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Exhuma Movie Review

Exhuma is a 2024 South Korean horror film directed by Jang Jae-hyun and starring Choi Min-sik and Kim Go-eun. It’s a flawed, but interesting folk horror.

The process of excavating an ominous grave unleashes long hidden secrets and dreadful consequences buried underneath. This is a very Korean movie first and foremost. I did not understand it fully as somebody who isn’t from that country, but I did highly appreciate its folk national elements that made it feel culturally representative and unique.

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The highlights for me were the supernatural elements. A couple of scenes with the demon were genuinely creepy while the fire sequence was quite memorable. The third act was also strong, featuring a hellish samurai and fun action set pieces. The inclusion of Japanese characters and the troubled history between the two countries made the movie more sophisticated than it otherwise would have been.

With that being said, Exhuma was still quite disappointing at the end of the day, especially in its first half. This is where the movie felt too slow, boring and uneventful. It was a build-up that would never end, making it feel monotonous. Had they quickened the pace and shortened its unnecessarily long runtime the movie would have fared much better overall.

I also did not care for its characters all that much. The acting performances are strong across the board with every actor and actress delivering solid work, but the roles themselves were underwritten and dull. The monsters were much more interesting than the humans here.

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The movie is visually sumptuous, so well shot and also solidly scored. It’s well directed too. This is a folk tale that emphasizes on the supernatural al lot, making it feel classical in a way. It’s elegantly constructed technically. I just wished that it was better paced and structured.