The Rooney Curse is a popular belief among football fans that suggests there is a curse associated with the English footballer Wayne Rooney. The curse is said to bring misfortune and negative outcomes to any team or player that Rooney supports or plays against. While the Rooney Curse is often considered a superstition, it has gained attention due to some coincidental events that have occurred in relation to Rooney. One of the most commonly cited examples of the Rooney Curse is his support of the England national football team during major tournaments. Fans have noted that during the 2006 World Cup, where Rooney was the team's star player, he suffered a metatarsal injury that significantly impacted England's performance in the tournament. In subsequent tournaments, such as the 2010 World Cup and the 2016 European Championship, England failed to progress past the quarterfinal stage despite Rooney's presence in the team.

Movie review: The Rope Curse 2

Fittingly released at the high point of Ghost Month on Zhongyuan Festival (中元), The Rope Curse 2 (粽邪) rides the wave of local blockbusters based on Taiwanese religious and folk customs, loosely continuing the events of the first installment.

It seems to be a formula that works, as the film grossed NT$26 million in the first week, holding its ground against the triple-headed Hollywood onslaught of Mulan, The New Mutants and Tenet.

Both Rope Curse films deal with the song rou zong ritual (送肉粽, sending rice dumplings) prevalent in coastal Changhua, where Taoist priests purify the soul of someone who hanged themselves. Locals believe that if the ritual is not conducted, the deceased will remain in the human world searching for someone to take their place so they can be reincarnated.

Lee Kang-sheng performs the Zhong Kui dance in The Rope Curse 2.

Photo courtesy of Wowing Entertainment

Perhaps due to the success of the first film, this ritual has actually gained popularity in recent years and has spread to other areas of Taiwan. Residents are not happy about this because they feel that the ritual, which had never been a folk tradition where they live, brings them bad luck.

This reviewer did not watch the first Rope Curse, and while there are guest appearances in part two that tie in to the first part and foreshadow a third film, it’s not too hard to figure out what’s going on if one has some knowledge of how Taiwanese religious and supernatural beliefs and practices work.

But since this is the second installment, those who don’t know much should do their research or watch part one beforehand, otherwise the plot will be quite difficult to process since it jumps straight into the action.

Vera Chen shines in The Rope Curse 2.

Photo courtesy of Wowing Entertainment

Rope Curse focuses on the Zhong Kui dance (跳鍾馗) portion of the ritual, where a Taoist priest assumes the spirit of Zhong, a deity who is known for his abilities to vanquish evil spirits and ghosts.

Other supernatural beliefs are added into the mix, including yizi gu (椅子姑, chair maiden) divination practice through summoning the spirit of a murdered young girl as well as a spine-chilling dose of Thai black magic.

Lee Kang-sheng (李康生) plays Huo-ge, a troubled man blessed (or cursed) with the ability to see supernatural beings. Huo-ge’s spirit is broken after inadvertently killing his master, who taught him how to perform exorcisms. He begrudgingly agrees to play the part of Zhong Kui during a song rou zong ritual to save a village from a Thai spirit that is causing villagers to hang themselves.

Lee’s trademark laconic, somewhat awkward delivery still takes some getting used to, but it fits his character here as an unwilling but passionate hero.

It is interesting to see how modern and traditional beliefs clash in this film, as people who don’t take these phenomena or Huo-ge’s advice seriously repeatedly interrupt the various processes, exacerbating the situation until the inevitable final showdown. For example, in the opening scene, Grey Bear (Sun An-tso, 孫安佐) summons a chair maiden just for his livestreaming channel and proceeds to agitate it by asking a rude question, almost leading to disaster before Huo-ge steps in. These beings are powerful, but human recklessness is what drives the events forward.

Also at the center of the film is Jia-min (Wilson Hsu, 許安植), a young woman who has the same spiritual constitution as Huo-ge and is plagued by her visions. She also suffers from physical abuse at the hands of her uncle, who raised her after she lost her parents but blames her for bringing him bad luck. The most memorable performance, however, is by Vera Chen (陳雪甄), who plays Jia-min’s tortured aunt who becomes possessed by the evil Thai spirit. Even though she is regularly beaten by her husband, the conflicted emotions she displays after he is killed is poignant and heartbreaking, and right after that she turns into a raging, contorted demon.

