The Womb

Wulan, a desperate young mother-to‑be, is taken in by the seemingly kind couple Eva and Agus after being thrown out of her apartment. At first the house feels like a sanctuary, but the couple soon summons their longtime friend Ageng to perform the Javanese “Wekesan Wednesday” ritual—an ancient rite meant to protect a child born on an unlucky Wednesday by sacrificing another pregnant woman and her newborn.

As Wulan’s due date approaches, she is haunted by vivid nightmares of a woman clutching a newborn with an umbilical cord in her mouth, a warning that something terrible is about to unfold. When she tries to call her friend Nita for help, Eva overhears and the couple’s plan to cut her ties becomes clear: they poison Nita’s boyfriend and murder Nita, ensuring Wulan has no outside contact.

The arrival of the couple’s son, Bergas, offers a flicker of hope. He has returned home after a failed relationship and, unlike his parents, is horrified by the ritual. While exploring the house, Bergas discovers old photographs of pregnant women who vanished and an ancient book describing the sacrifice. He learns that his own life has been spared before only because Eva and Agus offered a pregnant woman and her child to the gods when he turned ten. Now, with Wulan also due on a Wednesday, she is the next intended victim.

When Wulan tries to flee, Eva hypnotizes her into staying until after the birth. Bergas, unwilling to let his sister’s child die, breaks into the storeroom, frees himself from the ropes the parents have tied him with, and confronts his parents. He uses a broken bottle to cut his bindings, grabs a knife, and in a desperate struggle slashes Ageng, stopping the immediate threat to Wulan.

Together, Bergas and Wulan scramble to the car. Bergas threatens to kill himself unless they are allowed to leave, forcing Eva and Agus to relent. In the frantic escape they crash into Agus, who is left unconscious, and race toward the highway. After a brief stop at a roadside tea shop, Bergas steps out to pay the bill. The curse that has haunted his family finally catches up with him: a truck barrels down the road and strikes him dead the moment he leaves the shop.

The film ends with Wulan and her newborn safe, watching the rain wash over the road where Bergas fell. His sacrifice—both in confronting his parents’ darkness and in his own death—breaks the cycle of the “Wekesan Wednesday” ritual, allowing the child to be born free of the curse that claimed so many before.

Last Updated: August 19, 2025 at 19:41