Although the movie Haunted Mountains The Yellow Taboo, written by Wan-Zhen Zou and directed by Chia-Ying Tsai, doesn’t specify the exact mountain range at first, its haunting visuals and symbolic storytelling quickly hint at the setting. A quick Google search reveals where the legend of the Yellow Raincoat Ghost first manifested, and that place is in Taiwan’s Yushan (Jade Mountain) National Park—a place I’d definitely want to explore… just not during the wrong season.
While the vibrant autumn palette in the cinematography is visually stunning, it carries ominous undertones. The colour yellow, in this context, isn’t just seasonal—it’s a warning. Despite the horror visuals, this film leans more toward psychological thriller, particularly when tensions rise as Chen Jia-ming (Jasper Liu) tries to escape a mysterious time loop.
After Chen and his friends—Song Yu-xin (Angela Yuen) and Zhang An-wei (Tsao Yu-ning)—ignore a warning sign and ventures deeper into the woods, only to witness a deadly ritual, their reality unravels. Later that night, Chen watches his companion die repeatedly in horrific ways. And as for An-wei? He seems to have a suppressed history with the place.
It’s hard not to read more into it, whether the transition of yellow from summer to autumn was intended as deeper symbolism. Yellow doesn’t just highlight natural change here—it signals danger. Perhaps unintentionally, the film raises larger questions about what this colour truly represents when mortals wander too far into mythic territory.
If Zou is retelling the legend of the Yellow Raincoat Ghost—an urban myth known across Asia—then there’s more folklore than horror here. Locals know this entity as Yushan Xiaofeixia, and instead of one, there’s often three! That’s one detail this film has to get right. And when people often see this spirit before a hiker disappears, its role echoes other global locations like Mt. Shasta, Aokigahara Forest, and Germany’s Schwarzwald, where people famously vanish. In each case, the mythos suggests that trespassing into liminal spaces invites supernatural forces—be they fae, spirits, or even Bigfoot.
When this supernatural force seems more akin to Charon, the mythical ferryman, beckoning the characters toward something final, I have to wonder. Without spoiling too much, the film subverts expectations of how nature spirits should behave. Rather than being neutral or protective, they demand some kind of reparation. What that “apology” is, however, remains deliberately cryptic.
As much as I appreciated the folktale influences, the film’s narrative sometimes falls short. Chen’s struggle to escape the loop lacks urgency, and the pacing drags in the second act. By the time the climax arrived, I mentally rewound to piece the story back together. The time-loop trope, more common in science fiction, doesn’t quite gel in a horror framework—at least not here.
The film’s use of colour is far more effective. In horror literature, especially in works like Robert W. Chambers’ The King in Yellow, yellow represents madness, forbidden knowledge, and liminal states between life and death. While Chambers’ short stories did not directly influence this film, the thematic parallels are strong. Here, yellow suggests spiritual transition, instability, and an encroaching force against which reasoning is impossible.
Yet, reaching the film’s conclusion feels like wandering a poorly marked trail. There are moments of brilliance, solid performances, and intriguing concepts—but the journey is uneven. The runtime could use trimming, especially during repeated death scenes (three is plenty to establish a pattern and connect with how many of these spirits appear). The final confrontation delivers, but it’s not memorable.
In the end, Haunted Mountains The Yellow Taboo offers an ambitious mix of folklore, symbolism, and psychological horror. But to truly leave a lasting impression, it needed a clearer path. When a horror story plays with legends and ghosts, it should guide us with intent—lest we stray too far into the woods ourselves.
3 Stars out of 5
Haunted Mountains The Yellow Taboo Trailer
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