Heads up, Maverick: You aren't the only character in 2022 who returns to cinemas after a lengthy wait. After 15 years, we have a second act for Mười, best known to Vietnamese filmgoers as the áo dài-wearing ghost whose curse resides in her portrait.
Of course, Hằng Trịnh, the director and producer of Mười: Lời Nguyền Trở Lại (Muoi: The Curse Returns), knows of the great significance here. In 2007, the first film, Mười (Muoi: The Legend of a Portrait), reportedly the nation's first horror film post-1975—and also one of the drivers for censors to fashion a rating system from scratch (all Gremlins and Indiana Jones 2-like) was the cinematic event.
When FANGORIA first met Hằng, the sequel was fast approaching. She has been increasing her efforts to build buzz for the film, which is also her feature debut for her own production company Silver Moonlight, with the whole ten yards of anecdotes, making-ofs, and supplemental shorts. One of them is a rather endearing "trailer reaction" video featuring the first film's director, Kim Tae-kyeong.
"That scary part with the fingernails is really effective," he said, per the Vietnamese subtitles.
Another is structured as an interview with the Vietnamese characters of the first Mười; their words a refresher on what the curse was all about. In the past, Mười (Anh Thư), the beautiful tenth daughter ("mười" means "ten") of a country family, had her likeness captured by Nguyên (Bình Minh), a dashing painter. When Nguyên's wealthy wife, Hồng (Hồng Ánh), found out, she majorly disfigured her. Mười then hanged herself to end the pain, becoming a supernatural force locked behind her lover's portrait. No one should look at it, as the legend goes, or else she will use your body to kill—chiefly those you believe have broken you emotionally.
"When we decided to do the film, the first thing we thought of was getting the trio back," Hằng said. "It would be pointless otherwise."
Painting her return
While Mười may have been filmed in Vietnam and had characters wearing áo dài plus speaking the language (imperfectly), many deem its texture as more Korean than Vietnamese. There is thus merit to consider the co-production as "K-horror" rather than "V-horror."
History was about to repeat itself when Hằng received the completed script of a new Mười project from Korea. She turned it down, citing narrative holes and, again, the inferior presence of Vietnamese elements. The mission to amend them became possible when she, her creative team, and the Korean production partners decided to move away from the "deadly cursed object" genre trope by spotlighting more of the human imprint behind said object. That would be a 180 from Zizak's script for the old Muoi, in other words.
"Hồng sure is vicious for exerting her jealousy like that, but have we really understood the thought processes behind it?" she added. "Is Mười right or wrong? What is Nguyên like? These are the threads that prompt me to think—more than the deaths and the fears the portrait can bring. Part of this may also have to do with me being a woman. I'd lean more toward the internals than the externals."
Although Hằng isn't scripting—Oscar Duong and Phil Wyatt are the credited writers—her aforementioned viewpoint is still detectable throughout the plot of Muoi: The Curse Returns. After the death of a mutual friend, curator Linh (Chi Pu) and artist Hằng (Rima Thanh Vy) attempt to reconnect. The latter then invites the former to her latest gig—staying in the home of the famous painter Lê Chánh (Khôi Trần) and making professional replicas, as requested by the current owner, Miss Diệu (Đinh Y Nhung). That is also how Linh finds out one of the works in the house is, surprise, Mười's portrait. Stranger things ensue between the women, and both past and present are more connected than one could imagine.
Being a sequel, there are callbacks to the 2007 film (nightmares, stabbings, sizzling acid, et cetera). Comparisons are inescapable as a sequel, especially on the fear factor. Hằng said she is aware—that even though 15 years have passed, the set pieces of the first Muoi, backed by the essence of K-horror, can still trounce those in the sequel. This doesn't mean that she won't try to flip the scenario, but, to her, Muoi: The Curse Returns has another item more deserving of focus.
"The logic behind the curse," Hằng said. "Even now, when we survey viewers and press people, a number of them remain uncertain about its context, how it's spread. We will aim to not 'spoon feed,' but we will enable people to start connecting the dots and knowing what's what on their own."
