Welcome to Knockout Horror. It’s been a few weeks since I bothered reviewing anything. I have been super busy so decided to step away from the site for a little. I have still been watching horror movies, though, so let’s get back into it. While putting together my most recent list – 2024’s 10 Best Horror Movies So far. I mentioned the movie we are going to be looking at today – Exhuma (Pamyo).
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. Meaning when a new born baby is cursed with an illness. The family believes that their ancestor is haunting them and needs 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.
South Korean Horror
Supernatural horror is something that the Asian movie industry does extremely well. Tales of spirits and the vengeful dead absolutely litter Asian culture and those tales frequently find themselves forming the basis for horror movies. Japanese titles like Ringu, Dark Water (Onogurai Mizu no Soko Kara), or Ju-on: The Grudge stand out. While Thai movies like The Sisters (Pee chong air), Shutter, or Ladda Land are well known horror staples. But it’s not just these two countries that rule the roost. Taiwan has brilliant supernatural movies like The Bridge Curse and Incantation, and Hong Kong has classics like The eye.
One of the true powerhouses of Asian horror is the place where Exhuma hails from – South Korea. South Korea has been knocking it out of the park in the horror world for ages. And while everyone knows about some of their recent horror hits like The Whaling, #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 love to dip their toes into other forms of horror even more. With Exhuma, there is a strong focus on the paranormal here that you don’t see, quite as much, in some of the more recent Korean horror. Even with classics like A Tale of Two Sisters, the supernatural elements were more hinted at rather than explicitly present. In Exhuma, that is not at all the case. They form the central support of the story. Exhuma feels like South Korea’s attempt at a Japanese horror movie.
Very Effective
This slow moving and considered approach to supernatural horror storytelling works very well. The story builds quite methodically at first. Hinting at the excuse 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. It’s a bit convoluted but, hey, this is an Asian ghost story. What did you expect? And, with that in mind, Exhuma does what Asian supernatural horror does best. Managing to be both creepy and atmospheric throughout.
It dips into a mix of traditional Asian ghost tales, spiritual folklore, mythology, tradition and themes of the occult. And blends it all together perfectly with a whole bunch of real life Korean history in an extremely competent 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. With the first half focusing heavily on exposition, mood setting, and establishing of lore. And the second half transforming 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, frankly, fairly exhilarating horror sequences to push through. The spirits become larger than life and we almost find ourselves having a traditional 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. I am a huge fan of Asian horror and have seen 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.
Worth Mentioning
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.
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.Â
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 half way through, as well. Aside from that, however, Exhuma is a fantastic movie.
Should You Watch Exhuma?
This really depends on your enjoyment of supernatural horror and movies with long runtimes. As far as Asian supernatural horror goes, Exhuma is one of the better ones and if you enjoy the genre you should definitely watch it. It’s atmospheric, tense, captivating, and the blending of tradition, folklore, demons and historical references makes for a thoroughly interesting story. The tone switches up midway through and things get a lot more intense which may put a few people off. In my opinion, however, the movie benefits greatly from it and some of its best sequences happen in the latter parts. A great option for genre fans and even for newcomers to Asian horror.