Exhuma

Film: Exhuma (Pamyo)

Year: 2024

Directors: Jae-hyun Jang

Writers: Jae-hyun Jang

Starring: Kim Go-eun, Choi Min-sik and Lee Do-hyun

Review:

This was a movie that had its poster displayed at the Gateway Film Center and they were showing the trailer on the televisions above the ticket center. While I was waiting, I looked this up to learn that it is a 2024 film and in the horror genre. It went on a list of movies to check out. Decided to make it a Featured Review since I tend to enjoy films from South Korea. I’ve now given it a second watch as this is streaming on Shudder to see how it sat for my end of year list.

Synopsis: the process of excavating an ominous grave unleashes dreadful consequences buried underneath.

We have multiple moving parts. There is a duo that are shaman in Hwarim (Kim Go-eun) and Bong Gil (Lee Do-hyung). We see them doing a cleansing ritual at the start. It then takes over to a geomancer, Kim Sang Deok (Choi Min-sik). He works with Ko Young Geun (Yoo Hae-jin), who is a funeral director. What is important to note here is that they work with rich families to find the best plot to get their loved one to the afterlife. Kim is the best at what he does, but he makes a comment later that it is also a scam.

There is then a rich family that needs help. Part of them live in the United States. One of which is a president of a company, Kim (Hong Seo-jun). He has a newborn son and there is something wrong, but the doctors cannot figure out why. This leads him to seek out the aid of the shaman. What they learn is that they have an ancestor they believe is coming after the baby. This ancestor is buried on a plot of land that is overlooking the border of South and North Korea. Kim and Ko are called in with the former thinking it is odd.

The family doesn't want to reveal too many details. It turns out that this ancestor in question was a Japanese sympathizer. He was working with someone from this rival nation during World War II and a monk at a nearby temple was the reason this plot was selected. It seems the monk was also a geomancer. Dark secrets need to be revealed before it is too late. There could also be a darker, more evil spirit at work here.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. I should reveal here that I wrote this review days after seeing this. This was one that I knew I needed to see again after that first watch. There are vibes of The Wailing for me. I'll get into why and I'm not ready to say this is as good. There are just story elements and atmosphere.

I do compare this to that other movie because we are in a modern world while still using pagan beliefs. There are elements of Christianity as well so we're seeing how these differ. This family that is plagued in the beginning has moved to the United States. I get the idea that they're converted to Christianity, at least the younger members have. There is a grandmother who remembers this ancestor that is haunting them, back when he was alive. She clings to beliefs of the past. Not fully though, because she pushes back against Hwarim, Bong and Kim. I can't fault her. Looking at things logically, it doesn't make sense. She also believes they’re taking advantage of the family. When there is a child at risk, I would fall into beliefs that I don't currently hold for help if everything is failing around me. As a newer parent myself, I'd do whatever I needed to protect them. Just an idea I needed to explore here and I liked this aspect being part of the story.

Getting back then to that original thought, we also have the shaman and geomancer needing to do pagan rituals to defeat this evil spirit. What I love here, that also goes back to The Wailing, we don't know if it will help. They are in over their head and try to do what they know has worked in the past. I love that since it builds tension. Going against something that is stronger than you helps build the atmosphere as well. There is also the idea of other cultures coming into play against Korean. Japanese at the time the ancestor died were the enemy. This spirit still holds on to this idea, in reverse. I love the look of it and I'll come back to that. We also have the US looming with the modern belief system as well.

Something I want to say here is that I'm not going to spoil this movie. Having now seen this again, I do like the investigation and how certain things click when more information is discovered. Kim, Hwarim and Bong find clues and that leads to more evidence they need. I do like stories structured like this so that helps. There are callbacks as well. An example without going into details too much, we see foxes when they arrive at the gravesite. Kim states that is a bad omen. There is more to this though and a line that gets said. I’ll paraphrase but it is ‘the fox severs the tiger’s spine’. There’s also things with elements as well. This is a movie that receives help from multiple watches.

Shifting from this, I'll say that the acting helps here. I believe these characters are who they're supposed to be. Go-eun is attractive and I like her as this female shaman. She works well off Do-hyun. There is something interesting here where he is hospitalized so she needs to do what she can to save him. I also liked seeing Min-sik. He's an actor that in the limited roles I've seen of his, he has been great in all. I like Hae-jin as his sidekick. He doesn't seem to believe as much so he's worried about how it helps or hurts them financially. Other than that, the rest of the cast fitted what was needed. Special credit to the voice for the Japanese spirit. That was terrifying.

All that is left then is filmmaking. Where I'll start here is cinematography. I love how they capture the different locations we are at. It could be a small-time morgue in a village. There's the temple where a terrifying encounter goes down. We get a glimpse of a hospital room in the US. The best though is this remote gravesite where everything stems. I love how they captured this so credit as well to the framing. Then to talk about the effects. These are limited, but what we got was good. There is blood that looks real. Other than that, I thought the soundtrack fit what was needed. I'll bring up again the sound design when it comes to the voice of the Japanese ghost, which was creepy. All this helps to build the atmosphere that was needed.

In conclusion, this was a movie that when I originally saw it, no one was talking about. Now that it has hit Shudder, I’m glad it is being seen. I'm guessing that is due to its limited theatrical run. I'm a fan of the premises here. This being pagan vs. religion, traditional vs. modern and having the elements of a haunting. It also being Korean helps here. I thought this was well-made from the cinematography, framing, the look of the spirits and the sound design. The acting also helps to bring the characters to life. This won't be for everyone, but if what I've said sounds good, I recommend giving this a watch, as it got better the second time around.

My Rating: 9 out of 10