Lee Hwa-rim (Kim Go-eun) and Yoon Bong-gil (Lee Do-hyun) are a shaman duo that offers their services to those that are plagued by the vengeful spirits of deceased family members… like the one plaguing the wealthy Park family, and let me tell ya, this one’s a fuckin’ doozy of a creepy case.
So complex is the job, that our heroes call in the help of geomancer Kim Sang-deok (Choi Min-sik) and his coroner partner Go Yeong-geun (Yoo Hae-jin) to assist in the exhumation of the relative’s coffin via a traditional ceremony after which the coffin and remains will be cremated.
No matter how seasoned our shamans are, things go tits up with the quickness once a rain delay keeps that corpse from getting crispy (can’t burn ’em on a soggy day… bad luck) and of course some ass just has to go and open the coffin setting the evill spirit free to go on a supernatural bender that spells bad times for the Park’s.
But as horrible as events become, they don’t hold a candle to the hell that’s unleashed from a second, rather large coffin that is found at the exhumation site. Do shamans have health insurance, because these folks are going to need it!
Coming from writer/director Jang Jae-hyun, Exhuma is a slow burn supernatural shocker much more concerned about atmosphere and dread than it is with jump scares… and that is a wickedly wonderful thing indeed!
The film presents many strong contrasts; busy cities and posh hotels function nearly oblivious to the ancient land that sits just beyond the assumed safety of it’s borders… a cold, Autumnal, foggy place where spirits and monsters are very, very real and dealt with via ancient folk traditions near forgotten by the modern age.
This theme is echoed in the character of Lee Hwa-rim who traverses the human world with a calm, cool demeanor, but is absolutely willing to go primal to perform arcane rites drenched in blood and ash. It’s a solid acting turn from Kim Go-eun, and is but one of many strong performances featured in the film with special mention given to Choi Min-sik who’s portrayal of Kim Sang-deok is sympathetic and believable no matter what the other side throws his way.
It’s that strong characterization that makes us invested in the strange, dark journey our heroes take and keeps the audience on the edge of their seat as things go from bad to worse as ancient evil stalks the land.
Speaking of that evil, Exhuma displays a number of solid practical effects and suits with the digital shenanigans kept to a minimum which keeps things visceral and tangible even though we are dealing with ghosts… more contrasts!
As for special features to accompany the main event, things are light on this Blu-ray release from Well Go USA and include a brief “making of” featurette and the film’s trailer.
Bottom line: Exhuma is a fantastic slice of Korean folk horror mixed with the dynamics of the modern world and shouldn’t be missed by lovers of the arcane!
