If you could have anything you wanted in life, would it be worth selling your soul or would that be a non-negotiable detail? That question is raised in When the Devil Calls Your Name, a South Korean drama series with a modern twist on the German literature classic, Faust. Making a deal with you-know-who grants an individual ten years of their desires before the contract is up. This K-drama unravels its twisty morality tale across sixteen episodes, taking place in the music industry where dark fantasy meets melodrama.
The genre mash-up in When the Devil Calls Your Name can have you grinning at the cheesy, light-hearted scenes one minute, then have you taken aback at how sinister the story becomes. As for the otherworldly figure named in the K-drama’s title, he may not always be the single force of destruction or manipulation at work, but he more than lives up to his reputation. The Devil has endured a long history of unholy on-screen portrayals, where he can be beautiful in the flesh or hide in plain sight as an animal. In this show, the Devil is cunning and powerful, but with a weakness that is hilarious and strikingly human. And like the Devil, the cast of characters here is not what you expect from the first impressions viewers might get.
‘When the Devil Calls Your Name’ Is Inspired by a Famous Cautionary Tale
Ha Rip (Jung Kyung-ho) is a renowned songwriter in South Korea with mega success. All of that success came from a deal he made ten years earlier that would keep him young and be the star he always felt he should have been in his old life. But time goes by fast when he enjoys the rewards of the infernal agreement and, within a very short amount of time, Ha Rip learns his contract will be near its end. Like anyone who realizes their time is almost up, he is determined to extend the terms, if not escape the deal entirely. But the Devil, who will soon claim his soul, won’t be letting the contract become void so easily.
Released in 2019, this K-drama has pretty much everything for everyone in the genre-bending of comedy, drama, mystery, horror, and musical. When the Devil Calls Your Name wraps it together for a modernized take on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust, a tragic play about the scholar, Faust, who makes a deal with the Devil’s representative, Mephistopheles. In exchange for his soul, Faust will be granted worldly pleasures for a set number of years and, when time is up, his soul will be owned by the Devil. There are terrible consequences, and Ha Rip would have been wise to reread Goethe’s work. Inspired by it, When the Devil Calls Your Name even references it in Episode 1 when the contract is signed. But this isn’t a faithful adaptation; it’s a reinterpretation as Ha Rip learns how the Devil tricked him for years, and the songwriter tries to make things right.
The Cast Will Surprise You in ‘When the Devil Calls Your Name’
This is a slight spoiler, but it comes at the very start. Rest assured, the twisty surprises continue in the following episodes. It comes as a bombshell to Ha Rip when he learns there is a catch to his deal other than using his soul as payment. The riches that he enjoys come at a price, and it doesn’t just affect him. Several of his songs are stolen from a young woman and an unsuccessful musician, Kim I-gyeong (Lee Seol). It’s part of the trickery of the Devil that Ha Rip assumed (wrongly) that the music his mind creates is original to him. The saying, “the devil is in the details,” has never been more true than in When the Devil Calls Your Name, where Ha Rip’s success is based on supernatural plagiarism. He decides to correct these mistakes, but don’t expect him to be perfect.
Caring and selfish. The journey Ha Rip goes on makes viewers understand why he would make the deal in the first place and why he would feel remorse for the benefits he reaped. His relationship with I-gyeong becomes more complex as their paths cross, with their pasts as entangled as their present. Among the rest of the characters who get surprising arcs and where there is more than meets the eye, is the Devil himself. Taken over the body of famous actor Mo Tae-gang (Park Sung-woong) is the entity Ryu. In his true demonic form, Ryu is a hideous creature. Masked by the actor’s elegant presence, he can walk among humans and uses the actor’s fame to be admired by the public. He’s a compelling K-drama villain, and it’s both a smart and hilarious concept that Ryu decides to withhold taking Ha Rip’s soul for a specific condition.
The Music in ‘When The Devil Calls Your Name’ Will Make You a Fan
Mo Tae-gang, possessed by Ryu, has a beautiful face but not a beautiful singing voice. Leave it to this K-drama with music artists to have the Devil be tone-deaf, and it’s a flaw that Ha Rip seizes on to prolong his contract. He will help, resulting in scenes where the Devil lip-syncs to Ha Rip’s voice for a crowded performance or arrives to have singing lessons. It pokes fun at the Devil, but he still holds all the cards. This happening in just the first three episodes sets the tone, as well as how important music will be in the story. Set in the world of celebrity stardom, the music industry in particular, the soundtrack is a character on its own in how it takes over scenes to feel the passion of Ha Rip and I-gyeong when they perform.
Flashy, stylized editing brings viewers back and forth from the present to the past or plays up the melodrama. Sunny, hazy cinematography hides the darkness in the light, much like Ryu’s human vessel. And there are extended musical sequences to immerse you in the world. When the Devil Calls Your Name explores the consequences of signing your soul for self-gain. It’s never going to go well. If, for some reason, you ever thought about why Faust never got reinterpreted as a fantasy K-drama, your wish is granted without a soul-entrapping deal required.