Rock Springs elevates the monster horror genre with a gut wrenching tale about the untold history of a community of immigrants. And it’s the kind of horror that I wish Hollywood would invest more time in. Horror movies that keep you on the edge of your seat but also make you take pause and think about where these tales came from and who was hurt along the way to where we are now in history.
At the heart of this film you have a grieving family that moves to a new town without knowing the history that is rooted in that land. And I think that the movie finds a really good balance between highlighting the grief that this family is going through and the legacy of racism that ripped a community apart. It finds that balance in alternating perspectives in the present and past that seamlessly come together to create something that is terrifying but also heartbreaking.
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Kelly Marie Tran is a standout in Vera Miao’s first feature film premiering at Sundance. The woman that she plays is trying her best in a world where her daughter doesn’t talk to her anymore and she cannot understand her husband’s mother. She’s also a reflection of generations of immigrants who have perhaps lost their connection to their roots. And this is explored with a gentleness that allows for her to connect with her husband, her daughter, and her husband’s mother’s ways when it comes to belief, history, and how we honor those who have passed.
While watching this movie you are also hit with plenty of history as this monster horror unfolds. Because Rock Springs and the massacre that happened there is a real thing. In 1885 anti-Chinese prejudice was rampant throughout the United States. And on September 2nd, white miners attacked Chinese miners, set their homes on fires, and killed an under-reported amount of people that were just looking for a chance at that famed American dream.
This is the point in Rock Springs where I absolutely broke.
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A lot of times when we explore horror, it’s told through a perspective of raw vengeance. Miao’s didn’t go in that direction. Her monster in the woods and the way that they were defeated was by finding peace. And that peace came at the hands of the mother, daughter, and grandmother. They were the ones who took a step back, saw the pain that this monster was going through, and honored those who were lost and forgotten in Rock Springs.
But the absolute best moment of Rock Springs as a film was near the end of this movie, were they bring back all of the miners that we saw in the flashbacks.
Instead of the miners being in pain, a reflection of their final moments, they were shown happy and whole. And that happened as the three leads unearthed their bones, cleaned them, and put them in this box so they could rest. When Rock Springs ended, we saw those men who lived together, laughed together, and survived together being honored for who they were and the rich community that they had formed together at Rock Springs.
At the end of the day, if there’s anything that you should walk away with after watching Rock Springs, it’s that our communities make us who we are. And the only way to survive the pain of our past, the pain of our present, and the pain of our future is by living together and honoring those who made it possible for us to be here today. Also, hold on to your traditions no matter where you go. Never let that part die and give yourself grace if you’re just discovering yourself and your history for the first time.
Rock Springs screened at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.
