Jae-hyun Jang’s latest outing, Exhuma, blends folk horror with a profound exploration of historical trauma. Like Jang’s earlier works — The Priests (2015) and Svaha: The Sixth Finger (2019) — Exhuma takes viewers along a labyrinth of dense lore and supernatural horror.
Ji-yong (Jae-cheol Kim) faces a dire situation when his newborn is afflicted by a curse that has plagued generations of men in his family. Frustrated with modern medicine’s inability to come up with a cure, Ji-yong seeks out a shaman named Hwa-rim (Go-eun Kim). Accompanied by her assistant Bong-gil (Do-hyun Lee), Haw-rim identifies the issue as the ‘grave’s call’ — an ancestral spirit haunting Ji-yong’s lineage.
Hwa-rim enlists the expertise of seasoned geomancer Sang-deok (Choi Min-sik) and his assistant Yeong-geun (Hae-jin Yoo). They decide to exhume Ji-yong’s grandfather’s body from its unmarked grave on the North Korea-South Korea border, aiming to relocate or cremate the disruptive spirit and bring peace to the family.
The four of them travel to the family patriarch’s mountaintop resting place and as their investigation deepens, a series of occurrences blurs the line between logic and the supernatural for them. Thematically, the film delves into the depths of greed, offering a poignant reflection of our innate desires.
Go-eun Kim delivers a stellar act as Hwa-rim, moving from unwavering resolve to unnerving vulnerability that propels the plot towards the climax. It is complemented by Choi Min-sik’s nuanced performance as Sang-deok, acting as a beacon of reason in the chaos.
Exhuma demands complete attention from its viewers as every scene is integral to the larger narrative. Jang’s decision to structure the film into six chapters proves crucial, facilitating a thorough exploration of the themes of lore, spirituality and Korea’s painful history. It keeps viewers on the edge of their seats right from the beginning, culminating in a dizzying climax.
If you are not impatient, the 135-minute runtime will unfold like a slow-burn horror, featuring desolate mountains with spiritual chants whispering in the air. Notably absent are clichéd jumpscares like creaking doors and monsters leaping from behind the characters, contributing to more nuanced atmospherics.
