The Lunar New Year TV series "In Hell Village" recently had its early media premiere. This is Vietnam's first period horror series with cinematic quality.
The project brings together a multi-generational cast of talented actors from both North and South Vietnam, including Quang Tuan, Nguyen Thao, Vo Tan Phat, Lan Phuong, and others. In particular, the return to the screen of veteran actors such as Meritorious Artist Phu Don, Meritorious Artist Van Bau, Meritorious Artist Hanh Thuy, and Meritorious Artist Chieu Xuan is also something audiences are eagerly anticipating.
To fully embody their roles, the actors had to live with the characters, wearing makeup for extended periods, and deliver immersive performances under the harsh weather conditions and numerous hardships of Ha Giang .
Overcoming initial apprehension, many actors expressed surprise and excitement at the unprecedented experience of filming a long-running series. Sharing her thoughts on the role of Thập Nương, Lan Phương emphasized: “I didn't play a human, but a demon. This is the most intense role I've ever taken on in my many years in the profession, because of the internal conflict between the bloodthirsty demon and the resentful human being, the complex inner world of the character.”
Actress Lan Phuong.
She also humorously shared about the journey to Ha Giang, and how the filming process was equally grueling. “The road to the film set in Ha Giang was only accessible by motorbike. The road was narrow, with a cliff on one side and a deep ravine on the other, very frightening. I had to travel seven times from the filming location back to Hanoi to shoot scenes for the film 'Our Family Suddenly Happy'. Sitting on the back of the motorbike, I was extremely scared, and sometimes the motorbike ran out of gas in the middle of the road,” she recounted.
The actress added that the filming location had no electricity, running water, or phone signal. Furthermore, the distance from everyone's tents to the restrooms was considerable.
Lan Phương recounts her "intense experience" while filming.
Lan Phuong revealed: "There were days when I was covered in blood and grime, and the walk to the toilet was nearly 1km long, with no electricity and completely deserted. To lessen the fear, I had to sing while walking. Because it was a mountainous area, the water was also freezing cold, so I was shivering and numb from the cold while removing my makeup."
There were nights when I was sleeping in my tent and there were loud bangs on the roof. I was terrified but didn't know what to do. This film was the most intense experience of my career."
The cast of "Tet in Hell Village".
Meritorious Artist Chieu Xuan also revealed that she was so captivated by the images on the set that she happily accepted the role as soon as the director called, and immediately took a bus to Ha Giang that night so as not to miss the filming.
Meritorious Artist Hạnh Thuý said that just stepping onto the set made her feel that the character was completely different from what she had imagined when reading the script, "it was the first time I was so obsessed with a role." Meritorious Artist Văn Báu said that in the scene where he summons the spirits of children in the village, he seemed to have become an elder, "unable to distinguish between the real and the unreal, between himself and the character."
For Quang Tuan, he specifically "searched extensively for materials on the speech patterns of people from the past to perfectly embody the role." After much deliberation, Meritorious Artist Phu Don also decided to "sell his soul to the director."
Meanwhile, Nguyen Thao and Vo Tan Phat both burst into tears when they first saw the realistic setting of Hell Village, just like in the novel, naturally becoming villagers themselves.
Meritorious Artist Phu Don, Quang Tuan, and Nguyen Thao are the three main characters in the film.
Adapted from the bestselling novel of the same name by writer Thao Trang, Tet in Hell Village vividly recreates the eerie village hidden in the wild mountains and forests, the dwelling place of the descendants of a notorious bandit gang from the Nguyen dynasty in Dang Trong.
The villagers here suffer a great calamity during the traditional Lunar New Year due to the karmic consequences of their ancestors. The film exposes the barbaric crimes stemming from deep-seated resentment and the Vietnamese concept of karma and retribution through horrifying folk practices such as skull wine, effigies, and soul-summoning.
The series consists of 12 episodes, each 45 minutes long, and will air at 8 PM every Monday and Tuesday starting October 23rd on K+ television.
Ngoc Thanh
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