108. Exhuma; movie review

 

EXHUMA

Cert 15

133 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong violence, bloody images, horror

It's been the supernatural hit of the year and Exhuma is exhausting from its first minute.

Jang Jae-hyun's movie delves into myriad elements of South Korean culture and history, so the viewer needs to have their wits about them.

Although it is fantasy, it is so well executed that it even had me wondering whether there is a strain of truth.

There are echoes of The Da Vinci Code in Exhuma as a team led by Choi Min-sik finds themselves up against mysterious and sinister forces.

The springboard for Exhuma is the call from a desperate Korean American family plagued by a curse that seems to have attached itself to a baby.

They hire a shaman (Kim Go-eun) and her apprentice (Lee Do-hyun) to carry out rituals to save the child but she detects the presence of a vengeful ancestor's spirit.

The feng shui master and his undertaker friend (Yoo Hae-jin) join them in locating the ancestor's grave to move the body to appease the spirit.

However, they find a site of unfathomable evil and the exhumation could threaten them all and even their country.

The race to devise and execute the plan to contain the evil spirit is very fast and a lot of the action happens in dark surroundings, so concentration is demanded.

But thanks to the quality of the cast, I was fully invested in the team with stand-out performances by Choi and Kim.

I also love the respect that Koreans give to each other. Everyone knows each other's specialism and only teamwork will defeat evil.

Then there are the special effects, vats of blood and a thick seam of history.

It all adds up to an intoxicating mix which has understandably gone down well with audiences worldwide.

Reasons to watch: Tense supernatural thriller

Reasons to avoid: Rituals are a tad confusing

Laughs: None 

Jumps: None

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 7.5/10

Did you know? There are around 200,000 practitioners of Korean shamanism and they can also be found around.

The final word. Jang Jae-hyun: "I honestly enjoy the attention the movie has received. Topics on shamanism, feng shui and funerals are getting public attention and being talked around because they are deeply attached to the Korean culture." Korean Herald

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