Exhuma [Movie Review]

Exhuma [Movie Review] | I heard about Exhuma while driving. Intrigued, I searched for its trailers and those trailers got me excited.

Of course I have to watch it on the big screen. 

SYNOPSIS

Exhuma (2024) Trivia

• Hangul: 파묘
• Revised Romanization: Pamyo
• Starring: Choi Min-sik, Kim Go-eun, Yoo Hae-jin & Lee Do-hyun
• Director: Jang Jae-hyun
• Producer: Kim Young-min
• Production Company: Showbox, Pinetown Productions & MCMC
• Distributed by: Showbox 
• Release date: February 22, 2024
• Running time: 134 minutes
• Rating: TV-MA
  
• Country: South Korea
  
• Language: Korean
• IMDb: 7.4/ 10
• Tomatometer: 77%
• Metascore: NA
• The rituals performed were learnt from real shamans.
• As of March 20, 2024, the film has grossed US$69,221,721 from 9,522,759 admissions, making it the highest grossing film among the South Korean films released in 2024. "Exhuma" on March 24 became the first movie to surpass 10 million in ticket sales this year, on its 32nd day in theaters, according to Showbox.

The movie starts with shaman Hwa-rim travels to Los Angels with Bong-gil, her apprentice to ascertain a new born baby of a wealthy Korean family won't stop crying since birth. Ji-Yong, the father is certain that his baby is cursed since his grandfather's death. Hwa-rim advises that they need to exhume the grandfather's body and cremate the remains in hope that the spirit will rest.

Hwa-rim ropes in Sang-duk, a renowned geomancer to assist with the exhumation and Young-geun, a funeral director. 

When they arrives at the grandfather's grave, everyone was bewildered as to why the grave was unmarked near the top of a wooded mountain. Reflecting on the grandfather being someone with power and wealth, he should have been buried ceremoniously with marked tombstone.

Sang-duk realises that the location is not spiritually clean upon tasting the earth, which requires Haw-rim to perform an elaborate ritual to cleanse the plot prior to digging the grave. As they make their way to the crematorium, the rain pours. No cremation should be done when it rains, according to Sang-duk.

The coffin is sent to the nearest hospital while waiting for the weather to allow the crematorium and no one was supposed to open it, but one greedy person opens it as there were humours that the coffin has wealth buried with it. Instead, when the lid was open, it allows the enraged spirit to be freed and it starts haunting its family members - wanting to kill them one by one. 

Hwa-rim has to perform another ritual to contain the spirit, but failed. After so much work done by all, they finally managed to cremate the coffin. And they are delighted that the worst is over.

However, they find another coffin underneath the first coffin. And this one was buried standing. 

Why was it buried in such manner? What comes out of it and what will the group do?

MY REVIEW

Plot: 4.9/ 5.0 Oh my! It was truly a learning experience, albeit being a scary one. I love that the rituals were shot beautifully and I would say extensively, giving us the glimpse of the South Korean's culture - the soil tasting and the feng shui aspects too.

The scare moments are a lot - I was literally covering my eyes a few times (I don't cover my eyes when I anticipate scare moments, I cover my ears).

Just when I was about to calm a bit, another surprise comes and I was taken on a ride with this one. 

A beautiful horror movie that educates me about the South Korean ritual. 

Cast: 4.7/ 5.0 A beautiful cast that manages to display all emotions beautifully.

Will I Watch It Again: Yes, I would!

The pictures are taken from multiple sources on the Internet. Thank you.

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