Hey what's up guys
Today I'll show you a horror-drama film: "Muoi: The Legend of a Portrait"
Spoiler ahead, watch out and take care
The movie begins with a rich girl returning home terrified
she scans her house as she searches for something
Sizzling steam rises from the ground,
and she stares at the mirror in the hall to see her sweat ruining her make-up
She glances beside her, and screams as an unknown entity lunges toward her
Centuries later, a young girl working as a writer,
watches the professor's documentary on her computer about the curse of Mười, a haunting ghost
The video includes the Vietnamese's response that Mười's Curse exists for traitors
It also shows the elder, who angrily scatters the children after singing a song about Mười
After the clips with the elder, the footage suddenly goes static
Later, the writer meets her former schoolmates, Song and Hoon, to borrow a camera for documentation
She plans to travel to Vietnam and meet with her old friend, Yoon,
to acquire information about "The Legend of Mười"
Strangely, Song calls out the writer's audacity for teaming up with Yoon,
because three years ago, she wrote insults to Yoon in her published book, "Lies and Secrets"
However, the writer is confident that Yoon doesn't know the book since she's in Vietnam;
and she insists on writing about the story of Mười for the sake of keeping her job
Then, Song takes a photo with her boyfriend Hoon first, then lends it to the writer,
attempting to show it to Yoon to make her jealous of their intimate relationship
It's revealed that the boyfriend had betrayed Yoon in the past
The following day, the writer receives a call from her editor,
demanding a new book to be released, or else she'll lose the job
On January 10th, the writer arrives in Vietnam, and meets Yoon outside the airport
They embrace after three years of missing each other
Afterward, they leave the airport by taxi
The writer reads a Vietnam History book given by Yoon inside the car to learn the culture
Later, Yoon shows a family picture including Mười in a post-board in a park,
explaining that Mười was just an average child
Later, they stay in a resort, learning more about Mười's story
According to legend, the villagers feared Mười; so the monks sealed her spirit in a portrait
However, the curse began when the seal came undone
The curse is cast on the 15th with the full moon that lasts for 15 days
but the curse's indication and how the seal was lifted are still unknown
The writer is skeptical about why there are no witnesses;
and Yoon responds, "nobody would've survived if the legend's true"
Yoon then shares that she writes subtitles for the professor's broadcasted videos
The professor studies Vietnamese folklore, thus originating his obsession with Mười's story
The writer wants to talk with the professor; but Yoon says he's in South Korea now
When Yoon asks about their friend Hoon and Song,
the writer lies by saying she lost contact with them, and leaves to their rented room
That night, supernatural events occur
Yoon's asleep, while the writer enjoys solidarity
but the showerhead suddenly opens by itself
The doorbell unexpectedly chimes repeatedly
The showerhead reopens again, making the writer creep out,
and sees Mười's haunting face behind the shower room's glass door
She backwardly staggers onto the bed, waking Yoon
but she sees Mười beside her
The writer falls off the bed, runs to the door;
and Yoon unexpectedly enters the room after checking the nearby vacant rooms
The writer stutters in disbelief, but smiles, brushing off what happened earlier
On January 11th, they travel to Yoon's mansion in the mountains
Yoon shares that her father bought the estate, after learning a French military officer built it
Yoon tours the writer around the mansion, advising her not to enter the painting room
After settling down, they travel to Mười's house by boat
The writer takes a photo of Yoon, then sits beside her
Mười's story continues: She suffered from loneliness as villagers avoided her
Therefore, her love bloomed for a painter, for he willingly painted her portrait
However, he left her later;
and the portrait was left incomplete, since he was engaged with a rich girl
However, he left her ring for Muoi before his departure
Then, Mười had to endure the pain of not keeping the portrait,
believing that it would cause trouble for her
it turns out,
the painter's rich fiancée is actually the rich girl shown at the beginning of the film
she spread rumors about Mười, upon learning she stole her lover
So she ordered men to break her ankle, causing her limp;
She even broke Mười's finger to remove the painter's gift ring,
and threw acid to destroy Mười's face
Being embarrassed to show her bloody face to the painter,
Muoi hung herself on Lunar Calendar's 15th at the tree inside her house
Since then, she has become a ghost seeking revenge
Back in the present time, the writer takes pictures as she explores the house,
including Mười's portrait on the wall
They eventually return home, where Yoon gives the writer more Mười's files to study
Night comes; Yoon sketches her painting's base
Meanwhile, the writer studies Mười's files, when suddenly the attic's wallpaper peels off the wall;
and she immediately sticks it back
On January 12th, they visit the professor to retrieve his research book about Mười
