The Scent

Two young students, MEI WAN (15), and her boyfriend LING SEN (16), sit in a pagoda on a mountain near Taipei. They hold each other tightly and watch the sunset. Mei Wan wishes the day would never end, but Ling Sen reminds her it will be dark soon and they have a long ride on his scooter back down to the city. As they ride down the mountain, Ling Sen suggests they take a short cut and soon they must navigate a dirt road filled with potholes that runs through thick forest. When a three legged dog suddenly appears in the road, Ling Sen loses control of the scooter and they crash. Mei Wan helps Ling Sen lift the scooter off his wounded leg, but he is unable to restart the engine. They decide to walk back to the main road but are soon confronted by a vicious pack of wild dogs that emerge from the forest. The dogs attack the young teenagers and they must run for their lives. Ling Sen spots a metal shack in a bamboo grove and they race for the front door. The door is locked and Ling Sen must fight the dogs with a makeshift weapon while Mei Wan screams for help. Finally, someone opens the door and the teenagers burst into the house while the dogs bite and scratch at the door from outside. The owner of the house, An OLD MAN (60’s), appears in the candlelight. His shirtless body is covered with thick black hair and his nails have grown long and sharp. Mei Wan pleads with the man for help, but he glares at her with animal lust and scolds Ling Sen for the accident he caused. The Old Man retrieves a rifle and admits he knows a way past the dogs — but his help will come at a price. He demands Mei Wan sit on his lap and offer him some warmth, before he tells them how to escape. Ling Sen tries to stop her and is twice beaten to the floor with the butt of the Old Man’s rifle. Scared but determined to survive, Mei Wan obeys the Old Man and he eagerly tastes her skin with a flick of his tongue and scratches at her flesh with his nails. Finally, he demands a kiss and forces himself on Mei Wan until she gags. Only then does he release his grip and uncover a secret hatch in the floor. With no other options, Ling Sen and Mei Wan enter a tunnel beneath the house with a dim flashlight and run for the exit hatch at the opposite end. Meanwhile the Old Man opens the front door of his house and whistles. The dog pack approach and show loyalty to their true leader. In the tunnel, Mei Wan stumbles over a human skull and bones and Ling Sen finds the exit hatch but it is locked tight. The Old Man sends the dogs into the tunnel after their supper And they pursue the teenagers in a savage frenzy. Mei Wan cowers against the wall and Ling Sen tries to break the hatch open. The Old Man retrieves something unseen from a kitchen drawer and places it in his mouth. He tilts his head back and howls like a wolf— metallic jaws ring his rotten teeth. From the tunnel the dogs howl back to their master and the Old Man climbs down into the tunnel to join the feast.