Among the elaborations? Mười's curse is not Kayako's; it chooses whom to make contact with. Also, the more negative energy a person harbors, the more likely it will get to them.
Finding her place
Another elaboration is to let Muoi: The Curse Returns unfold in a single location, Lê Chánh's French villa. The smaller scale might just be the result of the film's mid-budget design, but it also brings forth the ability to sustain the curse's impact. For some Vietnamese viewers, the first Muoi traveled around the country so much working out where the characters could be (Saigon? Đà Lạt? Hội An?), and spotting inconsistencies removed a great deal of suspense.
The villa seen in the film, Hằng revealed, wasn't even the production's second choice. Situated on the way to the grounds of Donaruco, a rubber supplier in Đồng Nai sits abandoned, with no roof and heavy fire damage. She remembers feeling some chills when first entering the place.
Art director Trần Trung Lĩnh, also credited as the provider of the paintings, helmed the task of restoring the location. Not entirely, however; to Hằng, some of the place's original traces could add to the atmosphere. "When Linh walks up the stairs, the textures on the walls are as-is," she said. "Same for those behind Linh when she cleans the dishes and a girl walks behind her. I love them!"
She added that almost every corner of the abode, interior, and exterior is explored in Muoi: The Curse Returns. Yes, even when the photography from Bob Nguyễn (of Song Lang fame) primarily employs a 20mm lens and fixed angles or sets up imagery ready to possess the score from Seth Tsui (formerly of Remote Control Productions). The visual style is inspired by the first two works of Hằng's filmmaking idol, Jordan Peele.
"As for the plotting style, I love The Sixth Sense," Hằng said. "It's a type of horror that isn't so forceful with its scares or showy about anything. It's very emotional and has a great twist. That is also our vision for the film—we won't induce fear irrationally, we'll do so to advance the plot to an ending full of drama and femininity."
(L to R: actors Tôn Kinh Lâm, Đinh Y Nhung, Rima Thanh Vy, Chi Pu and director Hằng Trịnh)
Her, unleashed
As with all Vietnamese films, especially horror ones, Muoi: The Curse Returns must first face the censors, but Hằng revealed they didn't demand any cuts. On a worry scale of one to ten, she was a "6 or 7" at the time due to the film's high kill count.
"Since this was an international co-production, we had to get the script approved before filming," she said. "I'm grateful to have gotten the Film Bureau's response very early on. We can make fixes right away should there be any."
Hằng also cited Vietnamese Horror Story passing censors, despite depicting the supernatural as legitimate and in an upfront manner, as proof of a welcomingly more open-minded—or friendlier to creatives—vetting process nowadays. Handling global sales for Trần Hữu Tấn's anthology horror, the first in Vietnam, is Skyline Media of which Hằng is the CEO.
On top of bringing her first feature to the local cinema scene, Hằng will also gain the (still) rare distinction of being a woman horror director. In recent times, there is also Đặng Thái Huyền, who in 2017 switched gears from war dramas to try out the genre with Lời Nguyền Gia Tộc (Family Curse).
But "firsts" and titles have never been the main concerns. "I'm placing people's feelings about the film above everything else, whether they will see it from a woman-driven angle. Or will they compare a woman-directed horror with one directed by a man?"
Muoi: The Curse Returns finished its opening weekend at second place after the Korean comedy 6/45, per numbers that Box Office Vietnam tallied.
As new audience reactions, photos, and promotional writings pour in, it's safe to say that Hằng is closely looking at them. After Vietnam, the film is set to gaze upon audiences in other territories between now and December, one among them being the U.S. She was still finalizing details for the latter during this interview. The hope would be to release Muoi: The Curse Returns in stateside theaters this November.
"I think there's an undercurrent of worry in everything I've shared with you," Hằng said. "As this is a debut film, there might be flaws in the technicals, the storytelling, or anything for people to mark down … But I believe this picture has its own life, quite a distinct style, and a very feminine core. I hope U.S. viewers, especially women, will check it out and come across a perspective that matches theirs."