Overall, The Rope Curse 2 provides solid entertainment that’s highly relevant to both modern and traditional Taiwanese themes and how they may clash. It definitely could be scarier, as the plot focuses more on the human element in both Huo-ge and Jia-min’s struggles to come to terms with their abilities (“there is only a thin line between a blessing and a curse”) — almost like a superhero movie in that sense.

The script could also be tighter and streamlined for a more intense experience, but it’s clear that director Liao Shih-han (廖士涵) put a lot of thought into it as most of it made sense and did not bore. The various supernatural folklore are not just gimmicks to tell a superficial horror story designed just to frighten, and it speaks to the audience on several levels beyond what’s presented. That puts it above your standard ghost tale.

Publication Notes

In subsequent tournaments, such as the 2010 World Cup and the 2016 European Championship, England failed to progress past the quarterfinal stage despite Rooney's presence in the team. Another instance of the Rooney Curse is believed to have affected the club he played for, Manchester United. After Rooney left the club in 2017, Manchester United had a period of underperformance and struggled to maintain their previous success in domestic and European competitions.

Film notes

The Rope Curse 2 Directed by Liao Shih-han (廖士涵) Starring: Lee Kang-sheng (李康生) as Huo-ge, Wilson Hsu (許安植) as Jia-min, Vera Chen (陳雪甄) as Yu-lan Running time: 104 minutes Languages: Mandarin and Taiwanese with Chinese and English subtitles Taiwan release: In theaters

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The Rope Curse 1 (2018)

Legend has it that after people hang themselves, the grievances are the heaviest, and the grievances will accumulate on the knots. The effect is to appease evil spirits and appease the people. The coastal area of ​​Taiwan will hold a ceremony to send the knots to the estuary. "Send a sputum", and later changed to "send a meat sputum" in order to respect the dead. Seeing that the danger is approaching, Jia Wei decided to ask the Master for help, but found that the source of everything came from the secret of the book that was deeply buried in the heart for ten years. what can Jia Wei unlock the knot of the book and protect himself? And the life of a loved one? (Source: MyDramaList) Edit Translation

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• Country: Taiwan
• Type: Movie
• Release Date: Aug 31, 2018
• Duration: 1 hr. 46 min.
• Score: 6.8 (scored by 73 users)
• Ranked: #32120
• Popularity: #99999
• Content Rating: 15+ - Teens 15 or older
• Watchers: 189
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Reviews

Really basic in all aspects.

It’s hard to have any opinion about this movie because it was just really… mediocre. They used the typical jump scares, the plot and the ending were rather predictable, the characters were stereotypical.

It had a nice atmosphere to it, but I feel like it was not used to the fullest. They could have focused more on the different motivations between characters - Jia Wei trying to get money and Shu Yi trying to get peace. This could lead to a good conflict between the couple, drive them apart and be better incorporated into the hunting aspect.

That said, the acting itself was good. I have no complaints in this area. Especially a good performance from Kimi Hsia, who had to show a lot of the character’s internal conflict through facial expressions.

Overall, it is skippable.

Film Review: The Rope Curse (Zong xie) (2018)

Directed by Shih-Han Liao, The Rope Curse is a predictable ghost horror that goes to all the places you would expect. Nevertheless, it still manages to provide nominally enjoyable entertainment to pass the time.

Set in the Taiwanese countryside, the story centres around an ancient ritual called “The Rope Ritual”. It is believed that the spirit of a person that hang themselves can create a curse that will reside on the rope used, and the power of the curse will keep on growing the longer is left to its own devices. To prevent this from happening a special ritual must be performed, ending with the rope being buried at sea, making sure it never returns to harm anyone else.

A wannabe Youtube star Jia-Wei (Jason Tsou) has caught wind of such a ritual being performed in her girlfriend Shu-Yi’s (Kimi Hsia) hometown and together his friend A-Gwai, they plan to live stream the event in hopes of getting more followers and making some serious money in the process. Meanwhile Shu-Yi is wrestling with her own demons from the past and having to return home to witness something so sinister, does not sit well with her. Nevertheless, she goes along with the plan in hopes of Jia-Wei getting the success he so desperately wants. However, when something goes wrong in the middle of the ritual and the cursed rope does not quite make its way to its intended watery grave, the unlucky threesome soon finds themselves in middle of paranormal events, with deadly results.

