‘Dancing Village: The Curse Begins’ Director Kimo Stamboel On Indonesian Horror
In 2022, Dancing Village (also titled KKN DI DESA PENARI) was released in Indonesia and quickly became the highest-grossing Indonesian film in history. Now, just two years later, director Kimo Stamboel is tackling the next entry to the series, this time a prequel titled Dancing Village: The Curse Begins. Set in the 1980s, Stamboel and Dancing Village writer Lele Laila are tackling the origins of the dancing curse, a terrifying figure named Badarawuhi.
Read the full synopsis below:
In this horror-thriller, a shaman instructs Mila to return a mystical bracelet, the Kawaturih, to the “Dancing Village,” a remote site on the easternmost tip of Java Island. Joined by her cousin, Yuda, and his friends Jito and Arya, Mila arrives on the island only to discover that the village elder has passed away, and that the new guardian, Mbah Buyut, isn’t present. Various strange and eerie events occur while awaiting Mbah Buyut’s return, including Mila being visited by Badarawuhi, a mysterious, mythical being who rules the village. When she decides to return the Kawaturih without the help of Mgah Buyut, Mila threatens the village’s safety, and she must join a ritual to select the new “Dawuh,” a cursed soul forced to dance for the rest of her life.
We spoke with Stamboel about tackling this massive series, PG-13 horror, and the distinct style of Indonesian terror.
DC: Congratulations on the film. I watched it last night with my noise-canceling headphones in the dark and it was very creepy. So it very much is my vibe for watching it in that way. So I’m really stoked to talk to you. This is a prequel to the highest-grossing film in Indonesia, right?
Kimo Stamboel: Yeah, it’s a prequel slash a spinoff type of thing.
DC: I haven’t seen the first one yet, but I still understood this one. Coming onto this project with knowing how the first one did, what was that like for you?
KS: Yes, every project that I do comes with a certain pressure, but this one is pretty big because the first one was pretty successful. So that was a big pressure because it has a lot followers and it has some uniqueness to it. Luckily the story set up, it’s not actually a sequel, so I don’t actually continue the franchise in a way. We made a new story in this world, but it needed the same vibe and the same villain. That one is very challenging for me, plus the rate of success obviously haunts me. But when we did this project, I put all of that behind me because I had to concentrate on making it me and making it a little bit of a different style.
And again, they needed to scale up and I tried to give something bigger and more cinematic probably, hopefully. But I did have some restrictions because of the first one. The first one is a PG 13 type of film, and the producers actually said to me, Kimo, we need this to be PG 13. It’s sort of different from the stuff that I usually make. That’s something a challenge for me. And yes, if you say big pressure, definitely man. It’s just wow.
DC: I can only freaking imagine. I loved how you navigate a PG-13 rating though, because there are still some really gnarly moments in this movie. I mean, someone rips off their skin at one point. But you briefly talked about a bigger scale. I am obsessed with this village and all these incredible places in this village. Is this a village that you found? Are these sets you built? Is it a combination of the two? How did you create the titular dancing village?
KS: The actual story is set up in East Java, and I think the actual village is not as cinematic because it’s already modernized. With the first one, the project decided, okay, let’s shoot in central Java and find a village [that fits our needs]. But, they shot, I think in 2019 before the pandemic and all of that. When we went back there in 2023, the village was not a village anymore, it was pretty much modernized. So we had to scout around that area and go further out into the country. Then, finally, we found an awesome village. That’s a real village in Indonesia, but they were set up in central Java. The people were nice and they supported us.
And if you see the backgrounds, those are the real people living there. And we actually asked them, would you like to be in a movie? So what you’re seeing there is pretty much authentic Indonesian, middle of Java, village.
After that, we had support from the local government and we had support from the village. Then we decide, okay, this is going to be our Dancing Village. But we had to, of course, dress it up. We cleaned up all the wires and [signs of] electricity because in the original story, the village doesn’t have electricity yet. It’s not too normal right now, but like 10 or 20 years back, there were still some villages without any power. [Since the film takes place in the 80s’] we needed to make the village authentic. We tried as much as possible to avoid the cables and stuff. In post, we decided to erase a lot of them. But luckily, that setting and the houses were all there in that village.
DC: That’s wild. Was it remote enough? Was it difficult to get equipment there and crew?
KS: Logistically it’s not that difficult because it’s two hours from Yogyakarta in central Java. There’s a closer small town that had only one KFC [Laughs]. It still has KFC, so it’s okay guys.
DC: It’s not too rural. There’s still fast food everywhere. [Laughs]
KS: The village was not far from that small town that we actually stayed in within. It was about 45 minutes of driving back and forth. So I think it’s still all right. There is the road and electricity and everything, but we did still have to move everything there. So it was a little bit of a challenge, but it’s okay.
DC: So is Badarawuhi made up for the series or is she a real figure of folklore?
KS: According to the author, it is based on a real-life legend in a certain area in East Java. The story goes back quite a long time ago.
Dancing Village: The Curse Begins is out now in select theaters.
Categorized:Interviews
