‘Daemuga’ adds shamanic voice to hip-hop

“Daemuga” stands apart from other films not only because of its surrealistic touch, but also by blending the genres of comedy, drama, mystery and crime.

The multi-genre film revolves around three ill-fated shamans — Ma Seong-jun (Park Sung-woong), Gangnam (Yang Hyun-min) and Shin Nam (Ryu Gyung-soo) — who are each tasked with performing a shamanistic exorcism ritual known as “gut.”

Their shared goal is to stop Son Ik-soo (Jung Kyung-ho), a ruthless gang leader, from taking advantage of the opportunities arising from a village redevelopment project.

Director Lee Han-jong, who turned his previous short film “Daemuga” into a feature-length movie of the same name, explained that he wanted to touch upon numerous social issues, including youth unemployment, domestic violence and housing crisis by using the protagonists.

He uses the protagonists’ struggles to document different aspects of life. For instance, Shin Nam enters a shaman school because he can’t find a stable job. The film also represents the reality of Seoul’s housing crisis through the local neighborhood of District 7.

“I’m interested in surreal subjects. Rather than blending reality and surrealistic imagery in a fantasy or a sci-fi genre, I chose to address it in the form of exorcism. In the film, shamans are showmen. Each of the scenes is a hilarious satire of society and the messiness of life,” he said during a press conference for the film in Seoul, Tuesday.

Lee shared that although exorcism rituals have a basic structure, they are mostly performed in freestyle, meaning shamans recite seemingly spontaneous lyrics on the spot when calling spiritual entities. Rapper-producers Nucksal, Tiger JK and MC Meta are behind the soundtrack of “Daemuga.”

Lee’s previous short film, “Blues with Me,” was invited to several local and international festivals, including the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in 2016.

Park, best known for his role in the 2013 noir film “New World,” said he decided to take on the role after watching Lee’s short film. “After watching the short film for about 15 minutes, I decided to do it. I trusted him as a director,” he said.

The 49-year-old actor recalled practicing the exorcism ritual scene for three months. In order to portray a shaman, he even consulted real shamans.

“The part where three of us battle in exorcism rituals was created by a choreographer, although I took a lot of lessons from real shamans,” he said.

Ryu talked about starring alongside veteran actors Park and Yang.

“I was very nervous about meeting Park and Yang. Thankfully, Yang noticed that and opened up to me, making a lot of jokes. Park told me to do whatever I want and he will react to it,” he said.

Yang thanked the director for offering him a comic role instead of performing as the antagonist.

“This is the first film where I don’t beat, stab or strangle someone to death. That makes me a little emotional,” he said.

“Daemuga” will hit local theaters, Oct. 12.