Review: DANCING VILLAGE: THE CURSE BEGINS (2024)

What is the mysterious horror that lurks in the shadows of the forest of Indonesia? This is the question for the prequel horror-thriller movie DANCING VILLAGE: THE CURSE BEGINS.

Diding Bonengin DANCING VILLAGE: THE CURSE BEGINS(Credit:Lionsgate)

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

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.

Maudy Effrosina and Claresta Taufan Kusumarinain DANCINGVILLAGE: THE CURSE BEGINS(Credit: Lionsgate)

DANCING VILLAGE: THE CURSE BEGINS sets out to explain the beginning of a horror that continues on in the next movie that follows: KKN DI DESA PENARI (2022). A long-standing tradition between a village on the edge of a supernatural border and a deadly goddess has been broken. The tradition involves the goddess, Badarawuhi, to choose a sacrifice from a group of young women beguiled to dance. When a bracelet trinket called the Kawaturih is taken from the village, doom slowly but surely seeps to the village ad beyond.

Badarawuhi is a patient scheming goddess as she relentless in her search for the return of the Kawaturih. No matter if the trinket has jumped continents, her power is vast enough to cross oceans and destroy people. It is up to the descendants to try to atone for the past and save their present

Why is this bracelet so important? No clue. No explanation is provided other than the goddess whats it. It seems like whatever Badarawuhi wants, Badarawuhi will get.

(L-R)Maudy Effrosina and Aulia Sarahin DANCING VILLAGE: THECURSE BEGINS(Credit: Lionsgate)

DANCING VILLAGE: THE CURSE BEGINS is the prequel to KKN DI DESA PENARI. KKN DI DESA PENARI was released in 2022 and was the highest grossing Indonesian film

Personally, this was the absolute first awareness of KKN DI DESA PENARI or that Indonesia even had a horror movie universe called the Danur Universe. Usually when anything is deemed part of a cinematic universe, then it must mean it’s a pretty big deal. So despite having a strong aversion to horror, the pure power of curiosity overthrew fear.

There were a couple of challenges watching DANCING VILLAGE: THE CURSE BEGINS. As a Western viewer, everything about this movie was unknown. The culture, the back story, any nuances to lore, and even worse, no knowledge of the movie that spawned the prequel. KKN DI DESA PENARI is not readily available in the US so there wasn’t a chance to watch it first. It was viewed completely blind and trusting that It was the pure fantastic entertainment of DANCING VILLAGE: THE CURSE BEGINS that would keep the engagement strong.

Aulia Sarahin DANCING VILLAGE: THE CURSE BEGINS(Credit:Lionsgate)

Even though the movie is advertised as horror-thriller, I would argue that it is more of an atmospheric thriller. There are eerie scenes and supernatural ghoulish moments but there was not one moment that was terrifying enough to stop the movie. There were moments of horror that would immediately shut the eyes during the gruesome body harm that was done to the victims by the goddess. Maybe nurses in the burn care units would barely flinch at those scenes but it was pretty graphic. Would not recommend eating during these parts.

Aside from the parts that categorize it as a horror, this was equal parts fascinating and frustrating. Mainly because of the question if the audiences supposed to be terrified of the entity?

(L-R)Claresta Taufan Kusumarina and Maudy Effrosinain DANCINGVILLAGE: THE CURSE BEGINS(Credit: Lionsgate)

The goddess, Badarawuhi (played by Aulia Sarah), is a visual treat. She doesn’t come across as menacing, more like a guardian or even a beautiful relative. Maybe that’s the horror of this deity? Is it possible her beauty is to lure prey willingly to her or is it a beauty maintained by the sacrifices of the young women? It’s nothing but theories as no information is provided. We know that she has the power to make young women unwillingly dance. We know that the dancing is a means to connect the young women to the supernatural domain of the goddess. We know there is a legion of humanoid men that are her followers. We can also glean that the goddess is able to kill a person through sickness from within. The why or how or for what purpose is not shared. This movie could be alluding to a cultural folklore that is unknown to Western audiences. All we can do is toss theories while watchig.

Whatever the reason is, how could anyone truly fight the Badarawuhi? Not only is she beautiful but she also radiates this calm with her voice and smile. Even as she slaughters every single creature in the village or cause the blood to seep from every orifice of the body, she still portrays that humble smile. It’s unsettling because it doesn’t seem like she’s doing it for torture but more like this is the natural consequence of everything. This is just a normal bloody situation.

The dancing in the movie was a character in itself. There was just something so refreshingly unique to see the possible spookys implications of traditional dancing. Not every traditional dance tells an story of epic adventures of love stories. The dancing in DANCING VILLAGE: THE CURSE BEGINS was truly a highlight of the movie. Instead of a story, the dancing was used as a vehicle for the goddess to exert dominating control. Her chosen beauties are forever doomed to dance gracefully under the dank cavernous walls doing her bidding. The dancing was both terrifying and mesmerizing, easily invoking the power and sinewy grace of snakes. These performances deserve live stage productions, it was that amazing.

Pure curiosity about this Indonesian horror-thriller move. The question still remains on what this horror is or even why the horror is doing what they’re doing but it was still a gripping entertainment. For the movie to spawn such wildfire curiosity afterwards just shows how immensely this movie grabs the audience. Perhaps this is another of the Badarawuhi?

You didn’t happen to pick up a golden bangle did you? …..Did you?