The Maid
Encyclopedia
The Maid is a 2005 Singaporean horror film
telling of a maid recently arriving from the Philippines
. She has to acclimate herself to the customs of the Chinese
Ghost Month
, during which she struggles with supernatural forces. The maid is employed by a Teochew
opera
family, a family with many secrets, who give her a place to stay in their dilapidated shophouse
.
The film broke the box office
record in Singapore for the horror genre, making S$
700,000 on its opening weekend.
It won the European Fantastic Film Festival Federation (EFFFF) Asian Film Award at the 10th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival
(PiFan). The EFFFF Asian Film Award is a prize awarded to the best Asian film of the year by the federation, of which PiFan is a supporting member.
It stars Alessandra de Rossi
, Hong Huifang, Benny Soh, Guan Zhenwei and Chen Shucheng, a veteran actor-compere.
, 18-year-old Rosa Dimaano arrives in Singapore on the first day of the Seventh Month to work as a domestic maid. She urgently needs money to save her ill brother back home. Her employers, the elderly Mr. and Mrs. Teo, appear kindhearted. Their mentally-handicapped son Ah Soon also takes to Rosa immediately.
Between cleaning house and helping the Teos out at their Teochew opera workplace, things start going amiss. Rosa glimpses strange apparitions at night. She finds out that there was a maid two years before her called Esther. She apparently has the same good relationship with Ah Soon as she does. That is when Rosa begins to suspect things are not as they seem.
As she explores around some of the shady areas of the house, she discovers the ashes of Esther, the previous maid hidden in a jar and through a ghostly vision that Esther's spirit shows her realizes that Esther was playing with Ah Soon in his room two years ago on that same day of the Ghost Festival when he suddenly, though unintentionally, rape her on the bed. When the parents witnessed this, they feared that Esther might sue the family so Mr. Teo cowardly beat her to the ground and poured oil all over her before setting her on fire.
Frightened by the vision, Rosa tries to escape when she is suddenly confronted by Ah Soon. She quickly finds out that Ah Soon is also a ghost himself when she tries to stab him only to realize that the man would not show a scar or any visible wound. In the past, Ah Soon committed suicide shortly after the death of Esther but instead of passing to the afterlife, he chose to return to the house of the Teo to find the spirit of Esther, whom he was in love with. From behind her, Mr. Teo knocks Rosa unconscious and ties her up. When Rosa awakens, she is told by Mrs. Teo that the Teo family has longed believed that ghosts can also marry and their whole intention for inviting her to Singapore was to sacrifice her so that she would be wed to their dead son. But when Mr. Teo tries to hang Rosa, Ah Soon suddenly remembers the way his father brutally murdered Esther and tells his parents that he does not want to see any more deaths in the house.
Ah Soon accidentally pushes Mr. Teo into a worship-table, spilling and igniting oil on Mr. Teo, burning him to death. When Rosa manages to break free with the help of Esther's spirit. Mrs. Teo picks up a knife and tries to finish what her husband had started. Rosa dashes out of the house and crosses the road just as Mrs. Teo is hit by a passing vehicle, killing her instantly. Rosa passes to the other side unharmed.
In the final sequence, Rosa is seen heading to the airport on the last day of July when the gates of hell are closing. She takes with her a pot containing Esther's ashes as she enters the airport while the ghosts of the Teo family watches her disappear beyond the doors.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
telling of a maid recently arriving from the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. She has to acclimate herself to the customs of the Chinese
Culture of China
Chinese culture is one of the world's oldest and most complex. The area in which the culture is dominant covers a large geographical region in eastern Asia with customs and traditions varying greatly between towns, cities and provinces...
Ghost Month
Ghost Festival
The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries...