The Rope Curse is a garden variety ghost story. There is a budding friendship ending in tragedy, horrible school bullies that are just asking to get cursed, and past sins coming back to haunt those who thought to have escaped them. Certainly, nothing we have not seen before.

Nothing about the story is particularly surprising and if you are at all familiar with the certain stereotypical story arcs of Asian horror, you will most probably have no problem guessing where the story is going. The ghostly appearances are slightly too few and far between and after a strong start, seem almost completely forgotten during the middle of the film, regardless of the ample opportunities for the angry spirits make its move. Some of the film’s best scenes are the ones involving the ritual at the centre of the story and as such, are something that deserved more screen time than they actually get. The plot also has some rather annoyingly convenient “twists” that might induce an eye roll or two from some viewers and the way some of the characters are portrayed feels unnecessarily stereotypical, reinforcing the predictable nature of the film.

However, somehow despite all this, The Rope Curse ends up being a semi entertaining package. Even though I found the story predictable, I still cannot say that I was bored at any point during its 106-minute running time. It may be slightly lacking in the scare department but is nevertheless well paced and the two timelines present in the story play very well side by side.

As always, I am a sucker for a good revenge story, especially when it involves bullies, so seeing the bad guys (or girls, as is the case here) getting what they deserve is always going to be a hit with me. Special points for the one final twist in the very end of the film. It not only brings the story to a wonderfully dark conclusion, but was genuinely quite unexpected and thus, a lovely surprise indeed.

While I would not recommend anyone to go out of their way to see The Rope Curse, if you do happen by it, by all means give it a go. It will not be the most memorable piece of ghost horror you will ever see, but a solid little film that will keep you entertained for a little while at least.

Fans have attributed this downturn to the departure of Rooney, claiming that his presence brought a winning mentality and leadership to the team. Some also believe that the Rooney Curse extends beyond football to other aspects of his personal life. It has been noted that Rooney has had several controversies and scandals, such as his alleged infidelity and issues with gambling. These incidents have often coincided with periods of poor performance or setbacks in his career. Despite the seemingly compelling evidence of the Rooney Curse, it is important to approach this superstition with skepticism. Many of the events attributed to the curse could be explained by factors such as injuries, team dynamics, and individual performance rather than any supernatural influence. Nonetheless, the Rooney Curse remains an intriguing and debated topic among football enthusiasts. In conclusion, the Rooney Curse is a superstition that suggests there is a curse associated with the English footballer Wayne Rooney. It is believed to bring misfortune to teams and players he supports or plays against. While the curse has gained attention due to apparent coincidences, it is essential to consider other explanations for these events. The debate around the Rooney Curse continues to intrigue football fans worldwide..

Reviews for "The Curse of the Rooe Family: A Warning to All Who Dare Cross Their Path"

1. Sara - 2 stars - I was really excited to read "The Rooe Curse" after hearing so much praise about it, but I was left disappointed. The plot dragged on and lacked originality, making it hard to stay engaged. The characters felt one-dimensional and their actions were often predictable. Overall, I found the book to be underwhelming and it didn't live up to the hype for me.

2. Mike - 3 stars - While I didn't hate "The Rooe Curse", I can't say I particularly enjoyed it either. The writing style was overly descriptive, leading to a slow pace that made it difficult to get through. The world-building had potential, but ultimately fell flat. The plot twists were forced and felt like cheap attempts to create drama. I found myself struggling to care about the fate of the characters and was left feeling unsatisfied by the end.

3. Emily - 2.5 stars - "The Rooe Curse" had an interesting premise, but unfortunately, the execution fell flat. The pacing was inconsistent, with long stretches of boredom followed by rushed action scenes. The dialogue felt forced and unnatural, making it hard to connect with the characters. Additionally, the book had numerous grammatical errors and typos, which further detracted from the reading experience. Overall, I was left feeling disappointed and wouldn't recommend this book.

4. Mark - 2 stars - I struggled to get through "The Rooe Curse" as I found the writing style to be overly convoluted. The excessive use of flowery language and unnecessary details made it hard to follow the main storyline. The characters lacked depth and development, leaving me disinterested in their fates. The book seemed to drag on and could have benefited from tighter editing. Overall, I was left unsatisfied by this read.

The Curse of the Rooe Family: A Lesson in Hubris