Exhuma (2024) Review – A Masterful And Atmospheric South Korean Folk Horror

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today, we are taking a look at a fantastic new supernatural folk-horror movie out of South Korea – Exhuma (Pamyo).

Another brilliant South Korean horror

Exhuma follows the story of a group of people who relocate the graves of deceased people to better accommodate them in their afterlife. Korean legend suggests that direction, surrounding land, soil quality, and many other factors play a part in the suitability of a burial site. When a newborn baby is cursed with an illness, the family believes that their ancestor is haunting them. They need to be reburied to end the curse. Little do they realise that they will be digging up a lot more than just the remains of a human.

Exhuma hails from one of the greatest horror powerhouses on earth – South Korea. South Korea has been knocking it out of the park in the horror world for years. And while everyone knows about some of their recent horror hits like The Wailing, #Alive, Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum, and Train to Busan, Exhuma feels just that little bit different.

While South Korea does like to tell ghost stories, they tend towards thrillers and other horror subjects more. With Exhuma, there is a strong focus on the paranormal that you don’t see quite as much in recent years. The supernatural elements form the central support beam of the story. Exhuma almost feels like South Korea’s attempt at a classic J-horror flick.

It’s very effective

This slow-moving and considered approach to supernatural horror storytelling works very well. The story builds quite methodically at first. This hints at a reason for the somewhat exhausting runtime of over two hours. There is a lot of establishing of lore and exposition related to the characters involved and their fitment into the story itself, as well as some simple scene setting and more in-depth historical explanations for the events taking place.

“Exhuma almost feels like South Korea’s attempt at a classic J-horror flick.”

It’s a bit convoluted but hey, this is an Asian ghost story. What did you expect? With that in mind, Exhuma does what Asian supernatural horror does best. It’s both creepy and atmospheric throughout.

It dips into a mix of traditional Asian ghost tales, spiritual folklore, mythology, tradition, and themes of the occult, blending it all together perfectly with a whole bunch of real-life Korean history in an extremely engaging horror format.

Exhuma skips nothing when it comes to the supernatural. It’s like writer, director Jang Jae-hyun wanted to tick off every box on the list of Asian supernatural horror tropes. We have curses, shamanistic rituals, the occult, historical references, ghosts, possessions, chanting, ceremonies, fancy coffins, and even a bit of Feng Shui thrown in for good measure. This is a veritable bingo card of ghost horror stuff.

A film of two halves

Whereas you may be expecting Exhuma to maintain that slow, considered approach throughout, it actually turns out to be something of a tale of two halves. The first half focuses heavily on exposition, mood setting, and establishing of lore. The second half transforms into something altogether different. I wouldn’t quite say it becomes an action horror, but things certainly ramp up a fair bit and, all of a sudden, we have a very different feeling movie on our hands.

The slow build steps aside to allow some fairly exhilarating horror sequences to push through. The spirits become larger than life and we almost find ourselves having a traditional ghostly horror antagonist to contend with. The characters are now fighting for their lives in a way you really couldn’t have imagined when you first started watching. It’s an interesting decision and one that I, honestly, enjoyed.

“Exhuma takes a big risk and it pays off majorly. It’s tons of fun, very unique, and genuinely captivating.”

I am a huge fan of Asian horror and have watched a ton of it. I was legitimately surprised to see the way this movie changed, as I was entirely expecting it to carry on methodically moving towards the finish line, never once giving up its slow-burn story and legions of exposition. Exhuma takes a big risk and it pays off majorly. It’s tons of fun, very unique, and genuinely captivating, especially once it gets going.

The change up in pacing might cause some whiplash

There’s going to be a whiplash effect for some. You can’t transform a film so drastically and not expect to upset some viewers. Going from a slow-paced supernatural horror to a bunch of characters battling something otherworldly in intense horror sequences is going to divide some people. I think it really works, though.

The second half really ups the stakes. I appreciated some of the effects and seriously enjoyed the historical aspects. The way Jang Jae-hyun blends traditional Korean folklore and beliefs with modern horror deserves praise. It works fantastically.

“The blending of tradition, folklore, demons, and historical references makes for a thoroughly interesting story.”

Acting is fantastic throughout. Particular mention goes to Kim Go-eun, who stands out throughout and seems to be having a brilliant time as Shaman Hwa-rim. Choi Min-sik is excellent as Kim Sang-deok. Sound is of particular note with the soundtrack being fantastic and extremely well fitting, and some of the booming vocal work being extremely effective. 

Exhuma does suffer from some of the issues of other Asian supernatural horror movies. It is convoluted, in parts, and the story is a bit disjointed. The plot is messy and, often, over explained. It also feels far too long at over two hours. It is going to appeal less to some than others due to the pacing. Many will, likely, not enjoy the tonal shift halfway through, as well. Aside from that, however, Exhuma is a fantastic movie.

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