Exhuma

Exhuma is a South Korean horror film that has garnered critical acclaim for its suspenseful atmosphere and exploration of Korean folklore. The narrative delves into themes of family history and hidden truths, uncovering a chilling mystery. As the characters investigate deeper, they encounter a series of unexplained events that blur the lines between reality and the supernatural. Exhuma has been lauded for its unique blend of Korean folklore with classic horror tropes. This fresh approach is said to create a suspenseful and unsettling cinematic experience. Critics have also commended the film's slow-burn pacing, which keeps viewers engaged as the mystery gradually unfolds. Exhuma is likely to appeal to fans of horror cinema who enjoy films that weave cultural themes into their narratives.

Not bad, not stellar, but worth a watch if you have nothing better to do.

Again, not necessarily a new concept - an ancient grave is disturbed leading to a vengeful spirit wreaking havoc on anyone in its path.

This korean language flick had some spooky vibes to it and was pretty atmospheric. It takes some time for it to gain its footing, laying out the team of characters and their "roles" and then jumps right into the good stuff. It does drag in the middle a bit but the final act had some pretty decent moments.

The ghost/spirit design was creepy and the way it appears was also pretty cool. But ill say i wasnt really scared during the duration of this, expect for maybe the first introduction of the spirit, but after that, it was a little predictable. It does lead you in one direction and then pulls a hard turn halfway through so it keeps the overall story from becoming stagnant. But once the reveal happens, the suspense and spookiness die down a little once you get a good glimpse of the spooky stuff.

This is a soft reco for anyone into korean horror - its a decent addition to the catalog so worth checking out if korean horror is your thing, but dont expect "old boy" level acting or twists (even though "old boy" himself is in it!) .

"Kim" (Choi Min-sik) is what they call a geomancer. He advises people on the best places for them to bury their loved ones. It's all about feng shui. Woebetide anyone who gets it wrong for a disgruntled ancestor can come back and visit retribution on anyone who mucks that process up - just ask the grandchild who though he would retain grandma's false teeth as as souvenir! Anyway, the wealthy "Park" (Kim Jae-cheol) and his family appear to have a secret that he and the more spiritual pairing of "Hwarim" (Kim Go-eun) and "Bong Gil" (Lee Do-hyun) might be able to help with. Even as far away as in the United States, his family are being tormented by a spirit. They are all led to a remote grave atop a hill that is marked simply by a plain gravestone with no name, just some seemingly random numbers. The buried man was of some importance so the fact that his grave was not ideally placed (only 65/100 on the best plot to have scale) arouses suspicion. They proceed to exhume the uniquely carved juniper coffin and decide to cremate it, but it's considered unlucky to do this in wet weather so leaving it respectfully dressed, plan to complete the process in the morning. This is their first mistake for overnight it falls prey to an inquisitive member of their team who releases an even more menacing entity bent on revenge on all those who left him at 65%! That is just the start of their woes, though. Returning to the grave for a ritual, they discover an even larger, chain-wrapped, box buried vertically - and one with no name, neither! It's now we head straight into "Mummy" mode and the adventure really does pick up. Can they identify this leviathan of menace and terror and thwart it's centuries-old battle plan? I did quite enjoy this. It taps into a fascinating mix of mysticism and legend whilst adding a dose of modern day cynical exploitation (they get paid over $500,000 for their relocation "fee") and as the story moves along you wouldn't want to be a chicken - or a pig, either! The largely dark and wet scenarios work well with the sparing usual of visual effects and a strong ensemble performance that keeps the story of dreams and nightmares moving along well for 2¼ hours of well made and at times quite scary ancient horror.

Disturbing, eerie, and tense, the first half of Exhuma is an explosive mixture of south korean folklore and mythicism. It effectively evokes the universal dread and mystery regarding the afterlife, and what we, people still living and walking on this earth, can and should do with regards to that. The spiritual and supernatural bridge dangling between the two worlds. It works excellently as a paranormal occult horror film. Great atmosphere, never looses the steam, with fairly memorable moments.

But then it reaches the mid point of the film, something happens that made me not exactly sure about how I feel about this film as whole. To be clear: I still did like it a lot and it is nonetheless a strong film, but the aforementioned uneasiness and tension quickly goes away, and never quite reaches the same high as the previous half. It is a reveal/decision that I do appreciate: it is ambitious, creative, and is a big swing that we do not often see in a south Korean film. Also helps that practical effects accompanying it are simply amazing. However, the tonal shift/jarring nature of it kinda turned me off. I do recommend going into the film completely blind!

Kinda torn between 3.5 and 4 stars. It the film carried the strengths of the first two acts to the third act, and kept the film more consistent, it easily would've been4 stars and maybe 4.5. Again, still a great film and I highly recommend this to anyone interested in horror films with uniquely korean/asian DNA embedded to it.

Shamanistic rituals, curses, folklore, history, feng shui, omens, grave digging, ghosts, demonic beings and a built in sequel to the original story. This film has it all.

The initial plot of this film revolves around a group of spiritualists trying to save a baby from a curse that is plaguing the first born sons of a prosperous bloodline. This could be a stand alone storyline but just when you think the story has come full circle, we are introduced to a follow-up storyline that delves deeper into causation. It is quite a ride.

The film was a bit muddled for me as a lay person simply because I lack knowledge regarding some of it's Korean cultural and spiritualistic aspects. I would've liked things to have been slowed down a bit and better explained but the film is already a bit long. I would've liked it to been two movies so that would've been ample time to dive deeper and provide better insight for me.

That being said, the atmosphere is well constructed, dark and really compliments the story. It felt really foreboding at times. The actors were all well seasoned and the effects were immersive and captivating.

I really enjoyed it so if you like Asian horror, you should definitely check it out.