The ghost of Muoi is back to haunt its new victim in “Muoi: The Curse Returns.” Apart from the myth of Muoi, the sequel does not have any direct connection with the 2007 release, “Muoi: The Legend of the Portrait.” Similar to the 2007 release, a betrayed individual wakes Muoi to seek revenge. Linh, an art curator, is reunited with her long-lost friend, Hang, at the memorial service of their common friend, Kiet. Kiet died a horrible death; his face was deformed, and he had a bloated body when he was found. The sudden death of Kiet bothered Linh, and the past that they shared is gradually explored in the film. While Linh planned to visit her mother, Hang insisted she spend the day with her. Upon seeing Hang’s physical condition, Linh agreed to it. Hang was pale and bony, and she was mostly lost in her thoughts. Linh was a little creeped out by the woods through which they had to walk to reach the villa. Linh did not know the history behind the place, but she felt eerie right after entering the ancient villa.
Spoilers Alert
‘Muoi: The Curse Returns’ Plot Summary: What Is The Myth Of Muoi?
Both Hang and Linh went to art school together, and Hang chose to become a painter. She developed an interest in abstract art over the years, and Ms. Dieu noticed her work at an exhibition. She contacted Hang to replicate Le Chanh’s work, and she allowed her to stay at his villa. Ms. Dieu was a distant relative of Le Chanh and had inherited the place. She and Hang were the only occupants of the villa. Linh noticed a picture album in Hang’s room, and while going through the pictures, she came across Nguyen. Nguyen was an artist and a good friend of Le Chanh. He was not as popular as Le Chanh and was only known for the portrait of Muoi. Nguyen met Muoi, the orphan village girl, by chance. She became his muse, and they eventually fell in love. Nguyen had to return home, and before leaving, he gifted her a ring. Nguyen’s fiancée, Hong, was the daughter of a wealthy businessman. When Hong found out about Nguyen’s affair with Muoi, she accused her of being a witch and later tortured her. Muoi’s right leg was broken, and her face was destroyed with acid. Muoi could not live with the pain and shame that she had to endure. She committed suicide on a full-moon night in July. Nguyen was forced to marry Hong out of societal pressure, but his heart and soul belonged to Muoi.
Hang magically disappeared after narrating the myth of Muoi. Linh followed a woman in white and saw the spirit jump through the window of the villa. Linh noticed that she had a ring on her finger. Linh woke up from the nightmare and noticed that Hang was down with fever. Linh went to the local market to get medicine, and she was shocked when the old woman at the store held her hand and asked her to run away. The old lady could see the ring on Linh’s hand, and she was afraid that Muoi had awoken and had marked Linh. Meanwhile, Hang was no longer in her senses. She ripped off her nails and painted her lips with her blood.
We get to know that Hang started to live with Linh and her family after she lost her parents. The two had been friends since high school, but something had occurred that distanced them. Hang left their house and never returned, and it became quite clear that the distance had something to do with Kiet. Hang was in love with Kiet, but that did not stop Linh from making a move on him. Linh believed that Hang did not know about her secret affair with Kiet, but she could not have been more wrong. Linh suffered from the guilt of never confessing the truth to Hang. After seeing Hang’s deteriorating condition, Linh blamed herself for her misery. While Linh was determined to bring Hang home and shower her with love and affection, all Hang wanted was for Linh to stay at the villa a little longer.
What Is The Secret Behind Muoi’s Painting? What Happened To Le Chanh’s Twins?
After getting married, Nguyen and Hong moved away from their hometown. Nguyen often discussed his love for Muoi with Le Chanh. Le Chanh pitied Nguyen and swore to secrecy. To help Nguyen cope with grief, Le Chanh offered his art room to him. That was when Nguyen started to paint the portrait of Muoi. Le Chanh noticed how Nguyen would often get lost in his thoughts while staring at Muoi’s portrait. He closely held the matching ring that he had gifted Muoi. When Hong learned about the portrait of Muoi from Le Chanh’s twins, she decided she must intervene. Hong forcefully entered the villa and went to Nguyen’s art room. She had an awl in her hand to seek revenge on Muoi. By the time Le Chanh walked up to the room, Nguyen was lying dead on the floor. Le Chanh assumed that the portrait was the reason behind the tragedy, and it was kept hidden. But according to the myth, every full moon night of lunar July, Muoi returned to take life. Since Le Chanh’s daughters unearthed the ring that Nguyen had gifted Muoi, we can assume that the family lost their lives as a result.
Did Muoi Possess Hang?
The spirit of one of the twins guided Linh to the room where the portrait was kept. She removed the veil covering the portrait, and the ghost of Muoi greeted her. Strangely enough, Muoi wanted Linh to run away. Right after the portrait was exposed, Hang was possessed by a spirit. Linh was frightened by Hang’s violent reaction, and when Hang came back to her senses, she asked Linh to run away from the villa. But Linh was not ready to leave her friend yet. The next morning, Linh came across some of Hang’s shocking sketches. She sketched portraits of Linh and Kiet; in one of the sketches, they were physically intimate; in the next, there were two strangers; the second last sketch depicted a girl being possessed by a dark spirit; and the final sketch was of Kiet’s distorted dead body. The sketches indicated that Hang knew about Linh’s affair with Kiet, and she perhaps murdered him while being possessed.
