Directed by Paul Agusta, The Butterfly House introduces us to a couple, Tasya and Salim, who were about to get married. They adored each other and knew they were lucky to have found each other. But their plans for marriage were thwarted when Salim decided to return to his village after the death of his only blood relative. Let's find out what happened once Salim returned to his village and why vengeful spirits were haunting him and Tasya.
Salim was about to marry the love of his life, Tasya, and was excited about their wedding. They were about to have a pre-wedding photoshoot when Salim received a call from a man named Koh Chung Chung, who lived in Salim's village. Koh Chung Chung informed Salim that his aunt had passed away, and since he was the only relative he had left, he asked him to come to his village to perform the last rites. Salim's parents had died when he was a child, and he was raised by his adoptive parents, Linda and Chandra. He didn't speak to his aunt very often, but obviously, being blood relatives, he felt obliged to go to the village and fulfill his duty.
Director: Paul Agusta
Writers: Ario Sasongko, Aldo Swastia
Stars: Morgan Oey, Zulfa Maharani, Jourdy Pranata
Tasya didn't want Salim to go, first because her wedding photoshoot was due to take place in the next few days, and also because she had a strange feeling that if he went there, something bad would happen to him. Both Tasya and Salim experienced many strange things in their respective lives. Tasya often had visions in which she saw a red butterfly emerging from the mouth of an old woman whose face was so distorted that she looked like a supernatural being. She didn't know what to make of these visions, but they unsettled her to a certain extent.
Salim began to suffer from frequent nosebleeds, and she intuitively sensed that it had something to do with his aunt's death. Furthermore, something very disturbing happened to him right after learning of his aunt's death: he received a call from her, asking him to visit her, and he couldn't understand how it had happened. Salim decided he needed to go to Lasem, his village, and get it over with. He asked Tasya to accompany him and told her they could do the pre-wedding photoshoot at his aunt's house, as it was very elegant. So Tasya, along with her three friends: Febri, the photographer; Harja, her assistant; and Arin, the makeup artist, packed their bags and arrived in Lasem.
As soon as Tasya arrived at Salim's ancestral home, she began having visions in which she saw a woman in a wedding dress and a red veil. She didn't know who she was or what she wanted from her. Tasya felt connected to the place and felt as if vengeful spirits were trying to communicate through her. There was a grave in the front yard, which Salim believed to be that of Mei Hwa, his great-grandfather's younger sister. But Salim didn't know that the coffin was empty and that Mei Hwa's body lay in a secret room hidden behind one of the walls. Salim sensed that something might be behind the wall, while Tasya stood in front of it, watching.
There were times when he felt Tasya was possessed by the spirits of the house and did their bidding. Salim found Mei Hwa's decomposed body and decided to give her a proper burial. He thought this would rid her of all the negative energy surrounding them. But that didn't happen, and Tasya and Salim continued to see visions of the ghosts. Throughout all the chaos, it emerged that Febri had ulterior motives for agreeing to be Tasya's wedding photographer. He liked her, and seeing her with Salim made him very jealous and insecure. Tasya had made it very clear that she wasn't attracted to him and that he should stop pursuing her and winning her over. But Febri, being the man he was, looked for opportunities to try to win her over and somehow convince her not to marry Salim.
Tasya experienced a very powerful hallucinatory episode that transported her back to the early 1940s, when Mei Hwa was about to marry a man named Bhanu. Mei Hwa had a very successful musical career and was one of the most popular singers of her time. It should be noted that Indonesia was under Japanese occupation during World War II. Mei Hwa and her entire family, including Bhanu, had sworn allegiance to the resistance movement. They were patriots above all else and knew that even if they had to sacrifice their lives, they would do so for the honor of their country. Bhanu had given Mei Hwa an elegant hairpin engraved with a butterfly.