The professor's secretary keeps the keys to the bathroom and office
so the writer pretends to relieve herself, and so sneaks into the professor's office
Eventually, the writer successfully steals Muoi's book from the office,
hides it in her bag, and returns the keys to the secretary
Afterward, the writer reads Mười's book
According to the book, during World War II's ending,
a Japanese Major led the Japanese soldiers to rob Mười's portrait from the temple
He sliced off the leader monk who stopped him,
and faced Mười's painting with the long pin, pinned onto Mười's heart
He removed the pin that served as a seal, which however, unleashed Mười's curse
According to the legend, the one who lifted the pin,
could ask Mười to seek revenge for them, but in exchange for a cost
The cost was to let Mười take over the body who unsealed her
Afterward, they visit a museum, where a local painter had painted a copy of Mười's portrait
However, the local painter forbids them,
because looking at Mười's eyes can make them feel Mười's presence
But Yoon convinces the local painter, by lying that the writer has been cursed
They face the portrait copy, a sheet covering Mười's eyes; and the writer takes a photo of it
However, she believes that the copy is a hoax, because she took a picture of it in Mười's house
However, when they check the camera, they find nothing in the supposed Mười's image
She searches the camera's gallery, only to see Hoon and Song's picture
Yoon leaves the museum speechless, possibly because of the couple's photo,
and also because the writer went to the forbidden painting room to find Mười's portrait
Yoon's face goes serious, warning the writer that she's been cursed by Mười already
but she eventually cracks a laugh, and says she's only joking
That night, they drink with Yoon's two Vietnamese friends;
when suddenly, a foreigner invites Yoon to dance
Despite the writer's advice not to dance, Yoon still joins the foreigner
So the writer drinks shots while glaring at Yoon
She eventually goes outside the bar, and Yoon follows her
Right then, the writer blurts out something odd,
"The rumors are only true about you," making Yoon stunned
They eventually return home, where the writer experiences a false awakening while asleep
She first dreams of a silhouette dashed into the shadowy hall,
and finds a little Mười crying in the park, who faces her, revealing a scarred face
She wakes up in the second dream, where Yoon ties her on the bed, cuts her hair,
and splashes a bottle of acid onto her face,
blaming the writer for all the pains she had gone through
On January 13th, the writer wakes up screaming, because of the nightmare
She then joins Yoon for breakfast in the garden,
and apologizes for bringing up a sensitive topic at the bar, which Yoon gladly forgives
Their conversation moves toward the writer's progress in her book;
but she feels the acquired information is insufficient
The writer feels that Mười's jealousy and grudges,
are petty motives to seek revenge against the people who wronged her
But that upsets Yoon,
thinking that the writer is invalidating the sufferings of Mười, who got poorly treated;
and that people like the writer are the exact ones, who cause Mười to curse for revenge
After their tense talk in the morning,
the writer prints out a Mười's image she captured from the museum yesterday
Suddenly, the wallpaper peels off again
Afterward, the writer asks local people about Mười's in the street
however, no one recognizes her
Suddenly, an elder grabs the writer's wrist; but she eventually escapes the elder's grip
But she searches for the elder again,
after realizing it's the person from the professor's documentary
The writer is desperate; so she visits the professor's secretary at school,
where she cleans her office and gives her green scarf to the secretary
the secretary momentarily gives in,
and reveals that Yoon is the reason for the professor's obsession with Mười,
and that Yoon was pretty sick before, who miraculously becomes healthy after months
the secretary then offers the writer a tour tomorrow in the professor's house
Meanwhile, Yoon's two Vietnamese friends prepare the table for the wine party on the lawn
the writer visits Yoon, sitting behind the bed's thin drapes
She's about to leave, when Yoon hums unexpectedly
so she approaches, seeing her feet dangling on edge
She swipes the drape away to see Yoon's back; but she glances below to see the feet disappear
A hand suddenly grabs the writer's shoulder
She then sees Yoon in a white dress
The writer, Yoon, and her two friends eat dinner that night
The writer unexpectedly brings up Yoon's sickness, who became healthy in months
Unfortunately, rain falls, and the two Vietnamese friends rush inside,
while Yoon smiles at the writer before leaving the table
Afterward, the writer dries herself in the bedroom
the lights flicker; and faint breathing comes out of the blue
She searches the house for the origin,
and finds Yoon's Vietnamese friends speaking to her in Hangul
However, they say to her that it's her who's speaking Vietnamese
She glances onto the mirror, seeing Mười's reflection holding the writer's photograph
She faces the two Vietnamese friends
their appearance changes into dark demons and they hiss at her
The writer wakes up in front of the laptop; on hand is Mười's printed portrait
