ROCK SPRINGS

(director/writer: Vera Miao; cinematographer: Heyjin Jun; editor: David Marks; music: Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe; cast: Kelly Marie Tran (Emily), Benedict Wong (Ah Seng), Jimmy O. Yang (He Yew), Aria Kim (Gracie), Fiona Fu (Nai Nai, Emily’s mother-in-law); Runtime: 96; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Stephen Feder, Kiri Hart, Charles D. King, Poppy Hanks, Greta Talia Fuentes, Jason Michael Berman, Matthew Lindner, Jordan Moldo, Vera Miao; Macro Film Studios; 2026-USA/Canada)

“A haunting ghost story that’s finely performed and executed.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

The Guam born Barnard College grad Vera Miao in her debut feature tells a gripping tale about a Vietnamese immigrant widow, adopted by a white family, Emily (Kelly Marie Tran), and her young withdrawn daughter Gracie (Aria Kim), trying to get a fresh start on life in Wyoming after the sudden death of Emily’s Chinese husband.

Nai Nai (Fiona Fu), the overbearing Chinese mother-in-law, relies on following Chinese religious traditions to cope with the mourning period. She fears because Emily has not followed these Chinese traditions it could anger the hungry ghosts and lead to trouble.

Emily gets a teaching position and the three females move into a ranch-style home, unaware they’re on cursed grounds.

The silent Gracie, who stopped talking after her father’s death, goes missing in the woods, and the small town racist cops put little effort in searching for her. The racist past against the Asians in the mining community is brought up, as we learn that 28 Chinese miners in 1885 were slaughtered by the local miners. The real-life racial incident was revealed in flashbacks.

It’s a haunting ghost story with a powerful message about the need for tolerance.But it loses something by not being smoothly edited.

It played at the Sundance Film Festival.

REVIEWED ON 4/19/2026  GRADE: B
dennisschwartzreviews.com