and taking souls. And oh yes, he develops that possession thing and goes missing as the film now shifts gears into a real horror film and centers on the girlfriend Shen Yi-Chen. She gathers up a posse to go to the mountains. At an hour into the film it gets good as she strolls through the woods.

This was an okay horror film similar to Japanese horror films. There is an anti-abortion theme, perhaps aimed at the mainland. Not a good film for any woman who has recently had an abortion.

Guide: F-word (I can now swear in Mandarin, should prove interesting next time I order Chinese.) . No sex or nudity.

interesting Taiwanese glimpse

[killercharm · 5/10 · 31 October 2021]

A story based on Taiwanese folklore of a spirit in the guise of a little girl in red. She tags along when she's haunting someone; she's always on the trail of guilt. Guilt is her first wave of torment. She comes for grandma which prompts all kinds of guilt from the grandson who has the normal feelings of love/resentment that families engender. The story forces the traditional a tad too much for me. The heroine is an incomplete person until she decides to marry and make babies. Still, it's an interesting glimpse into a different culture.

Taiwanese culture meets creepy ghost story

[kluseba · 9/10 · 22 March 2020]

The Haunted, also known as The Tag-Along, is a highly entertaining Taiwanese horror movie. An elderly woman from a vast apartment complex has mysteriously disappeared and her worried best friend starts having strange visions and hearing weird noises. Soon after, the disappeared woman suddenly returns and is in a confused state of shock. She remembers being held captive in the mountains outside of Taipeh and pronouncing her best friend's name who has now also disappeared under strange circumstances. Her busy grandson and his fragile girlfriend start investigating with the help of an elderly security guard. They soon realize that numerous recent disappearances in the region are related to the ghost of a little girl living in the mountains. While they are getting closer to uncovering the truth, they start risking their own lives facing abominable witchcraft.

This overlooked movie convinces on numerous levels. First of all, it's one of the most important Taiwanese horror movies, starting a popular franchise and being the first of its kind to get limited international release. While this movie might seem like another ghost story at first sight, the movie incorporates numerous elements of Taiwanese culture that add a fresh perspective. The locations are perfectly chosen from desolate apartments over gloomy hospitals to foggy forests in the mountains. The round characters are intriguing and especially the difficult relationship between the ambitious son and his fearful girlfriend is cleverly developed throughout the movie. Being a horror movie, the film has an uneasy vibe right from the start and showcases a few unsettling moments while always favouring atmosphere over jump scare tropes. With a length of one hour and a half, the film doesn't overstay its welcome and remains dynamic from start to finish. The production values are above average as the movie makes the best out of a low budget.

I'm glad that I was able to pick up this movie along with its good but not as convincing sequel in a collective set for only seven bucks. However, this movie is worth much more than what I've paid for it and will certainly convince international horror movie enthusiasts. The combination of Taiwanese culture and a creepy ghost story adds something new to horror cinema and I can only encourage genre fans to give obscure international filmmakers a chance instead of only focusing on Hollywood reboots, remakes and sequels.

Weak story with good creeps and jumps

[lojitsu · 7/10 · 25 October 2018]

Oct 16

A-Z Horror Movie of the Day..."The Haunted" (aka "The Tag Along" (NR - 2015 - Taiwan)...Pretty Creepy!

Sub-Genre: Paranormal/Ghost My Score: 6.6

Cast=4 Acting=7 Plot=6 Ending=7 Story=4 Scare=6 Jump=9 F/X=7 Creep=10 Twist=6

A story about a video of a group of people going hiking and a mysterious little girl in a red dress following them.

"I want you to have dinner at my house...grandma is cooking." It was really creepy...with jump scares to make your head spin. I just felt the story was not written well...drawn out and rushed in the wrong places. If you are looking to follow a beginning middle and end you may be disappointed...but if you want Taiwan's version of "The Grudge" then you're in the right place.

Well.....

[Foutainoflife · 5/10 · 29 May 2019]

This film is about people vanishing into the mountains after encountering a girl in a red dress.

The girl in the dressed could be described in one of two ways. She can be described as a ghost or an evil entity. There wasn't a backstory that was sufficient enough to label her as a ghost. Ghosts remember things about their life and whether the haunting is for vengeance, remaining tethered to this world for love or they have turned to evil due to the jealousy of others lives yet theirs was taken a ghost needs a backstory. So, for me, she is an evil entity akin that of a demon. Just my personal opinion.

The film wasn't awful but it ain't great either. We learn the entity captures or lures its victim by using guilt, weaknesses and doppelganger encounters that feel more like hallucinations. If one is captured and speaks the name of someone else, they will be the next victim. Victims are lead into the mountains where they are then made one with the trees and can only be released if they speak another name. This is my understanding about what is going on.

I don't understand the purpose of the victims being taken into the mountains. I'm not sure if it is due as punishment for things done wrong in life or if the entity needs victims to survive or what exactly what. I wish it would've been explained better. There's a second and third film so maybe it will be cleared up in those movies.

The actors were not very polished but the cinematography was ok. The CGI stuff was a little less than quality but I could overlook that. There are a lot of holes to this story but in the long run, I guess the film is average.

Underrated Foreign Supernatural Horror Movie

[HorrorDisasterGuy-90617 · 8/10 · 7 June 2023]

I really think the movie is really interesting on how its told the story. The story is unique with a urban legend that I never heard of and is interesting on the details of it. Like how there's a Little Girl in a red dress who cause people to disappeared into the woods and cause them to experience illusions. The movie is build up really well throughout and the atmosphere is pretty effective with its mood throughout. I found a couple of illusions to be pretty freaky on how its done and feels like a psychological horror movie. And I like the climax of the movie.

I found the creepiness factor to be weak since the jump scares aren't that effective and some of the illusions doesn't look creepy.

Good Chinese Horror.

[reallyevilboy · 9/10 · 26 July 2016]

It's been a while since I've seen a good horror movie. It's been a while since I've seen a good Chinese movie.

I can't even remember a Chinese horror movie I'd rate as high as 9 out of 10.

This was a great movie, lot's of jumping scares.

Only downside is I wish the CGI was a little CGIish, maybe a if they had it little obscured or out of the corner. This is only really a slight blemish on a great movie.

I'd recommend this a watch. This goes into my Horror movie Favorite list.