Synopsis
A tale of love, black magic and death, PENANGGAL begins with Murni, a naïve, innocent girl whose attempts to escape from a family black magic goes horribly wrong when she unwittingly finds herself inheriting the Penanggal curse from her guardian, Mak Ajeng.
Taking the advice of the Head of the Village, Murni sets out to forget the tragedies that have befallen her and leaves with Mak Ajeng’s assistant, Pak Kadam, who takes her to seek refuge in Mak Ajeng's secret hideaway.
Far away, a rich, handsome Malay Arab gemstone and textile merchant named Syed Yusof Al-Attas plans for a business trip. With their wedding soon to take place, Syed Yusof’s fiancé, Sharifah Zahrah, seeks confirmation that he wants to marry her as she has brought ill fate to her previous husband. Syed Yusof, being of staunch and deep religious belief, believes in fate and that all is in God's hands. With a heavy heart Sharifah Zahrah finally gives her blessings. Syed Yusof leaves the comfort of his village together with his younger brother Syed Omar Al-Attas.
Syed Yusof and Syed Omar stop at a village when they encounter a tense sight of villagers dragging a woman into the woods. Seeing the woman beaten up mercilessly, Syed Yusof intervenes, incurring backlash from the villagers. Amidst the chaos, the woman slips away and escapes. Syed Yusof defies the villagers’ warnings and tracks her deep into the jungle, losing his way in the wilderness.
Late into the night Syed Yusof searches for a way out when suddenly he spots a dimly lit house. An exhausted Syed Yusoff is invited in by Pak Kadam and Syed Yusoff is surprised to find Murni, the same woman he had tried to save from the angry mob.
As a woman, Murni hungers for the tenderness of a man and falls in love with Syed Yusof. Using the powers of black magic, Murni tries to trick him into falling in love with her and Syed Yusof in turn is quite mesmerised by this pitiful creature. Back at home, Sharifa Zahrah feels something amiss. Syed Omar returns alone and informs his mother of Syed Yusof’s disappearance which spurs Zahrah to look for Syed Yusof.
Soon, more tragedies befall Kampong Jawa, including the horrific killing of Jiwa and attack on Sharifah Zahrah. The village people have to destroy Murni before their whole village is consumed by her.
Murni's descent into the depths of evil may only be saved by the true love she feels for Syed Yusof. Will he be able to save her soul from the devil himself?