Bhanu told her that butterflies symbolized hope and were a reminder that, no matter the circumstances, love would prevail over all else. Butterflies could also be seen as a symbol of freedom and rebirth. Bhanu likely felt that, one day, they would be free from the tyrannical regime and be able to exercise their rights in an independent nation. On Bhanu and Mei Hwa's wedding day, Japanese soldiers stormed into their home and wreaked havoc. Perhaps because they were all of Chinese descent, or perhaps because of their active involvement in the resistance movement, the Japanese soldiers entered with the intention of killing anyone who didn't serve their cause. Bhanu was shot and killed before Mei Hwa's eyes, as she simply couldn't bear the loss of her loved one. Mei Hwa took that same hairpin and stabbed herself to death.
The hairpin, which was supposed to be a symbol of hope and everlasting love, became a tool Mei Hwa used to commit suicide. Since Mei Hwa didn't even receive a proper burial, her spirit wandered the mortal realm, tormenting those who were about to be married. She had never been able to unite with her beloved, so she likely made sure that no one else who entered that house did so. It was Arin who realized that if they wanted to rid themselves of Mei Hwa's vengeful spirit, they needed to find an expert in the field who knew how to deal with such supernatural beings. Arin discovered that Koh Chung Chung, who had informed Salim about his aunt's death, knew how to perform these rituals. Koh Chung Chung told Salim and Tasya that he would have to marry Mei Hwa and Bhanu—essentially, perform a spirit wedding—to rid themselves of the ghost. But the problem was that no one knew where Bhanu was buried, or even if he had received a proper burial. So it was decided that someone would have to go to the supernatural realm and find Bhanu. Since only Tasya had seen the man's appearance in one of her visions, she was the only one who could find him.
Although Tasya managed to locate Bhanu, the spirit wedding couldn't take place because Febri decided to take the reins and obtain what she had always wanted by force. So, after Tasya told Febri that nothing could happen between them, he became even more adamant. He had already tried to force himself on her once, but Tasya managed to fight back and push him away. Febri didn't care what happened to Salim; he just wanted Tasya with him, even if it meant killing everyone else and taking her hostage. Salim and Febri were digging Mei Hwa's grave, as they wanted to consecrate her wedding ring for the ceremony. Meanwhile, Tasya was unconscious, and Koh Chung Chung was sitting by her side, making sure everything went according to plan.
Febri turned on Salim and attacked him. He dealt a fatal blow to Koh Chung Chung, and I believe the latter succumbed to his injuries. Febri was about to take Tasya with him when Salim arrived on the scene and counterattacked with all his might. Salim realized that without Koh Chung Chung they wouldn't be able to complete the ritual, but he also knew that he could get rid of the ghost even if he married her to someone other than Bhanu. So Salim made preparations to marry Mei Hwa's ghost and the unconscious Febri. Before that could happen, Tasya regained consciousness, not understanding what Salim was up to. She tried to stop him, but neither of them realized that while they were arguing, Febri had regained consciousness.
The ending of The Butterfly House was open-ended, and while I think there could be multiple explanations for what exactly happened, I'd like to focus on one specific possibility. We saw that Salim made the unconscious Febri wear Bhanu's wedding ring, and he made Mei Hwa's corpse wear hers. Then, the ritual began when Tasya regained consciousness and told her that she shouldn't marry Febri, as that wasn't what she wanted. Just at that moment, Tasya saw a butterfly on the ceiling, and then Febri regained consciousness and attacked Salim. He would have killed Salim, but suddenly someone shouted at him and the lights went out. Febri left the room and found Tasya, face down, advancing toward him. Before he could do anything else, Salim also stood up and prevented him from escaping. I believe Bhanu had found a way to enter the mortal realm and reunite with his beloved—i.e., Mei Hwa's ghost. Both spirits entered the bodies of Salim and Tasya, respectively, and arguably, they became their vessels. So I don't think Salim and Tasya died, but rather they were possessed, and in a way, their souls were trapped.
At the end of The Butterfly House, Arin arrived with the police and saw that Febri had been killed and Tasya and Salim had disappeared. What I could see, by observing the two butterflies, was that the ritual had gone awry and had freed Bhanu and Mei Hwa. The lovers were reunited, but not in the way Tasya and Salim would have wished. They were the ones we saw walking at the end, but they were unconscious, as the spirits had taken over their bodies. I think that, although Mei Hwa and Bhanu were good people, they could be a threat to others, as ideally they should have rested in peace and not returned to the mortal realm.
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