Exhuma - Shroud
Thoughts On: Exhuma (파묘, 2024)
Shamans attempt to prevent an evil ancestor killing his living family.
With a physical, thumping soundscape, Exhuma pulls one into a world of the mystic paranormal with edged and poised montage quite brilliantly. Tremendous performances and dashes of dark humour conjure a band of mysterious characters that are lead down a rather convoluted plot - the only weak point of the narrative. With various allusions to the era of Japanese occupation in Korea spanning the first half of the 20th century, therefore Korean independence and the division of the peninsula into North and South after WWII and the fall of the Japanese Empire, Exhuma appears to engage a notion of generational sin. We see this through the questionable place capitol and money hold in the narrative; the group of shamans we follow all run a business and target rich families to sell their skills and land to. The business aspect of their work and the wealth of the family they engage throughout the film subtly indicate corruption. Within the family that the shamans are trying to save this corruption of power and money is much darker and comes to haunt them; the spirit of the evil ancestor trying to murder them being a Japanese loyalist buried in a casket fit for royalty among Japanese soldiers. While these elements are all present and overt, having one question a generational darkness or sin to be overshadowing the social circles we are presented, they do not come together to form a clear image or dramatic punctum. These historical and political allusions to Japanese occupation and independence do not then develop in the plot alongside any particular character development or transformation; it is therefore difficult to integrate it into a story that is otherwise just a supernatural exorcism narrative. For this, while Exhuma did not feel particularly articulate - rather a little muddled at times - it is incredibly well paced and visually structured; the acting is pristine and the montage is brilliantly hypnotic. I then really enjoyed Exhuma sensorily, but nonetheless can't make particular sense out of it for more general discussion.
