Exhuma has successfully brought audiences a captivating and dramatic experience.
So, after many days of making Vietnamese audiences anxiously wait, although it has not officially opened in theaters but has set unprecedented records, Exhuma finally has its first early screenings in Vietnam. As expected of being the blockbuster leading the Korean box office for 3 consecutive weeks (as of March 14), Exhuma brings audiences a truly captivating cinematic experience. Even though the film lasts more than 2 hours, there is almost no moment when the audience is distracted by the intense details, spiritual and mysterious elements that make viewers’ hearts flutter many times.
The script is engaging and maximizes the audience’s curiosity
Exhuma follows Hwa Rim (Kim Go Eun) and Bong Gil (Lee Do Hyun), two Korean magicians who receive a business deal from LA. Their client is the eldest grandson of a wealthy family. Even though he was just a newborn, this boy had to go through physical pain that even top doctors couldn’t find the cause of. That’s why the boy’s father, Park Ji Yong, sought out this pair of Korean magicians to solve the root cause of the problem. As soon as she entered the hospital and first met her young client, Hwa Rim realized the problem came from the grave of an elder in the Park family. She immediately decided to ask the intervention of feng shui master Kim Sang Duk (Choi Min Sik) and undertaker Ko Young Geun (Yoo Hae Jin) to relocate the grave of this family’s ancestors.
The first time he went to the ancient tomb, Mr. Kim wanted to stop this business even though he was in dire need of money. Because he had a very bad feeling about an unnamed grave located in a special land, there were many foxes nearby and most of all, the Park family was determined not to reveal hidden memories about people in the palace. coffin, and do not allow the coffin to be opened. After being persuaded and reluctantly accepting this job, a grave exhumation ritual took place, followed by countless horrifying disasters for both the Park family and the quartet because they accidentally released Evil forces have been hidden deep underground for hundreds of years.
Although it only tells one story, Exhuma is divided into many short chapters, making the audience feel like they are enjoying a miniature drama. If you have seen director Jang Jae Hyun’s other works, the most typical of which is Svaha: The Sixth Finger, the audience will more easily imagine and receive the story that Exhuma wants to tell. Many issues are integrated into one work, from feng shui, folk beliefs, Buddhism to history, causing the audience to receive a large amount of information even though the story simply revolves around excavations. a grave.
Although films about magicians and exorcism scenes have appeared many on Asian screens in general and Korean films in particular, this is the first time audiences have seen such a comprehensive and realistic exorcism. From the images of pigs being used as sacrifices, horse blood all over the female mage’s face, pounding drums mixed with screams, incomprehensible language and of course the complete lack of subtitles, … all create an extremely valuable whole, making viewers hold their breath with each swing of the female lead’s knife.
Exhuma has truly brought the audience a new and unexpected cinematic experience. If you expect a horror movie with high-scare jumpscares, it’s not at all. Exhuma focuses deeply on spiritual and mystical issues, the scary scenes will not be too much, but the film’s fast pace, dramatic details and unpredictable twists still force the audience to concentrate highly and not least. haunted times. Folk beliefs such as ancestor worship, burial, mourning, soul calling,… are also mentioned a lot, which are quite close to the beliefs of Southeast Asians, specifically Vietnam. Therefore, it increases the horror for viewers.
Previously, in a new interview with medium Go Chun Ja and her daughter (who taught actors Kim Go Eun and Lee Do Hyun how to be shamans in Exhuma):
“We came to protect the actors and the Exhuma studio from evil. It was just filming but we didn’t know what could happen. We protected Kim Go Eun as she recited the prayer.” , but actually Lee Do Hyun is the one in the most danger. If you scream and call h:a spirit with shamanic scriptures through special drumming, we won’t know what kind of m:a might actually appear on the screen. studio and possessed someone.