Once again, she goes down the attic, and follows the sizzling footprints into Yoon's bedroom
She checks Yoon's feet are clean, and the footprints disappear on the floor
On January 14th, the writer and the secretary visit the professor's house
It turns out the professor didn't return to South Korea because the secretary kept his passport,
meaning Yoon lied to them
Inside the professor's house, the writer learns something new
Mười's curse indications are burning body sensation, being watched, hummed at,
and seeing Mười's reflection instead of herself
Afterward, the elder's footage comes up again with translation,
"don't wake up Mười's or you'll die "
The writer goes home, and visits Yoon in the painting room,
where she finds dark-colored theme paintings; and at the end of the room is Yoon's portrait
Beside Yoon's self-portrait is the "Lies and Secret" book
The writer discovers Yoon read her book, and even underlined the description she wrote
Right then, Yoon enters the room, confessing how the writer's words made her doubt herself
the writer bravely confronts Yoon about her plan to curse her,
and uses Mười's book to bait her into coming to Vietnam
However, Yoon firmly believes she invites the writer, and she's not going to curse her
Yoon then stands beside her self-portrait, asking the writer if they're look-alike
The writer packs her things
but Yoon invites her to reminisce one last time
It's revealed that Song and Hoon recorded three thugs, who sexually assaulted Yoon
they distributed the video throughout the people, thus leading Yoon to move out of South Korea
The writer tearfully apologizes to Yoon, for writing a book based on lies
They reconcile; and Yoon gives her mother's ring to the writer,
because she has wanted it for a long time since they were kids
Yoon then tells her to visit the temple tomorrow, to learn more about the curse
They later sleep beside each other;
when suddenly, Yoon stiffly shakes on the bed, and gasps as she asks for help
Mười's spirit starts taking over Yoon's body
On January 15th, Yoon falls ill; and the writer visits the temple with the professor's secretary
Upon arriving, numerous portraits of the horrifying folklore creatures stand before them;
and among them is Mười's missing picture
The two women talk with the leader monk sitting behind a thin curtain
In the flashback, the painter and his rich fiancee called the leader monk to trap Mười's spirit;
so they used the painter as bait, by summoning Mười's spirit to finish her painting
Mười appeared; but monks surrounded her,
and performed a ritual to seal her in the unfinished portrait
Mười screamed in pain, as she slowly transferred into the painting
When she was trapped, they stabbed the portrait's heart with the long pin
Now, the leader monk requests the writer to end the curse,
by stabbing the pin into the current body of Mười, which is the possessed Yoon
the professor's secretary advises the writer to return to South Korea,
because everything is only a legend
However, the secretary dies after evading the vendor who blocked her way
The writer arrived to save her;
but it was too late, because the green scarf on her neck got stuck and tightened as the wheels spun
The writer returns to Yoon's estate, trying to stab Yoon with the pin
She arrives in the attic, and removes the peeling wallpaper off the wall, revealing a door
She opens it, and finds the professor dead, with acid melted on his face
She picks the Japanese Major's photo in front of Yoon's current house,
tucks in the professor's clothes, and reads the written words, "Death begins the curse"
She then enters beyond the wall, seeing darkness, dirt, roots, cobwebs fill the walls
She plays the abandoned tape recorder,
where the professor explains Mười's portrait hidden in the Japanese Major's house
This tells why Yoon bought the house
In that way, Yoon unleashed and became Mười; and her sickness suddenly disappeared because of that
The professor then chants to call Mười's spirit
Every step she makes produces a sizzling sound
At the end of the hall, the ring given by Yoon becomes the ring that Mười received from the painter;
and Mười's portrait comes to life
The writer escapes as Mười limps towards her
but she gets stuck midway, and even tries to remove her shoes
Mười suddenly disappears; and darkness surrounds her further
The only thing left is the noose used by Mười; and Yoon standing in the room
Yoon convinces the writer that one of them should die,
and repeatedly shouts at the writer to stab her
Mười's face appears again
So the writer quickly stabs her and cries
But Yoon only laughs, because thanks to the writer, her death activates the curse on January 15th
The writer who cast the curse now, must allow Mười to possess her body as the price
It can be surmised that Yoon's death activates a new curse,
making Mười take over the writer's body, to take revenge for Yoon's past sufferings in South Korea
The movie ends with Mười in the writer's body,
returning back to South Korea and avenging everyone, who had done terrible things to Yoon
Mười first kills the three thugs, who still watch the clip of assaults on Yoon;
she then chokes Song, and hangs Hoon in the park where he betrayed Yoon
After all done, Mười burns all her documents and smiles grimly,
as no one can learn the truth about her now
This's Daniel CC movie channel Stay safe and enjoy your day