The Rope Curse is a series I have followed since the beginning, simply because I like the way it digs into Taiwanese folk beliefs rather than just throwing another generic ghost into the story, so the fourth film immediately caught my attention for a different reason – this time the franchise is bringing in Kuntilanak, one of the best-known supernatural figures from Indonesian folklore.
That gives The Rope Curse 4: Kuntilanak a much wider Southeast Asian feel, with the story moving between Taiwan and Indonesia and using modern technology as part of the horror.
The Exorcism Should Never Have Been Broadcast
The story begins in Indonesia, where a forbidden exorcism ceremony is livestreamed online, and what should have remained a private ritual instead becomes something watched by people all over the place, and during the ceremony Kuntilanak is awakened, where t the people watching aren’t necessarily safe simply because they’re sitting thousands of miles away.
In Taiwan, Mila watches the broadcast and becomes caught up in what has been unleashed, so after her death, strange incidents and violent possessions begin occurring, making it clear that the spirit hasn’t remained in Indonesia, before Mila’s son eventually travels to Indonesia to return her ashes and investigate what happened to his mother.
His journey takes him deeper into the history surrounding the spirit and reveals that his family’s connection to Kuntilanak goes back much further than he realised, so to the film isn’t just dealing with a haunting, there’s a family mystery underneath it, with the investigation gradually uncovering why this particular spirit has become attached to them.
Trailer
Kuntilanak Comes to Taiwan
Kuntilanak is one of the most recognisable female supernatural figures in Indonesian horror, and her inclusion gives this film a very different cultural foundation – the spirit is commonly associated with death, childbirth, grief and vengeance, although versions of the legend vary – she’s appeared countless times in Indonesian horror films and television, and the image of the female spirit with her long hair and white clothing has become familiar well beyond Indonesia.
What makes her particularly useful for this film is that Kuntilanak isn’t simply a generic demon that can be dropped into any story, as she comes with an existing mythology and cultural associations that the filmmakers can build around, which also means the Indonesian sections of the film have a chance to explore beliefs and traditions that haven’t been central to the previous Rope Curse movies.
The Rope Curse Gets a Bigger Map
The previous films have largely drawn from Taiwanese folk horror, particularly beliefs surrounding death, funeral customs and spirits, but The Rope Curse 4 takes that foundation and pushes it somewhere else.
The supernatural story now crosses between Taiwan and Indonesia, with the characters having to deal with beliefs from two different cultural traditions., which is quite a big change for the series, particularly because the Indonesian mythology isn’t just being mentioned in passing – Kuntilanak is effectively the central supernatural figure.
It also makes the journey to Indonesia important to the story, as Mila’s son isn’t simply travelling there because the filmmakers wanted some different scenery, he needs to go back to the place where the original ritual happened to understand what happened to his mother.
Despite bringing in a new mythology, the film is still connected to what made the earlier Rope Curse movies distinctive by the sounds of it – funeral rituals, the treatment of the dead and the relationship between the living and supernatural forces will remain important parts of the story, so the series isn’t completely abandoning its Taiwanese folk horror roots, but it is putting those ideas alongside Indonesian beliefs and seeing what happens when the two meet.
Cast and Production
The Rope Curse 4: Kuntilanak, originally titled 粽邪4：坤蒂拉娜 (Zong Xie 4: Kuntilanak), is directed by Liao Shih-han and produced by Jeff Tsou – the film stars Wilson Hsu, Vera Chen, Chen Po-cheng and Travis Hu, with WOWing Entertainment Group handling production.
It is scheduled for release in Taiwan on August 27, 2026, with a reported runtime of around 120 minutes.
Two Horror Traditions in One Film
The cultural side of this is probably what separates The Rope Curse 4 from a standard possession sequel, as Taiwanese horror has its own traditions surrounding funerals, spirits and the dead, while Indonesian horror has a huge collection of stories involving ghosts, curses and supernatural entities such as Kuntilanak.
The result is a franchise entry that is dealing with Taiwanese funeral traditions, Indonesian folklore, exorcism and modern technology at the same time, and whether all of that fits together smoothly remains to be seen, but it certainly gives The Rope Curse 4: Kuntilanak a lot more cultural material to play with than another straightforward sequel would have had.
Check out some more Taiwanese horror movies.
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