What is Devil's Diner all about? Plot details and more explored

Devil's Diner is the first Vietnamese horror show to premiere on Netflix. It was released globally on January 26, 2025. The show is about a diner and its manager who offers customers a scrumptious meal and fulfills their deepest desires for a price unthinkable.

The show Devil's Diner is based on the Buddhist principle of sins (greed, pride, wrath, suspicion, delusion) and has six episodes, each about 50 minutes long. Each episode features a customer whose story revolves around these sins and the cost they are willing to pay to keep them safe.

The final episode of Devil's Diner is based on the principle of karma and showcases the consequences of committing these sins.

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The Plot of Devil's Diner

The first episode of Devil's Diner is GREED: Blood Pudding, the episode has Luan, his wife Nhi, Long, Hao, and the diner's chef as the main characters. Luan is a mechanic, he and his wife try to conceive through IVF after Nhi loses a child in an accident. As a mechanic, Luan has limited means and after the accident, he is determined to earn money at any cost to fund the IVF treatment.

Luan comes across the diner's chef who offers him a wooden box that can give him money, the only condition is that the box when opened has to be fed blood, to satisfy the cries of babies coming from the box. Luan cuts his finger to pour blood into the box and after some time the box is full of money. Laun takes the money and further invests it into a business idea by Long and Hao.

Still from the movie (Image via YouTube/DIEN QUAN Film)

Luan's greed for money keeps increasing forcing him to take all the money he can from the box, at the very end when the money is exhausted, the diner's chef asks Luan to choose between money and family, he chooses money and the chef hands him over the box.

Luan takes the box home, and Nhi accidentally opens the box, the cries of babies coming from the box become unbearable for Nhi and she tries to break the box, Luan stops her from doing so and ends up cutting her belly, the blood from which stops the cry. Luan finds out that his wife is pregnant and calls for an ambulance, before the ambulance can arrive Luan kills himself out of guilt for his actions.

At the end of the first episode of Devil's Diner, it is revealed that the diner's chef is trapped in the diner by a devil and must kill souls full of sins to free himself. Every time a sinful soul is killed the bulb inside the diner is lit in green. After Luan's death, the diner's chef tries to leave the diner only to realize that his work is not over yet.

The other episodes of Devil's Diner: Pride (Goat Tongue Sate), Anger (Snake Wine), Delusions (Candied Gooseberries), and Suspicion (Heart Porridge) follow a similar tale with customers like Luan coming in and trading something precious to them in exchange for fulfillment of their desire.

Still from the movie (Image via YouTube/DIEN QUAN Film)

The final episode of Devil's Diner, KARMA: Moon-Faced Snails, begins with the chef's narration. It is explained that the diner has a rule- it must have an owner, who is also a sinner. This owner will be trapped in its confines until someone takes their life.

At the end of Devil's Diner, the chef attains nirvana by leaving another sinner Tuan's mother (character in the second episode) as the owner of the diner.

The show conveys a message that the only way to end this cycle of human sin and attain enlightenment is by learning the art of forgiveness.

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The makers and cast of Devil's Diner

The show is produced by Zero Hour Production, East Films, and Kontribute. It is directed by Ham Tran, a Vietnamese American writer, director, and editor.

The series has some prominent actors from the Vietnamese Industry such as Le Quoc Nam, who plays the diner's chef in the series, followed by Tran Nam Khoa, Tran Minh Hieu, Nguyen Kieu Trinh, and Dinh Y. Nhung in lead roles.

Catch the anthological horror series Devil's Diner on Netflix.