[Photo&] Kim Jae-joong makes a bold transformation as a shaman… Tackles Japan-South Korea horror collaboration “Shinsa: Whispers of the Demon” — at the press screening event

This is the most daring transformation he has made since his debut. ‘Kim Jae-joong’ took on his first ‘horror genre’ in his life and stepped forward for the role of ‘a shaman’ through the film ‘Shinsa: Whispers of the Demon’. From the hoodlum in the past drama ‘Triangle’ to the top star of the movie ‘A Jackal Comes’, he has proven a wide range of credentials—but in this project, he completely shattered the existing rules. At a press conference held at CGV in Yongsan on the 8th, he said he was captivated by ‘a completely new form of terror’ created by combining the eerie bleakness of J-horror with the dynamism of K-horror. An authoritative acting reinvention—its curtain-raiser has arrived.

A string of disappearances of college students blankets Kobe, Japan. At the center of the ‘occult horror’ that hunts for what lies behind the incidents are the shaman named Myeongjin and the project manager Yumi (‘Kong Seong-ha’). The fight against the ‘demon’ that swirls around a closed shrine goes beyond ordinary scares. The film builds a massive ‘religious worldview’ that intertwines Korea’s folk shamanistic beliefs, Japan’s legend of the gami-kakushi, Hinduism’s rakshasa, and elements of Protestantism. In particular, Myeongjin reciting Buddhist scriptures stands at the peak of ‘fusion magic spells’, breaking out of the framework of traditional ‘shamanism’. Director Makikiri Kazuyoshi brought the ‘Korean-style all-purpose shaman’ to life on screen with a perfect embodiment that goes beyond the limits of documentation and research.

The texture of the horror feels different. He carried out ‘location filming’ in a raw, unfiltered way, eschewing artificial sets and instead roaming through an actual cold storage warehouse and a deserted ‘abandoned building’. The chilling air that the space exudes transfers intact to viewers beyond the screen. ‘Kim Jae-joong’ recalled that on set, the mesmerizing performance of ‘Kong Seong-ha’ felt like an even more terrifying kind of horror than the demon itself. A synergy created by psychological pressure that goes beyond visual terror and the extreme ‘level of immersion’ from the actors. In addition, the ‘original soundtrack (OST)’ performed live by the starring actor further deepens the film’s strange and chilly atmosphere.

The path of ‘Kim Jae-joong’, who perfectly controls both worlds of singer and actor, shows no signs of stopping. His firm resolve to devote himself whenever a stage needs him is a guarantee of the completion level of this ‘Korea-Japan co-production project’. ‘A new kind of resolved fear’ forged as the film grammars of the two countries intersect sharply. ‘Shinsa: Whispers of the Demon’, which promises a cool and chilling catharsis, will squeeze audiences’ breathing space when it opens exclusively in theaters nationwide on the 17th, ‘CGV’s exclusive release’.