Exhuma

Exhuma is a 2024 South Korean supernatural horror film written and directed by Jang Jae-hyun, and starring Choi Min-sik, Kim Go-eun, Yoo Hae-jin and Lee Do-hyun. The film includes mystery and occult elements, and follows the process of excavating an ominous grave, which unleashes dreadful consequences buried underneath.

Exhuma premiered in the Forum section at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival on February 16, 2024. It was released theatrically on February 22.

The film has earned a worldwide gross of US$97 million, making it the highest-grossing Korean film of 2024. As of June 2024, Exhuma is the sixth highest-grossing film in South Korean film history.

Plot
Renowned Korean shaman Hwa-rim and her protégé, Bong-gil are enlisted by a wealthy Korean American family to identify the mysterious illness of the family's newborn son. Hwa-rim uncovers the curse to be a "Grave's Call", a vengeful ancestor's spirit haunting them. The family's patriarch, Park Ji-Yong, entrusts them to relocate the grave to appease the ancestor, his grandfather. Hwa-rim enlists colleagues, a Feng shui master Kim Sang-deok and a mortician Yeong-geun.

Sang-deok specializes in selling burial locations for the wealthy, while Yeong-geun owns a funeral home. During their first encounter with Ji-yong, Sang-deok becomes wary when Ji-yong insists on cremating the grave, which is located in a remote mountain near the North Korean border. Sang-deok backs out, sensing sinister energy. However, Hwa-rim convinces them she can perform a ritual while the grave is dug to avoid the curse. Ji-yong tells them about a famous monk named 'Gisune' who in order to assuage grave robbers, provided the grave location for his grandfather.

Hwa-rim and Bong-gil perform the ritual, and the excavation proceeds smoothly. But when cleaning up, one of the gravediggers severs the head of a human-headed snake, which triggers a bad omen and rain. Yeong-geun insists on cremating the coffin once the rain stops so they store it at a nearby ward. The local custodian, hearing rumors of a treasure in the tomb, greedily opens the coffin and thus accidentally releases the vengeful entity inside, Ji-yong's grandfather. The entity targets his bloodline, killing Ji-yong's parents and Ji-yong himself. The grandfather, revealed to be a Japanese loyalist during the Korean occupation era, is tormented by his improper burial. Sang-deok cremates the coffin before the entity can kill the baby, abolishing the curse.

Months later, Yeong-geun informs Sang-deok about a gravedigger who becomes disturbed after killing the snake. He revisits the gravesite and discovers the head of the "snake" along with a second burial site for a seven-foot-long standing coffin. He enlists Hwa-rim, Bong-gil, and Yeong-geun to dispose of the coffin. The four excavate it and rest at a temple, where Hwa-rim learns about Gisune, who turns out to be a powerful Japanese shaman who has the moniker of The Fox. That night, Bong-gil witnesses a ghoul killing the temple priest and the local pig farmer along with his pigs. Hwa-rim and Bong-gil find the coffin ripped from the inside and Hwa-rim is ambushed by the ghoul who is revealed to be a samurai. Bong-gil gets injured and possessed, and the others witness the ghoul turn into a ball of fire flying back to the mountain.

Hwa-rim investigates the ghoul's origin through the possessed Bong-gil. Sang-deok returns to the grave and finds the samurai dormant on the coordinates written on the grandfather's tombstone. He discovers that the supposed grave robbers were Korean patriots attempting to unearth a Japanese military conquest relic in Korea. Sang-deok, Hwa-rim, and Yeong-geun devise a plan to unearth the relic when the creature rises after midnight. Hwa-rim will distract the samurai while the others dig the grave. A vision reveals The Fox embedding a katana inside a decapitated samurai's body, turning the samurai into a ghoul and Ji-yong's grandfather's grave serving as a cover for the relic. Sang-deok realizes where the relic is and using his feng-shui knowledge slays the samurai and faints but later regains consciousness at a hospital with the others by his bedside. A few months later the group attends Sang-deok's daughter's wedding.

