Exhuma - La tomba del diavolo

For a long time now, South Korea has been impressing audiences around the world with very well produced and executed horror features, and "Pamyo" (2024) is no exception. This promising project stands out in all aspects, being above average.

The initial premise, involving voices of help when you close your eyes, sounds scary and intense, although the story develops into more complex plots throughout the first act. The cast and performances are a highlight of the film, with very convincing performances, especially in scenes involving rituals. Despite having impeccable photography, the most interesting element of the film is the plot, surrounded by symbolism and a rich mythology. The story develops differently from Western works, opting for few explanations, which requires the viewer's full attention to understand a good part of the work. Although the antagonist is not particularly memorable, he has a great design and delivers tense moments.

Jang Jae-hyun, director of the project, had already demonstrated his aptitude and commitment to the genre in "Sabaha" (2019), another horror production with excellent results. "Pamyo" once again confirms the director's skill, consolidating him as a director of great talent in his filmography.

Exhuma is a South Korean horror film that has garnered critical acclaim for its suspenseful atmosphere and exploration of Korean folklore. The narrative delves into themes of family history and hidden truths, uncovering a chilling mystery. As the characters investigate deeper, they encounter a series of unexplained events that blur the lines between reality and the supernatural. Exhuma has been lauded for its unique blend of Korean folklore with classic horror tropes. This fresh approach is said to create a suspenseful and unsettling cinematic experience. Critics have also commended the film's slow-burn pacing, which keeps viewers engaged as the mystery gradually unfolds. Exhuma is likely to appeal to fans of horror cinema who enjoy films that weave cultural themes into their narratives.

"Kim" (Choi Min-sik) is what they call a geomancer. He advises people on the best places for them to bury their loved ones. It's all about feng shui. Woebetide anyone who gets it wrong for a disgruntled ancestor can come back and visit retribution on anyone who mucks that process up - just ask the grandchild who though he would retain grandma's false teeth as as souvenir! Anyway, the wealthy "Park" (Kim Jae-cheol) and his family appear to have a secret that he and the more spiritual pairing of "Hwarim" (Kim Go-eun) and "Bong Gil" (Lee Do-hyun) might be able to help with. Even as far away as in the United States, his family are being tormented by a spirit. They are all led to a remote grave atop a hill that is marked simply by a plain gravestone with no name, just some seemingly random numbers. The buried man was of some importance so the fact that his grave was not ideally placed (only 65/100 on the best plot to have scale) arouses suspicion. They proceed to exhume the uniquely carved juniper coffin and decide to cremate it, but it's considered unlucky to do this in wet weather so leaving it respectfully dressed, plan to complete the process in the morning. This is their first mistake for overnight it falls prey to an inquisitive member of their team who releases an even more menacing entity bent on revenge on all those who left him at 65%! That is just the start of their woes, though. Returning to the grave for a ritual, they discover an even larger, chain-wrapped, box buried vertically - and one with no name, neither! It's now we head straight into "Mummy" mode and the adventure really does pick up. Can they identify this leviathan of menace and terror and thwart it's centuries-old battle plan? I did quite enjoy this. It taps into a fascinating mix of mysticism and legend whilst adding a dose of modern day cynical exploitation (they get paid over $500,000 for their relocation "fee") and as the story moves along you wouldn't want to be a chicken - or a pig, either! The largely dark and wet scenarios work well with the sparing usual of visual effects and a strong ensemble performance that keeps the story of dreams and nightmares moving along well for 2¼ hours of well made and at times quite scary ancient horror.

Exhuma was a movie I was looking forward to seeing and had avoided learning anything about before I saw it.

I was mainly hopeful because of the cast.

It starts pretty strongly with a feeling of class from the acting to the production values.

The story wasn't clear at first but then I got my hopes up as the first grave is dug up.

However this part of the story seems to be wrapped up quite quickly with the cremation scene and it then delves into Korean and Japanese history with strong anti Japanese feeling.

Now I'm not familiar with the history of these countries to a great extent so maybe a bit of this stuff wasn't for me as an Englishman.

But I completely understood it, It was just an unexpected turn of the story and then the film devolves into some weird thriller full of special effects (admittedly well done) that would fit into more of a comic book style horror.

It's incredibly disjointed.

If anyone compares this film favourably with The Wailing, ignore them. The wailing is far far superior.

This film is worth a watch but don't expect a classic horror movie.

Disturbing, eerie, and tense, the first half of Exhuma is an explosive mixture of south korean folklore and mythicism. It effectively evokes the universal dread and mystery regarding the afterlife, and what we, people still living and walking on this earth, can and should do with regards to that. The spiritual and supernatural bridge dangling between the two worlds. It works excellently as a paranormal occult horror film. Great atmosphere, never looses the steam, with fairly memorable moments.

But then it reaches the mid point of the film, something happens that made me not exactly sure about how I feel about this film as whole. To be clear: I still did like it a lot and it is nonetheless a strong film, but the aforementioned uneasiness and tension quickly goes away, and never quite reaches the same high as the previous half. It is a reveal/decision that I do appreciate: it is ambitious, creative, and is a big swing that we do not often see in a south Korean film. Also helps that practical effects accompanying it are simply amazing. However, the tonal shift/jarring nature of it kinda turned me off. I do recommend going into the film completely blind!

Kinda torn between 3.5 and 4 stars. It the film carried the strengths of the first two acts to the third act, and kept the film more consistent, it easily would've been4 stars and maybe 4.5. Again, still a great film and I highly recommend this to anyone interested in horror films with uniquely korean/asian DNA embedded to it.