Exhuma, the supernatural horror film, has made it to OTT in India. South Korean director and writer Jang Jae-hyun's 2024 flick is currently streaming on Prime Video for all subscribers. The film stars Choi Min-sik, Kim Go-eun, Yoo Hae-jin, and Lee Do-hyun in the lead roles. Exhuma delves into eerie themes of mystery and the supernatural as it chronicles the excavation of a foreboding tomb, revealing terrible secrets that lie hidden underneath.

Exhuma plot overview

In the film, an affluent family in Los Angeles seeks the help of a young, emerging Shaman team named Hwa Rim (Kim Go-eun) and Bong Gil (Lee Do-hyun) in order to protect their newborn child from a series of strange happenings. Upon their arrival, Hwa Rim has the unsettling feeling that a spectre of their ancestor's 'Grave Calling' has seized the family. Hwa Rim consults respected geomancer Sang Deok (Choi Min-sik) and undertaker Yeong Geun (Yoo Hae-jin) in her quest to uncover the tomb and bring solace to the ancestor. It is with immense sadness that the four discover the burial in a shadowy corner of a Korean village. They execute the exhumation without considering the potential repercussions, unleashing a wicked energy from beneath.

The 74th Berlin International Film Festival had its world premiere of Exhuma in the Forum section. The film was well-received by critics upon its theatrical debut, and it is the highest-grossing South Korean film of 2024 and the sixth-highest South Korean film of all time, with a worldwide gross of US$97 million.

Director’s approach to practical effects and filming

In an interview, the film's director discussed how they avoided studios and computer-generated effects in post-production, as well as how they utilised many actual scenes and items throughout filming. Jang Jae-hyun made a concerted effort to capture the background and objects in real life, avoiding the use of computer-generated effects whenever possible. They meticulously shot the images without constructing a set; for certain shots, such as the ghost photos, the real performers wore makeup for six hours before purposefully capturing blurry photos.

However, reports suggest that Exhuma subtly criticises the Japanese occupation of the country by linking the discovery of the curse to the rediscovery of Korea's history.

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