“It is known that the Daesal-gut ceremony in the movie was only filmed within one day, from dawn to dusk. They used actual Shamanic sutras, offerings, the method that real shamans use can be dangerous for Kim Go Eun and Lee Do Hyun were the ones calling the devil at the time.
Even on the day of filming, there were some truly spiritual things that happened. The filming staff and props felt suddenly dizzy and unwell. And the actors lost sleep because they were so scared while filming.
Integrating historical messages through a series of mysterious spiritual elements
It cannot be denied that the explanations about feng shui, beliefs, rituals that we have never seen before as well as the process of excavating ancient tombs or summoning souls,… have stimulated couples. much excitement from the audience. However, we must also mention the downside when this knowledge of feng shui, beliefs, and Buddhism is not really close to the majority of the mass audience, leading to viewers having difficulty receiving a certain amount of information. too big. This is also part of the reason why the film encountered some controversy, when many audiences were not really satisfied with this cinematic experience. In addition, some historical knowledge and new concepts in the process of the four characters gradually uncovering the secret of the ancient tomb also cause many problems.
Of course, it cannot be denied that the film has very well installed historical elements as well as the consequences of war that continue to the present. Right from the beginning of the film, the detail of Hwa Rim being mistaken for Japanese by the flight attendant and her immediately asserting that she was Korean, directly opened the message behind, even though it wasn’t until the second half of the film, The story about historical elements and war is mentioned directly. We must praise the way the screenwriter created images representing war and the pain of war that continues to the present. The character Kim Sang Duk also became a representative image of people who want to completely end the remaining residue of the past, by completely excavating the tomb at all costs. In particular, despite installing historical and patriotic elements, Exhuma is not at all dry or dogmatic. Spiritual and feng shui elements are continuously interwoven until the last minute, increasing the viewer’s interesting experience.
The performance was like “possessed” by the whole cast
Of course, to bring absolute immersion to the audience, an equally important factor as the script is the cast. Choi Min Sik still deserves the name of the generation of banyan trees, the representative face of the Korean film industry. He truly overwhelmed viewers with his role-playing performance that perhaps few people could do better. It is worth mentioning that this is Choi Min Sik’s first spiritual and mystical work, but he still easily makes the audience completely immersed in his character. The final battle moment of the film is when the actor shines brighter than ever, completely overwhelming all other actors, making the audience truly admire him.
Kim Go Eun is also playing a magician for the first time, playing alongside big names in the Korean film industry. She had a “ghost possessed” performance, haunting with scenes of magic and trance. With her crazy charisma, Kim Go Eun really got a role of a lifetime even though her character and Lee Do Hyun’s are more or less controversial. Similar to the female lead, Lee Do Hyun took a leap in his career when he first starred in a movie. The audience saw a very new color of Lee Do Hyun, no longer the warm, sweet guy often seen on the small screen. Although objectively speaking, Lee Do Hyun’s role is still lackluster in the overall work, at least compared to his co-star Kim Go Eun, but it cannot be denied that the interaction between him and the female lead is very good, the chemistry is explosive. exploded even though there was absolutely no loveline between them. Finally, Yoo Hae Jin, who is responsible for the film’s humor, many times makes the audience laugh even in the dire situations of the characters. Of course, a funny role cannot be difficult for this actor.
Overall, in terms of acting, the film has almost no flaws and it is a really smooth combination of two generations on Korean screens. Each actor contributes to enhancing the excitement and drama in the story of the group of four people. The reasonable and intelligent division of roles has helped the film bring a new and unfamiliar cinematic experience but is vivid and can still create a familiar feeling.
Scoring: 4/5
It is no coincidence that Exhuma has become the highest-rated Korean blockbuster at the present time and is also the highest-grossing horror and mystery film in Korean box office history. A simple plot but integrated with complex details, a harmonious combination of many elements, spirituality – feng shui – beliefs – Buddhism – history and more, creating a whole. Fascinating and dramatic until the very end. In general, this is a work imbued with Korean folk material, a work worthy of the audience to enjoy.
