Exhuma

The South Korean supernatural horror movie Exhuma, also called Pamyo, was directed by Jang Jae-hyun. It was a huge box office hit, earning over $97 million worldwide and became the highest-grossing Korean horror movie ever. A rich Korean American family hires shaman Hwa-rim (Kim Go-eun) and her apprentice Bong-gil (Lee Do-hyun) to look into a generational curse that is hurting their newborn boy. They hire mortician Yeong-geun (Yoo Hae-jin) and feng shui expert Kim Sang-deok (Choi Min-sik) to exhume the family's ancestor from a secluded mountain grave close to the North Korean border. In order to create an atmosphere of "disturbing, eerie, and tense" dread, the first half of the film masterfully blends Korean geomancy, shamanistic rites, and historical trauma from the Japanese occupation period. While the sound design and limited use of supernatural imagery—showing ghosts just momentarily in mirrors or reflections—showcase the restraint that sets Korean horror apart from its Western counterparts, the photography does a fantastic job of capturing the misty Korean highlands.

However, the film takes a dramatic tonal shift in its second half that make people divided. After dealing with the vengeful ancestor spirit, the narrative pivots to reveal a deeper horror: a seven-foot Japanese Oni demon buried beneath the original coffin, transforming the film from a ghost story into a monster movie with heavy CGI action sequences. While some audiences appreciate this "two movies in one" structure and the creative ambition of combining Korean and Japanese folklore with World War II history, others find the shift jarring and the latter half "a complete mess" that abandons the atmospheric tension for "weird thriller full of special effects". The performances from the veteran cast—particularly Choi Min-sik's gravitas as the geomancer and Kim Go-eun's intensity as the shaman—remain strong throughout, but the film's 134-minute runtime and dense cultural references may challenge international audiences unfamiliar with Korean shamanism and historical context. Ultimately, Exhuma succeeds as a unique fusion of folk horror and historical commentary, even if its structural unevenness prevents it from reaching the heights of classics like The Wailing.

Staff:

Directed by: Jang Jae-hyun

Written by: Jang Jae-hyun

Produced by: Park Hyeong Jin, Young Min Kim, and Kwon Ji Yong

Starring: Choi Min-sik, Kim Go-eun, Yoo Hae-jin, and Lee Do-hyun.

Cinematography: Lee Mo-gae

Edited by: Jung Byung-jin

Music by: Kim Tae-seong

Production companies: Showbox, Pinetown Productions, and MCMC

Distributed by: Showbox

Release date: February 22, 2024

Running time: 134 minutes