Haunted Mountains: The Yellow Taboo

Official Selection, 2025 Fantasia International Film Festival

It’s been five years since the fateful hiking trip when Jia-ming and his girlfriend Yu-xin lost their friend in the woods. In the years since, Jia-ming has been consumed with survivor’s guilt, and wants nothing more than to leave the past behind. So on their next hike together, Jia-ming packs a ring with the intention of proposing. But Yu-xin dies. Before he’s given any semblance of an explanation, Jia-ming reawakens to the same morning. He’s stuck in a time loop, each of which ends in the death of his beloved. As he seeks a way out with him, Yu-xin, and their relationship intact, he finds that the curse is bigger than the both of them.

It turns out that deep in the misty mountains linger rumors of bloodsoaked rituals, unresolved spirits, and missing bodies. Inspired by the Taiwanese folk tale of the “yellow taboo”–when you’re lost in the woods and face a man in a yellow raincoat–HAUNTED MOUNTAINS combines urban legend, science fiction, and aching romance.

All films in the Taiwan Film Showcase (excluding screenings at Ultrastar Cinemas) are FREE for UCSD students, faculty, and staff with a valid ID.