The Asian Cinema Critic

It’s Complicated is the only accurate relationship status for the characters in Than Tranh’s satirical comedy-thriller.

“You two try to live happily.”
“We’re doing anything but that

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt in my time as The Asian Cinema Critic it’s that relationships the world over are all kind of the same. Hampered by insecurities, expectations and societal pressures, even the strongest relationships can have false starts, rocky foundations and can crumble seemingly out of nowhere. Nowhere is this more true than in the ensemble thriller Bunny!!.

Hai Linh (LyLy) is the host of a popular daytime talk show, where viewers appear with masks and discuss their relationship issues. It’s a successful show, though while Linh is able to help her viewers, the relationships around her aren’t great. There are cracks showing up between her and her husband Phong (Vinh Dam), and her sister Lan (Van Mai Huong)’s overly jealous and suspicious nature causes her marriage to crumble as well.

Things take a darker turn when a woman in a bunny mask named Tho (Phao) appears on the show, first to describe an abusive relationship with her boyfriend (director Than Tranh) and then to describe an affair she is having, with someone who may or may not be Phong.

Bunny!! is a movie that entirely relies on the relationship between all of its characters, the audience’s investment in their overall happiness, and its own ability to weave a compelling thriller without losing itself in its own twists and turns. You see, Bunny (I’m giving up on the exclamation marks) is a film that loves its twists and turns, throwing a bunch at the wall near constantly. Tho’s initial confession of the affair immediately throws the film into a disarray that the characters struggle to escape until the final few minutes.

And honestly? It does a pretty good job of giving us multiple stories told through several points of view. The thing plays out like a talk show Rashomon, imbued with moments of black comedy and quirky character traits. It tries to simplify things for the viewer, perhaps, a bit too much, through a lot of on-screen text, telling us who the focal character of this particular part of the story is, but it doesn’t always work and comes off sometimes as distracting. Still ,most of Bunny works remarkably well.

People after all, are complicated. They lie, they jump to conclusions, and sometimes those conclusions are even correct. Bunny explores this surprisingly well, never making any one character particularly villainous for any period of time. When one character’s insufferable jealousy feels like too much, it suddenly is justified. It does this especially well with its female characters that it likes to paint as shrill, clingy and, well, cliched. But underneath that is a layer of complexity – not much complexity, mind you – but enough that Bunny ends up as both a twisty thriller and a dive into the way women are treated in media and in real life for simply wanting to  not be messed around by the men in their lives. Rapper Phao does an especially strong job, bouncing between dozens of mental states throughout the course of the story.

Bunny does that quite nicely, all the while delving into the messy webs of lies we create, the ways we discredit others who call us out, and try to cover up our own mistakes. There’s a lot to explore here and so while Thanh Tran’s premise is more on the basic side, his execution is anything but.

Verdict: With surprising amounts of emotional maturity, Bunny!! delivers as both a psychological thriller and a satire on relationship advice gurus.

Overall entertainment: 7.5/10
Violence: 3/10
Sex: 1/10
Crazies: 3? 1? None?
Twists: 6/10
Shoulder Sister: What is this set? It looks insane
Tran Thanh: Honestly, I liked this so much more than 4 Rascals

Bunny!! (2026)
Also known as: Tho Oi!
Vietnamese

Director: Tran Thanh
Writers: Thao Nguyen, Tran Thanh

CAST

LyLy – Linh
Phao – Tho
Vin Dam – Phong
Tran Thanh – Kim
Tran Quoc Anh – Son
Van Mai Huong – Lan
Quynh Anh Shyn – Truc
Ngoc Nguyen – Mai
Ngoc Hoa – Cuc