By MICHAEL GINGOLD
The occult chiller from the filmmaker behind MACABRE, THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC and others is set in a village of the damned dancers.
Lionsgate will release DANCING VILLAGE: THE CURSE BEGINS (a.k.a. BADARAWUHI DI DESA PENARI) to select U.S. theaters April 26. A prequel to KKN DI DESA PENARI, which became the highest-grossing Indonesian film in history upon its release in 2022, the film is the first made-for-IMAX movie ever produced in Southeast Asia. Kimo Stamboel (who helmed MACABRE and KILLERS as part of The Mo Brothers and THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC and IVANNA solo) directed from a screenplay by Lele Laila; Aulia Sarah, Maudy Effrosina, Jourdy Pranata, Moh. Iqbal Sulaiman and Ardit Erwandha star. The synopsis: “A shaman instructs Mila [Effrosina] 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 [Pranata], and his friends Jito [Sulaiman] and Arya [Erwandha], 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 [Sarah], 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.”