, during which she struggles with supernatural forces. The maid is employed by a Teochew
Teochew people
The Chaozhou people are Han people, native to the Chaoshan region of eastern Guangdong province of China who speak the Teochew dialect. Today, most Teochew people live outside China in Southeast Asia especially in Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia. They can also be found almost anywhere in the...
opera
Chinese opera
Chinese opera is a popular form of drama and musical theatre in China with roots going back as far as the third century CE...
family, a family with many secrets, who give her a place to stay in their dilapidated shophouse
Shophouse
A shophouse is a vernacular architectural building type that is commonly seen in areas such as urban Southeast Asia. This hybrid building form characterises the historical centres of most towns and cities in the region.- Design and features :...
.
The film broke the box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
record in Singapore for the horror genre, making S$
Singapore dollar
The Singapore dollar or Dollar is the official currency of Singapore. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
700,000 on its opening weekend.
It won the European Fantastic Film Festival Federation (EFFFF) Asian Film Award at the 10th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival
Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival
The Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival , or PiFan, is an international film festival held annually in July in Bucheon, South Korea...
(PiFan). The EFFFF Asian Film Award is a prize awarded to the best Asian film of the year by the federation, of which PiFan is a supporting member.
It stars Alessandra de Rossi
Alessandra de Rossi
Alessandra Tiotangco Schiavone , better known by her stage name Alessandra De Rossi or Alex de Rossi , is an Italian-Filipina actress...
, Hong Huifang, Benny Soh, Guan Zhenwei and Chen Shucheng, a veteran actor-compere.
Plot
During the Chinese Seventh Month, the gates of hell open and spirits are let loose upon an unsuspecting world. Hailing from a small village in the PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, 18-year-old Rosa Dimaano arrives in Singapore on the first day of the Seventh Month to work as a domestic maid. She urgently needs money to save her ill brother back home. Her employers, the elderly Mr. and Mrs. Teo, appear kindhearted. Their mentally-handicapped son Ah Soon also takes to Rosa immediately.
Between cleaning house and helping the Teos out at their Teochew opera workplace, things start going amiss. Rosa glimpses strange apparitions at night. She finds out that there was a maid two years before her called Esther. She apparently has the same good relationship with Ah Soon as she does. That is when Rosa begins to suspect things are not as they seem.
As she explores around some of the shady areas of the house, she discovers the ashes of Esther, the previous maid hidden in a jar and through a ghostly vision that Esther's spirit shows her realizes that Esther was playing with Ah Soon in his room two years ago on that same day of the Ghost Festival when he suddenly, though unintentionally, rape her on the bed. When the parents witnessed this, they feared that Esther might sue the family so Mr. Teo cowardly beat her to the ground and poured oil all over her before setting her on fire.
Frightened by the vision, Rosa tries to escape when she is suddenly confronted by Ah Soon. She quickly finds out that Ah Soon is also a ghost himself when she tries to stab him only to realize that the man would not show a scar or any visible wound. In the past, Ah Soon committed suicide shortly after the death of Esther but instead of passing to the afterlife, he chose to return to the house of the Teo to find the spirit of Esther, whom he was in love with. From behind her, Mr. Teo knocks Rosa unconscious and ties her up. When Rosa awakens, she is told by Mrs. Teo that the Teo family has longed believed that ghosts can also marry and their whole intention for inviting her to Singapore was to sacrifice her so that she would be wed to their dead son. But when Mr. Teo tries to hang Rosa, Ah Soon suddenly remembers the way his father brutally murdered Esther and tells his parents that he does not want to see any more deaths in the house.
Ah Soon accidentally pushes Mr. Teo into a worship-table, spilling and igniting oil on Mr. Teo, burning him to death. When Rosa manages to break free with the help of Esther's spirit. Mrs. Teo picks up a knife and tries to finish what her husband had started. Rosa dashes out of the house and crosses the road just as Mrs. Teo is hit by a passing vehicle, killing her instantly. Rosa passes to the other side unharmed.
In the final sequence, Rosa is seen heading to the airport on the last day of July when the gates of hell are closing. She takes with her a pot containing Esther's ashes as she enters the airport while the ghosts of the Teo family watches her disappear beyond the doors.