If you’ve ever walked into a room, driven through a small town, or simply existed in a space where white cis-het norms were mandatory—and felt the dreaded weight of unwelcome eyes upon you—then the pervasive sense of dread and foreboding that writer-director Vera Miao and cinematographer Heyjin Jun capture in Rock Springs will be eerily and achingly familiar.
The film, which made its debut at the Sundance Film Festival last month, stars out actress Kelly Marie Tran—once again delivering a powerhouse performance—and follows an Asian family: Emily (Tran), her daughter (Aria Kim), and her mother-in-law (Fiona Fu). After the death of Emily’s husband, they move to the small town of Rock Springs, Wyoming.
Aria Kim in 'Rock Springs'
Sundance
It’s certainly not a place Emily would have chosen for her family, but one selected out of necessity. A professional cellist, Emily took the only job she could find to support her family. Beneath the stares—quickly masked by a friendly veneer—it becomes clear they aren’t truly welcome.
There’s something intrinsically sinister about this otherwise bucolic town. Something in the soil. That something? Blood. Without spoiling the film, it’s worth noting that Miao did her research in crafting this supernatural slow burn, which is based on the tragic history of the 1885 massacre in Rock Springs.
Jimmy O. Yang and Benedict Wong in 'Rock Springs'
Sundance
This heartbreaking and enraging chapter of U.S. history is brought to life on screen by Benedict Wong and Jimmy O. Yang, who portray brothers and Chinese immigrants working in the mines. Although their screen time is limited, their segment lays bare a chapter of history as horrifying as it is haunting—in every sense of the word.
Here, the legacy of that massacre and the countless atrocities that pepper American history endure. It’s not hard to see how the sins of our nation’s past—and its people—continue to stretch their gnarled, icy claws into the present. Just turn on the news.
That legacy of trauma continues to haunt, whispering from the darkness into the hearts of those impacted, even generations later.
The film is somber and unnerving, as it should be, pairing body horror with Chinese folk horror. The result is an emotionally poignant slow burn, anchored by stellar performances from both Tran and Wong.