Cast

 * Choi Min-sik as Kim Sang-deok, feng shui master
 * Kim Go-eun as Lee Hwa-rim, shaman
 * Yoo Hae-jin as Yeong-geun, undertaker
 * Lee Do-hyun as Yoon Bong-gil, shaman
 * Kim Jae-cheol as Park Ji-yong, Hwa-rim's client
 * Kim Sun-young as Oh Gwang-shim, shaman
 * Kim Ji-an as Park Ja-hye, a junior shaman

Production
In June 2021, it was reported that Choi Min-sik will star in director Jang Jae-hyun's occult thriller. Kim Go-eun and Lee Do-hyun joined the cast in August 2022, followed by Yoo Hae-jin, who joined the cast in September 2022.

The film produced by Showbox and Pinetown Production in association with MCMC, is directed by Jang Jae-hyun, who is known for making occult films.

Principal photography began in October 2022, and filming ended in March 2023. The director in an interview disclosed that the film used a large number of real scenes and real props for filming, tried not to use studios and avoided using CG effects in post-production. In his own words, "I tried to actually film the background and objects, avoiding CG whenever possible. We took the photos as painstakingly as possible without building a set, and for things like ghost photos, the actual actors wore makeup for 6 hours and then took blurry photos on purpose."

Release
Exhuma had its world premiere on February 16, 2024, as part of the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, in Forum.

It was released theatrically on February 22, 2024, in South Korea by Showbox Co., Ltd.

The film was first screened at the 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival on April 7, 2024 in Gala presentations.

It was released on May 3, 2024 in India.

it will be available on Shudder June 14 (Available in the US and CA).

The release date theatrically in the MENA region is on June 13, 2024, distributed by The Plot Pictures MENA.

The film was showcased in 'Prime Picks' at the 23rd New York Asian Film Festival on July 20, 2024.

Reception
The film includes scenes that are critical of the Japanese occupation of Korea, with the unearthing of the curse being linked to the unearthing of Korea's past.

Box office
The film was released on February 22, 2024 on 2,086 screens. On its opening day, the film finished in first place at the South Korean box office with 336,114 admissions and a gross of US$2,369,404, breaking the highest opening score for a film released in 2024 in South Korea so far. The film topped the South Korean weekend box office in its opening weekend, grossing US$14,455,880 from 1,963,577 admissions. On February 25, the fourth day of its release, the film exceeded 2 million admissions, and on February 28, the seventh day, it crossed 3 million admissions. On March 2, the 10th day it surpassed 5 million viewers. On March 10, it became the highest performing Korean occult film with 8 million viewers. Exhuma on March 24 became the first Korean film of 2024 to surpass 10 million in ticket sales, on its 32nd day in theaters, according to Showbox.

, the film has grossed US$84,095,030 from 11,902,097 admissions, making it the highest grossing film among the South Korean films released in 2024.

The film has grossed $97,602,124 worldwide as per Box Office Mojo. It has recorded more than 2.23 million moviegoers in Vietnam as of March 31, and became the most successful Korean Film there, beating record of 2.15 million of 6/45 a 2022 comedy film. It is also the most successful Korean film in Indonesia, recording 2.3 million admissions by March 31.

Critical response
Exhuma was received well by critics. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 91% and an average rating of 7.4/10, based on 31 reviews.

Lee Yoon-seo writing for The Korea Herald praised the performance of the cast writing, "the veteran cast puts in a strong performance to add to the immersive experience" and stated that "Exhuma consists of Jang's careful efforts to deliver super-realistic, detailed scenes depicting Korean shamanism - such as the traditional process of exhumation and "gut" rituals held to appease wandering spirits". Lee felt that these "are so realistically portrayed, that the film achieves a new level of horror". Concluding it that "however, despite the fine acting and attention to detail, Exhuma stumbles in unfolding its plot."

Critics of Cine21 gave the movie generally favorable reviews. Lee Yong-cheol rated the movie 4 out of 5 stars, writing that it is a well-made genre movie with great meaning.

Meagan Navarro rated the film 4/5 and called it, "A fun horror with a lot on its mind." Navarro wrote, "Jae-hyun Jang combines introspective cultural and historical themes with creepy, gory, and atmospheric horror thrills in an exciting way."