Linh decided that she must leave the villa with Hang, but Hang refused to leave. Linh made up her mind to come clean about the past, hoping that would help her mend her friendship with Hang. Linh realized that Hang was still caught up in the past. She suffered from the fact that Kiet had chosen Linh over her and could not get over Linh’s betrayal. Linh comforted her, saying that Kiet neither loved her nor Hang, but Hang did not believe a word she said. Hang attacked Linh, but a part of her was not ready to murder Linh. She asked Linh to leave immediately. Linh considered leaving, but she knew that she was the only one who could save Hang.
Linh spoke to the old lady at the pharmacy, and she advised Linh to destroy the portrait to save her friend. Meanwhile, Ms. Dieu tied Hang to a chair to perform an exorcism. When Linh returned, Ms. Dieu asked her to stab Hang with the same awl that Hong carried with her to face Muoi in Nguyen’s art room. By stabbing Hang, Linh could lift the curse, but she was not ready to part with her friend. Linh did not blame Hang for hating her. Instead of being there for her, Linh took away the little joy she had. Hang was raped and tortured by strangers (the two strangers in one of the sketches) while Linh and Kiet were busy spending a romantic evening. Linh always believed that she deserved the best things in life, but she eventually realized how problematic she used to be. Instead of killing Hang with the awl, Linh destroyed the portrait with it, and she was transported to the past.
Linh noticed Hong enter the art room, and she badmouthed Muoi in front of Nguyen. Nguyen could not tolerate Hong’s presence, and he confessed that Muoi was his one true love and added that Hong was the reason why she was not alive. Hong was devastated; she tortured Muoi to win Nguyen’s love, yet even as a corpse, Muoi had more power over him than she could ever have. Out of hatred and jealousy, Hong imagined Muoi embracing her husband. Hong was furious, and she stabbed the ghost of Muoi only to realize that she had stabbed and killed Nguyen. She became hysterical and painted her lips with blood, just like Hang did after being possessed. Hong committed suicide by jumping off the villa. Hong returned to the room in the form of a spirit, wore the matching ring that Muoi had, and tied her hair like Muoi. Even after dying, Hong wanted to seek revenge on Muoi. She dressed like Muoi and gave birth to the curse. Hong had possessed Hang, and she was responsible for the deaths of many others.
‘Muoi: The Curse Returns’ Ending Explained: Did Hang Survive? Who Was Ms. Dieu?
As it turns out, Ms. Dieu supported Mrs. Hong in her endeavor to kill people. She believed that Hong was right to kill every woman who indulged in adultery. The ghosts that Linh had seen in the woods had committed the crime of stealing the husbands and partners of other women and were killed by Hong. Ms. Dieu attacked Linh, but in the process, she came face-to-face with her reflection in the mirror. The mirror reflection showed an aged Ms. Dieu, indicating that she was way older than she appeared to be. It is possible that Ms. Dieu was the twin that discovered the ring, and she worked along with Mrs. Hong to bring her souls that deserved to be punished. The curse protected her from aging, and a look into the mirror revealed her true age. Ms. Dieu was suddenly confronted by the ghost of her sister, and she fell off the stairs and died.
Linh admitted that she truly was a selfish person who always chose her happiness over others’, especially Hang’s. She was glad that she could confess the truth, and she begged Hang for forgiveness. She could not bear to watch her friend torture herself anymore and asked Hang to come along with her to the city. Linh held the awl to her throat and asked Hong’s spirit to leave Hang’s body. Hong pinned Linh to the floor and dropped acid on her face. Linh was suddenly possessed by Muoi, and she pushed Hong away. Muoi was tired of Hong’s atrocities; she admitted it was her mistake to ever get involved with Nguyen, but all she could do was beg Hong to stop the madness. But Hong was still bitter about the past. She could never forgive Muoi for emotionally destroying her. Muoi believed that she had paid for the mistake she made, but it was time for Hong to spare the lives of others. Hong was not ready to let go; she continued to choke Muoi.
When Hang realized that she was choking Linh to death, she dropped her to the ground. Hang admitted that she intentionally brought Linh to the villa to murder her. Hang was ashamed of herself after realizing that Linh was ready to sacrifice her life to protect her. At the end of “Muoi: The Curse Returns,” Hang stabbed herself with the awl to destroy Hong’s spirit, and she jumped off the window of the villa. The spirits of the woods cremated Hong’s spirit, and the terror of Muoi, or rather, of Hong, finally ended.
The next morning, Linh left the villa, and she was reunited with the cleansed soul of Hang. The two friends walked out of the villa together. While Hang and Linh’s situation was similar to Muoi and Hong’s, in the end, they chose to see past their jealousy and hatred. Hang wanted Linh to suffer, but after she witnessed how far Linh was ready to go to keep her safe, she killed herself to protect Linh from the curse. With the cremation of Hong’s spirit, it is safe to assume the curse of Hong will not return anytime soon.
