Director Jang Jae Hyun, who has often delved into stories exploring exorcism, debates between religious ideologies and ritual practices, has created a intricate, multi-layered supernatural thriller Exhuma that also draws on a traumatic historical past.
Top talents starred, led by acclaimed star Choi Min-sik of Aged Boy fame, Kim Go Eun (“Goblin,” “Little Women”) and Lee Do Hyun (“Glory, Good Bad Mother”). Exhuma turned out to be the biggest blockbuster in all of America Korea and the biggest Korean of all time. With the hit traversing Vietnam, Indonesia and North America, Exhuma comes to India.
The story begins in Los Angeles when two shamans Hwa Rim (Kim Go Eun) and her assistant Bong Gil (Lee Do Hyun) are called by Park Ji-yong (Kim Jae-chul), an influential Korean-American, to cure his troubled situation Child.
Hwa Rim discovers the child, like all firstborns in the family, surrounded by a malevolent presence. The source is an elder in the family, Ji Yong’s grandfather, an influential man faithful to the Japanese. The only solution is to exhume his grave, which is located in Korea. Hwa Rim enlists the aid of renowned geomancer Kim Sang Duk and funeral director Ko (Yoo Hai-jin).
However, they discover that the grave, located in an isolated location in the mountains, has inauspicious feng shui, as well as strange markings and an ordinary gravestone.
Kim Sang Duk warns the team with a bad feeling that unearthing this grave will have ominous consequences for everyone.
When Hwa Rim performs a shamanic ritual, an ornate grave is excavated. But even before the exhumation, one of the helpers, who wants to break into its interior, opens it and releases an uncontrolled, sinister spirit that is ready to destroy and wreak havoc. However, it seems that taming this spirit is beyond Hwa Rim’s knowledge. Kim Sang Duk discovers that it is connected to the country’s colonial past with Japan.
Director Jang has crafted a textured script that transcends bloody ghosts and inexplicable situations beyond the realm of logic. It cleverly connects Korea’s brutal and complicated colonial history with Japan, scars that haunt not only the family but also the nation.
You can’t aid but admire the finesse that Choi Min-sik brings to his characters. The man who can best be described as a master actor is once again perfect.
Known for their versatility, Kim Go Eun and Lee Do Hyun once again prove their excellence as actors. The actors have no inhibitions in their performances, showing that even fortune tellers can’t stay in their armor.
Exhuma is a well-crafted and unique supernatural narrative that is both terrifying and riveting.
4/5
