Director Jang Jae Hyun who has often delved into stories exploring exorcism, the debates between ideologies of religion, and ritualistic practices, brings a complex layered supernatural thriller Exhuma, which also links itself to a traumatic historical past.
Starring some of the finest talent led by acclaimed star Choi Min-sik of Old Boy fame, Kim Go Eun( Goblin, Little Women ) and Lee Do Hyun ( The Glory, Good Bad Mother ) Exhuma has emerged as the biggest blockbuster success across S Korea and the biggest Korean of all time. With a hit run across Vietnam, Indonesia as well as North America, Exhuma arrives in India.
The story opens in Los Angeles when two shamans Hwa Rim (Kim Go Eun) and her assistant Bong Gil (Lee Do Hyun) have been summoned by Park Ji-yong (Kim Jae-chul), an influential Korean American man to cure his distressed infant.
Hwa Rim discovers the baby like all the firstborns of the family, is surrounded by an ominous presence. The source is the family’s elder, Ji Yong’s grandfather who was an influential man who bore allegiance to the Japanese. The only way out is to exhume his grave, which is in Korea. Hwa Rim enlists the help of renowned geomancer Kim Sang Duk and funeral director Ko (Yoo Hai-jin).
However, they discover the grave which is in a secluded spot on the mountain has inauspicious feng shui as well as strange markings and a plain headstone.
Kim Sang Duk warns the team with foreboding that unearthing this grave would bring sinister repercussions for all.
As Hwa Rim performs a shamanistic ritual the ornate grave is unearthed. But even before it is exhumed, one of the helpers who is greedy to raid its inside opens it and it unleashes an uncontrollable malevolent spirit which is all set to destroy and wreak havoc. But it seems taming this spirit is beyond Hwa Rim’s expertise. Kim Sang Duk discovers its tied up with the country’s colonial past with Japan.
Director Jang gives a textured screenplay which goes beyond bloody ghosts, and inexplicable situations beyond the realm of logic. He cleverly blends Korea’s violent and complicated colonial history with Japan, the scars which not only haunt the family but the nation as well.
One cannot help but marvel at the finesse with which Choi Min-sik brings to his characters. The man who can be best described as a masterclass in acting is once again pitch-perfect.
Kim Go Eun and Lee Do Hyun known for their versatility, once again prove their excellence as actors. Showcasing how even diviners too can’t keep themselves armoured, the actors are uninhibited in their performances.
Exhuma is a well crafted, and outstanding supernatural narrative which scares you as well as keeps you riveted.
4/5