Exhuma (2024) – Review

Quick Thoughts – B+ – Directed by K-occult master Jang Jae-hyun (The Priests, Svaha: The Sixth Finger), the wildly successful Exhuma is a solid example of slow burn storytelling that expertly blends South Korean history with gnarly action scenes involving people being ripped apart by ghosts.

While writing Exhuma during the pandemic, director and writer Jang Jae-hyun decided to write an entertaining film that turned away from safe options and focused on shamanism, feng shui and funerals. His idea to create a fun genre experience was successful as Exhuma is the highest grossing South Korean film of 2024 (so far) and has gained positive buzz all around the world. After pulling in $85 million, it joins the ranks of other successful South Korean horror films like Train to Busan, A Tale of Two Sisters, The Wailing and Dr. Cheon and the Lost Talisman. It’s been compared to The Wailing (listen to our pod episode about it!), but I’ve found the comparison to be lazy as Exhuma is a more mainstream experience that won’t punch your soul in the face and make you seek sunshine and fresh air to soothe your frazzled nerves. Exhuma has found success because it’s moderately scary, well-acted, and features a twisty plot that turns the screws on the likable characters and audience. 

Exhuma Focuses on a feng-shui expert, an undertaker, and two young shaman exorcists who get in over their heads when they accept a job from a well-meaning businessman who wants to save his newborn son from a “Graves Call” curse that’s being perpetrated by an ancestor’s vengeful spirit. It’s an unusual job because it requires the digging up of a body located on the top of a sinister mountain near the North Korea border. At first, Kim Sang-deok (Choi Min-sik), a feng shui master and geomancer wants nothing to do with the gravesite because it’s’ clearly home to something horrible. However, he’s talked into completing the job by his mortician friend Yeong-geun (Yoo Hae-jin) and a pair of Shaman named Lee Hwa-rim (Kim Go-eun) and Yoon Bong-girl (Lee Do-hyun). After a successful ritual sees that coffin being lifted out of the grave without any horrible Raiders of the Lost Ark-esque catastrophes, a series of unfortunate events unfold and lead to more unfortunate events that force the group to solve the mystery before an ancient evil murders many people. I really don’t want to give away more of the plot because a big part of the fun is not knowing where everything is headed (and then researching South Korean history to fully understand what was happening). The most important thing is that the always incredible Choi Min-Sik (listen to our I Saw the Devil pod episode) is in the movie and he delivers a warm and likable performance that showcases his digging skills and ability to look believable while battling a giant ghost. 

If you’re looking for an entertaining supernatural tale that blends jump scares, mysteries and South Korean history into a compelling story, I totally recommend that you check out Exhuma.