A scene in Pháp Sư Mù (Blind Conjurer), a horror-comedy by young comic actor Huỳnh Lập. The film has been released on Film+, an online film website in Việt Nam. Photo courtesy of the producer

HCM CITY — The blockbuster Pháp Sư Mù (Blind Conjurer), a horror-comedy by young comic actor Huỳnh Lập, has been released on Film+, an online film website in Việt Nam. 

The screening aims to attract audiences during the COVID-19 outbreak. 

“I hope my fans will be entertained at home these days,” said the film’s producer and director Lập. 

Pháp Sư Mù features a group of rural farmers who are hunted for in their village.  

It is based on a famous web drama series released in 2019 by Lập.

The film features People’s Artist and famous comic artist Ngọc Giàu and Vietnamese-American actress Việt Hương. 

Producer and director Lập, who is also a comedian, plays a leading role.

The production earned more than VNĐ60 billion (US$2.5million) in ticket sales three weeks after its release in cinemas in November last year.

“I decided to release Pháp Sư Mù online because I wanted to keep my production alive long after it apoeared in cinemas,” said Lập, 27, who began his career as a theatre actor in 2011. 

Lập and his group, DAMtv, have released  60 comic videos on YouTube. Their YouTube channel has over 1.2 million subscribers.

“YouTube brings my art closer to audiences,” said Lập, adding that he will produce and release all of his productions on YouTube.   

In 2017, Lập set a new record when his parody film based on Vietnamese blockbuster Tấm Cám: Chuyện Chưa Kể (Tấm Cám: The Untold Story) earned three million views in one day after appearing on YouTube.

Lập spent VNĐ2.5 billion ($111,000) on the production in hopes of bringing quality entertainment to his fans and audiences. 

Lập has performed in many TV shows on HCM City Television and Vĩnh Long Television. He has also acted in several films by young directors such as Bảo Nhân and Nam Cito of HCM City. 

He won the Golden Kite Award for Best Supporting Actor in the comedy Sài Gòn Anh Yêu Em (Saigon, I Love You) at the Việt Nam Film Festival in 2017. — VNS