"Exhuma" has surpassed 10 million viewers in South Korea, outperforming "The Wailing" at the box office. What makes this horror film such a massive success?
Phenomenal Horror Film
From the plot summary, "Exhuma" is incredibly captivating:
The story centres around an affluent American family who frequently experiences eerie supernatural occurrences. They summon renowned young sorceress Hwarim (played by Go-eun Kim) and novice sorcerer Bong Gil (Do-hyun Lee). Hwarim specializes in appeasing spirits, while Bong Gil reciting scriptures. After rescuing a newborn baby and discovering that their ancestors' shadows haunt the family, Hwarim and Bong Gil seek assistance from geomancer Kim Sang Deok (Min-sik Choi) and embalmer Ko Young Geun (Yoo Hae-jin). They decide to relocate the grave, but their troubles are far from over as true terror unfolds.
The synopsis hints at a plot full of twists and turns, evoking a sense of horror and suspense as the characters venture into unknown territory. The trailer also teases mysterious rituals, like an exorcism performed by a shaman. For instance, Bong Gil expresses fear with the alarming line, "You all going to die." Adding to the suspense, a more sinister evil spirit appears to escape from the graveyard after a coffin is opened.
"Exhuma" masterfully captures the essence of horror or thriller films: "The unknown is the most terrifying."
The film is praised for its ability to create a chilling horror atmosphere, incorporating elements like feng shui and exorcism. According to feedback from viewers, "Exhuma" delves into the theme of war trauma, allowing audiences to connect with national emotions. This underlying theme appears to be a key factor in the film's success.
After several days of the film's release, many people are discussing the design of characters writing Chinese characters on their faces. In fact, in the field of horror films, especially Asian horror films, such scenes have a precedent. For example, the 2022 Taiwanese horror film "Incantation," the 1980 Hong Kong horror film "Hex," and even earlier, the 1964 Japanese horror film "Ghost Stories."
From this detail design, we can also glimpse the creative thinking of screenwriter/director Jae-hyun Jang. He has watched numerous films, deeply explored the horror genre, and absorbed and digested the wisdom of predecessors, incorporating it into his own story. Before watching "Exhuma," it is necessary to understand his previous works.
Trendsetter
Jae-hyun Jang is a pretty unique filmmaker. He was born in 1981 and doesn't have a lot of works, but they all share a common theme - religious horror films.
In 2014, he released the horror short film "12th Assistant Deacon." The following year, he expanded this short film into the feature-length film "The Priests," which he wrote and directed. "The Priests" pays clear tribute and reference to "The Exorcist" (1973), often hailed as the "godfather of American horror films." The film inherits classic elements from "The Exorcist," such as the priest's focus, recitation of scriptures, and confrontation with evil spirits. For instance, the evil spirit is able to exploit the inner demons of the deputy priest, thus shattering his faith.
Considering the exorcism theme, "The Priests" is quite well-done, and Jae-hyun Jang emerges as a new star in the Korean horror film industry.
In 2017, he participated as a screenwriter in the creation of the film "House of the Disappeared". The film tells the story of a housewife who has experienced many ups and downs in life, her husband's mysterious death, and her son's unexplained disappearance. After enduring 25 years of imprisonment, she embarks on a journey home. In the film, only the priest believes her and is willing to investigate the supernatural events in her home with her. This story still examines the hidden pain of contemporary families from a religious perspective.
In 2019, Jae-hyun Jang released the film "Svaha: The Sixth Finger," which showcased a more mature work with evidently greater ambitions. Throughout the movie, it appears to be influenced by "Double Vision." The film begins with a voiceover, revealing that the female protagonist's twin sister had eaten her leg while still in the womb to obtain nutrients.
The main perspective of the film is intriguing. A priest establishes a religious research firm and travels around giving speeches under the guise of exposing religious fraud to raise funds for charity. While investigating a new religious organization, he discovers that numerous murder cases are connected to it. Subsequently, with the help of his friends, the priest learns that the "Four Great Generals" worshipped by the followers actually symbolize the "Four Heavenly Kings" (Dhritarastra, Vaisravana, Visvamitra, and Vishvarupa) from Indian mythology, representing the four cardinal directions. These Four Heavenly Kings were originally demons in Indian mythology who converted to Buddhism after being enlightened by Buddha and became deities responsible for capturing evil spirits. Therefore, the killer is the "Four Great Generals," and the mastermind behind them is the so-called "Buddha."
This film tells a story about how the real culprit brainwashes followers using religion as an excuse to order them to commit murder for their own survival. The film's unique feature is that all clues are closely related to myths or doctrines within religion. In the end, some supernatural prophecies surprisingly come true, adding a sense of destiny and horror to the story.
What makes Jae-hyun Jang exceptional is not only his mastery of conventional horror film formulas but also his ability to collide and merge with other genres while building on existing foundations, creating variations and imbuing his works with distinctive insights.
Creation Apocalypse
The director Jae-hyun Jang's talent is evident in his debut feature film, "The Priests." He tells the exorcism story from the perspective of a deputy priest. In creating the antagonists, he introduces the concept of "the Twelve Demons," which are not as rampant as in conventional horror films. Instead, they fear being seen by humans because people will then believe in God. With this setup, the demons become more hidden, and exorcisms become more like superstitions, leading to criticism. Jae-hyun Jang uses this approach to highlight the awkward position of religion in Korean society.
For example, "House of the Disappeared" has an American horror film exterior but a Korean warmth interior. At its core, it still approaches contemporary family life from the perspective of "religious horror" and portrays the difficulties faced by housewives.
In "Svaha: The Sixth Finger," on the level of genre films, Jae-hyun Jang attempts to combine horror with mystery to create a suspenseful and constantly reversing religious horror story. Additionally, through the character and behavior of Pastor Park, he reflects the rapid development of new religions and the increasing number of fraud and other criminal offenses in Korean society.
In "Exhuma," Jae-hyun Jang once again incorporates elements of feng shui traditions and various rituals into the story, creating a new horror scenario. It is worth mentioning that the creation of this work is closely related to his childhood experiences. Growing up in a rural community, he witnessed funeral affairs from a young age and heard many folk tales.
To write the story of "Exhuma," he conducted in-depth research and worked with funeral directors, feng shui masters, and shamans for a year. He had truly participated in funeral ceremonies, demonstrating a very serious and rigorous attitude towards his creation.
Creators like Jae-hyun Jang focus solely on one field, put in effort, and persistently explore. It seems only a matter of time before he creates another groundbreaking hit.
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