Muoi - The Legend of a Portrait (2007)

“Death begins the curse…”  Intense is the first word that comes to mind when attempting to describe Tae-kyeong Kim’s Muoi: The Legend of a Portrait.  Vietnam’s first addition to the horror genre, and first rated film ever, is an excellent ghost story that has a great pace, intriguing plot, and a believable ensemble that all serve to draw viewers in and keep them interested.  Essentially the plot revolves around a young Korean author, Yun-hui (convincingly portrayed by An Jo), who is writing a piece on a local legend about a ghost named Muoi.  There were all kinds of different stories surrounding the death and curse of Muoi, and Yun-hui was trying to find the true story so that she could write a book about it.  The movie begins with a mysterious, ghost-y death, and then cuts to clips that Yun-hui has taken of people describing what they had heard about the curse of Muoi.  Viewers soon learn that Yun-hui is about to travel to Vietnam to meet up with an old friend, Seo-yeon (portrayed by Ye-ryeon Cha).  The catch here is that Yun-hui’s first novel contained some rather scathing remarks about Seo-yeon, and Yun-hui had no idea whether or not Seo-yeon had read the book.    

When the two girls do meet up, the uncomfortable feeling between the two girls easily translates to the audience through body language and tone of voice.  Though through much of the film it is unclear as to whether or not Seo-yeon has read Yun-hui’s book, as the two seem to be getting along fairly well.  Seo-yeon begins to tell Yun-hui everything she knows about the curse of Muoi, and takes her to Muoi’s house.  From this point on, there are plenty of ghostly antics for everyone – and, might I add, a ton of cheap thrills for those that like jump-out-of-your-skin moments.   The cinematography in this film was done beautifully, and there are some particularly stunning shots and interesting angles during the temple scenes.  And, on a girly note, I personally enjoyed the wardrobe of the film as well.  There is a particular coat that Yun-hui wears that has teeny round buttons on it that I thought was simple and elegant looking, particularly on that character.

I actually expected a lot more blood when I first settled down to watch this flick, but the spook factor was still pretty high so I can’t complain about the lack of blood.  Viewers do get to see Muoi as she has her face doused in acid (or something like acid) which is awesomely gruesome, but viewers don’t get to see the mangled face except for in quick flash shots that were mostly too quick to see anything truly gore-y.  I thoroughly enjoyed most of Yun-hui’s dream sequences, as they tended to be dark and edgy.  From what I have discovered of Asian film, my opinion is that no one else can film a dream sequence in quite the same fashion: I believe the Asian culture truly has a grasp on the subconscious and dream world.  But I digress.

The ending of the film might be the only part that could be criticized, as after the curse plays out, viewers do not get to see what happens to Yun-hui.  Does she die, does she live…we don’t know.  The only closure viewers get from this film is that the revenge that was sought after was attained.  A fair warning for those who do not like subtitles, this movie is indeed a subtitled film, so I thought it my duty to let you know prior to your search for it.  I am unsure as to whether or not there is a dubbed version of this film (or a remake in another language), so if you find out any of this please let me know!  Number of killers?  Four.  Body Count? Six.  Boob Count?  Zero.  Cheap Thrills? Five.  Actual Spooks Endured: Three.  Entertainment?  Oh hell yes.  Raven’s Scream Meter Says: 4 out of 5 Screams.  A wonderful addition to anyone’s foreign horror collection.