A group of shamans excavate a grave they shouldn’t have and unleash an evil spirit.
The sum is not greater than its parts. Many elements, such as the historical facts about Korea and Japan, the characters, and the shamanic rituals, give the film an unlikely realism. These elements draw the viewer, who constantly wants to know more about what has happened, what is happening, and what will, ultimately, happen. The film’s story is engaging and constantly moves forward in the intended direction. What’s more, the acting is great! Here’s the “but”, though…
The story drags, and too much information is added in the process. It gets way too complicated as more and more are added to the grandfather’s escapades and shenanigans, and, in the end, the relationship between the demon and the grandfather and what the shamans need to do becomes unclear. Inadvertently, Exhuma‘s pace and rhythm cannot find a balance, affecting both the drama and the horror. To top it up, the visual effects don’t complement the pile of all that information, disillusioning the eerie atmosphere writer/director Jang Jae-hyun struggles to create.
The rituals are real hence the so much detail they include. The need to constantly explain what is happening, though, affects the visual storytelling negatively, overshadowing all most of the film’s qualities. A similar film that accomplishes that illusion with its rituals (despite its own flaws) is A Dark Song (2016): https://kaygazpro.com/a-dark-song-2016-drama-fantasy-horror/.
Despite the way I feel about Exhuma, Korean cinema still remains on the top of my list and I’ll come back with more positive reviews about films that you may or may not have heard.
Thanks for reading!
Please, don’t forget to share and subscribe. If you enjoy my work and dedication to films, please feel free to support me on https://www.patreon.com/kaygazpro. Any contribution is much appreciated and valued.
Solidarity for all the innocent lives who suffer the atrocities of war!
Stay safe!
