Exhuma finally made its way into our lovely home for a chilling and sometimes confusing (but in a good way) Saturday movie night. Today we review this domestic hit starring Kim Goeun, Lee Dohyun, and the legendary actor Choi Minshik.
I’ve been dying to watch this movie ever since we got the first teasers for it and I feel like it took way too long for the movie to even remotely leave the cinema considering it was such a big domestic hit. Who wouldn’t want to see these leading names in one movie? The wish to watch it only got bigger after both Kim Goeun and Lee Dohyun won Baeksang Award for their acting so I’m happy to say I finally watched it during May (ended up watching it instead of the ESC finale actually). However, before you watch the movie I would consider the following things – the movie goes deeply into Korean folklore, mythology, and their history with Japan so I think the main reason people find the plot confusing is because these things aren’t really explained (considering that there’s no need to explain them to the domestic audience logically). However, if you check out the glossary of some of the terms and folklore figures used in the movie, I reckon it will make for a more thrilling experience. It’s obviously spoilery but I feel like it makes you get the movie better. Now onto our review!
From MyDramaList: After suffering from serial paranormal events, a wealthy family living in LA summons a young rising shaman duo Hwa Rim and Bong Gil to save the newborn of the family. Once they arrive, Hwa Rim senses a dark shadow of their ancestors latched on the family in a so-called ‘Grave Calling’. In order to exhume the grave and relieve the ancestor, Hwa Rim seeks help from top-notch geomancer Sang Deok and mortician Yeong Geun. To their dismay, the four find the grave at a shady location in a remote village in Korea. Unaware of the consequences, the exhumation is carried out, unleashing a malevolent force buried underneath.
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| pondsphuwin |
Now, I did expect Exhuma to obviously be an occult movie but it didn’t hit me how deep they’d go into Korea’s history with Japan (quite unexpectedly?) during it. For me, the movie is absolutely split into two parts – the one dealing with the expected folklore and occult elements and the one dealing with the general and the consequences of his awakening. The characters of Exhuma are not deeply explored – which might lead you to not developing a strong bond with them – but the focus isn’t really on them as much as it’s on the plot and the grave-digging aspect of it all. The cast did a great job with the script they had, although I wish the characters themselves were explored more, and I feel like Kim Goeun really suits these eerie and intriguing stories. She really was one of the best aspects of Exhuma in general. The characters are all very morally gray at times and make decisions that have almost painfully frustrating consequences but without that, the plot wouldn’t have moved forward.
It’s hard to comment on the plot much without spoiling everything about it but I will say be ready for confusion and what-the-hell moments the more movie pushes forward. I will say that I didn’t expect the plot to move in the direction it did and I feel like that’s the only reason I didn’t absolutely love the movie – it starts as one thing and ends with a completely different case of eerie. At times, I wasn’t sure I was understanding things right but I feel like Exhuma is the type of movie that really should be seen in a movie theater for that full creepy experience. It’s not a horror – if that’s what you’re expecting – but more oriented towards the folklore and the Korean history itself, making it somewhat a cultural experience for me. I had to look up quite a lot of terms and points online before and after I’ve watched it because I felt like I have missed out on so many important points by not being familiar with the topics discussed. Either way, it really did keep my attention until the very end and I can say that I’m happy the ending was pretty solid!
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| leedongwook |
Was Exhuma entertaining, eerie, and keeping me on the edge of my seat? Yes. Do I think the progress and the outline of the storyline could’ve been better? Also yes. Connecting deeper with these characters would’ve made a greater impact on me but I do understand that the focus was more on the consequences of their actions rather than their lives themselves. Either way, 2 hours passed by very quickly and I feel like the movie did accomplish what it wanted – to showcase a unique profession and story and intrigue the viewers with the mythology and history they will be familiar with. For the international audience, this one might be a hit or miss, but the cast is great and makes it more exciting to follow what’s happening. It’s a 7.75/10 for me in the end.
PS. If you enjoy the occult themes, you have to watch Revenant if you haven’t yet! One of my 2023 favourites and so criminally underrated.