Sumith Prasad
Sophon Sakdaphisit’s Thai horror film ‘Home for Rent’ ends with several ambiguous developments. Ning escapes from Tom and rushes to save her daughter Ing from her husband Kwin and Ratree. After arriving at the place, she sees Kwin almost lifeless with Ratree performing a ritual. Her efforts to protect her daughter get jeopardized by the invisible forces who assist the “mother” of the cult. Still, she succeeds in stopping Prae from inhabiting the body of her daughter. Even though Ning’s courage and wisdom yield results, they are not what she has wanted to achieve. Still, she accepts the turn of events to start a new chapter of her life! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Home for Rent Plot Synopsis
‘Home for Rent’ begins with Ning finding out that her condominium, which she rented to a teacher, is left with several damages. Her realtor advises her to move to the place with her family of husband Kwin and daughter Ing so that she can rent out her big house. She proposes the plan to her husband, who is reluctant to leave their house. However, when Ms. Ratree and her daughter Nuch show up as potential tenants, Kwin changes his mind. Ning and her family move to her condo as Ratree and her daughter start to live in the former’s house.
Right after moving to the condo, Ning learns from her former neighbor Aunt Phorn that several unusual activities are happening in her house. Phorn records a video of Ratree chanting a spell and sends it to Ning. To take a few things from the storage of her house, Ning goes to the place, only to find her husband’s tattoo on Nuch. By then, she realizes that Kwin is hiding a secret. One night, Ning follows Kwin to the terrace of their condo, only to see him sitting with a red book, chanting the same spell Ratree chants in the video Phorn sends her. Ning also confronts hundreds of crows flying above her.
When Ning tries to take a video of Kwin, her mobile phone camera doesn’t work. She also confronts the spirit of a girl who scares her. She runs back to her condo and pretends to be asleep while Kwin checks on her. Realizing that it’s dangerous to remain with Kwin, Ning takes Ing to a hotel. Flashback scenes reveal that Kwin had a daughter named Jariya AKA Jaa, who died due to a heater explosion. He met Ning, married her, and welcomed Ing after the tragic death of Jaa. Due to her supernatural powers, Ing has been able to remain in touch with Jaa’s spirit.
When Ratree visits Ning’s house for the first time, she makes it clear to Kwin that she can contact the spirit of Jaa. Kwin agrees to rent out the house to Ratree hoping that he will be able to communicate with his dead daughter with the help of the woman. Ratree tells Kwin that Jaa needs to inhabit the body of a girl of her age to talk to her father. When Kwin realizes that she is talking about Ing, Ratree promises that the little girl won’t be harmed. Thus, Kwin joins the cult and convinces Ing to help him retrieve his dead daughter.
Home for Rent Ending: Is Ing Dead or Alive?
Although Ratree promises Kwin that she will help Jaa find a home in Ing’s body, her intention is different. She chooses Ing not to help Jaa and Kwin but for her late daughter Prae, whose spirit currently lives in a doll. She wants Ing so that Prae can be reborn in Ing’s body. After starting the ritual to transfer the spirit to the body of Ing, Ratree makes a possessed Phorn stab Kwin to make sure that he wouldn’t interfere with her plans. After nearly killing Kwin, Ratree proceeds with her ritual for Prae to inhabit the body of Ing, who is forced to cooperate with the “mother” of the cult.
Meanwhile, Ning escapes from the clutches of her realtor Tom, who is also a part of Ratree’s cult. She rushes to her daughter thinking that Kwin and Ratree have teamed up to harm the little girl’s life. After arriving at the house where Ratree performs the ritual, she starts a fire to distract the cult members and attract attention to the place. Her plan works as Ratree’s daughter Nuch emerges from the room where the ritual takes place. With a hammer, she finds Ing and unties her. That’s when Ning sees the doll of Prae. She then destroys the doll before Prae’s spirit gets transferred to Ing.
However, while Ning destroys Prae’s doll, killing her spirit, Jaa’s spirit inhabits Ing. From Ratree, we know that the spirit who inhabits a body will kill the original spirit that was born with it, which means that Ing’s spirit is dead. Jaa starts to live inside Ing’s body, which remains alive despite the death of its spirit. Therefore, Ing’s spirit is no longer alive. However, her body is not dead as Jaa’s spirit gives life to it. That’s the reason why the same person calls Ning “aunty.” Jaa doesn’t intend to kill Ing. She doesn’t even know that her inhabiting the little girl’s body will result in the death of the latter’s spirit. She chooses to reside in Ing’s body to prevent Prae from inhabiting it but at the expense of Ing’s spirit.
Does Kwin Die?
Kwin is seemingly dead. After getting stabbed by the possessed Aunt Phorn, Kwin tries to save his daughter Ing with all his might as he attempts to stop Ratree from proceeding with the ritual. However, Ratree’s daughter Nuch comes in between him and his daughter. She inserts her fingers inside his wound to stop him from jeopardizing the ritual. After the ceiling of the house collapses, Kwin is not seen alive. Jaa, now residing inside Ing’s body, lays on top of what seems like Kwin’s lifeless body. The film ends with Ning accepting Jaa as her daughter and caring for her.
If Kwin is alive, he would have been a significant presence in the lives of Ning and Jaa. His absence in the closing scene of the horror thriller indicates that he is dead. Although he dies, his wish to see Jaa alive again materializes. Ning then fills his absence in the life of his first daughter. Even though Jaa is alive after killing the spirit of Ing, Ning doesn’t approach her as the murderer of her daughter. She realizes that the little girl is helpless and more than her, Ratree is responsible for the death of her child. That’s the reason why she decides against abandoning Jaa. Ning and Jaa seemingly move to the former’s mother’s place for a fresh start in life.
In Jaa, Ning finds her daughter. Since she has the body of Ing, Ning must be finding it easier to treat Jaa as her child. Although Kwin apparently dies without being able to be a part of her first daughter’s second life, Ning is there for the little girl as her mother.
Who is Ratree? Is She Dead?
Ratree is the great-granddaughter of one of the leaders of the cult. Around fifty years ago, Napaporn Pongthewa’s body was chosen for Ratree to inhabit and a ritual was done for the spirit to enter the chosen body. While Napaporn’s physique aged over the years, Ratree’s spirit remained eighteen years old inside the body. She must have died along with her youngest daughter Prae fifty years ago, which explains the decades-old doll in which the latter’s spirit lives until Ning destroys it. Ratree gets killed by Jaa after the latter inhabits Ing’s body. The little girl exacts her vengeance on Ratree for killing her father Kwin.
Since Ratree’s spirit is not transferred to any other object, the spirit and Napaporn’s body die together. Over the last fifty years, Ratree must have been trying to find a girl who has supernatural abilities to do “traveling clairvoyance.” Her search ends with the discovery of Ing, who can travel through different realms of human existence. When Ratree was choosing Ing, she was not aware of the latter’s relationship with Jaa. That companionship and Kwin’s murder provoke Jaa enough for the little girl to kill Ratree. Ning’s timely intervention allows Jaa to replace Prae as the spirit who inhabits Ing’s body, which turns out to be nothing but the death warrant of Ratree.
Read More: What is the Cult in Home for Rent? Is Ms. Ratree Based on a Real Cult Leader?
