During the Vietnam War, a Viet Cong soldier stationed in the claustrophobic Cu Chi tunnels is haunted by the ghost of a fallen comrade

Josh Tanner first impressed us with another tense (misleadingly) supernatural film ‘The Landing‘ back in 2013. Then went full on Halloween last year with two terrifying shorts ‘Reverse‘ and ‘The Rizzle‘. So it’s needless to say we were excited when we saw a new submission from Josh. And we were not disappointed. Wandering Soul takes us deep into the Vietnam War. A Viet Cong soldier stationed in the claustrophobic Cu Chi tunnels is haunted by the ghost of a fallen comrade.

“I immediately knew it was a story worth telling”

The inspiration for the short came about when researching the Vietnam War. I had an urge to genre blend a war film with the supernatural. Upon finding the factual background of this particular story I immediately knew it was a story worth telling. The core historical concept of the film inspired my producer/co-writer Jade van der Lei and I to develop it as a feature film, but we felt creating a proof of concept would be ideal to sell the tone and ideas behind it in a highly visual (and aural) way.

Luckily we were able to get amazing support from mentors and EPs The Spierig Brothers (Predestination, Winchester), production financing from Screen Australia and post-production funds from the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Shot over the course of three days on the Gold Coast, Australia (two days in the tunnel sets at Village Roadshow Studios and one night in the nearby hinterland jungles) and was a great primer for what can be achieved for minimal budget when we make the feature.

We immediately thought of Neill Blomkamp’s ‘Firebase‘ when we entered the Vietnam War theme with a touch of supernatural. Of course, very different in style and genre, Wandering Soul banks on historical facts which in many ways, makes the story all the more terrifying. Josh is true to his high production values, from acting to set design and lighting. All of which help create the incredible tension throughout. But ultimately, it’s the story progression and pivoting points which really leave a marking stamp on this short horror.