With 2024’s Exhuma, we get a South Korean affair. It brings a supernatural horror tale.

When an infant in a wealthy Korean-American family turns mysteriously ill, they go to an unusual source for help. The child’s father Park Ji-yong (Kim Jae-cheol) hires famed Korean shaman Lee Hwa-rim (Kim Go-eun) and her protégé Yoon Bong-gil (Lee Do-hyun) to figure out how to help the baby boy.

Hwa-rim discovers that this malady affects only each generation’s first-born. With the help of a team led by geomancer Kim Sang-deok (Choi Min-sik), she tracks the source of the problem to an ancestral grave. When the group attempts to exhume those buried there and relocate them, matters go awry.

If you demand constant action, stay away from Exhuma. Unlike most modern horror flicks, this one delivers a story that evolves gradually.

If you dig that kind of “slow burn”, though, Exhuma becomes a winner. It moves at its own pace and doesn’t pander to the audience.

Actually, Exhuma does get more conventional as it goes, but it still never feels like a paint-by-numbers scarefest. The filmmakers feel more interested in a creepy and understated affair versus the usual cheap jolts.

This means the narrative of Exhuma emerges gradually. Despite the languid movement, the tale never becomes dull.

Matters grow at a good methodical pace that never threatens to feel dull. Somewhat reminiscent of The Exorcist, Exhuma boasts a fairly low-key and subdued manner that allows the basic story to pack a greater punch than if the flick shot for more overt scares.

Creepy from the get go, Exhuma lacks a tight plot. However, it doesn’t need a particularly deep narrative, as it instead focuses on ambience and a deeper sense of darkness.

In an interesting twist, Exhuma comes with a false ending about an hour into the story. This allows a mix of surprises to pop up later along the way.

134 minutes does seem a bit long for a project like this, especially given the less than rich plot. Nonetheless, Exhuma uses that time well and winds up as a spooky and compelling horror effort.

Exhuma appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie came with a positive presentation.

Overall sharpness appeared strong. Only a little softness impacted some wider elements, so the flick seemed accurate and precise most of the time.

I noticed no shimmering or jagged edges. Edge haloes and print flaws remained absent.

In terms of palette, the film opted for a commonplace amber and teal orientation that felt typical for modern movies. The disc reproduced them as intended.

Blacks appeared dark and deep, and shadows showed good delineation. Low-light shots offered nice clarity. In the end, I felt pleased with this appealing image.

As for the movie’s Dolby Atmos soundtrack, it added a bit of zip to the proceedings. A fairly atmospheric affair, the mix lacked a ton of zing, but it leaked music from all the channels and let the effects fill the spectrum when appropriate.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, a few violent scenes used the soundscape to the most impactful degree, and weather added breadth. These moments created a satisfying sense of place and setting.

Audio quality worked well. Speech was concise and natural, while music boasted fine range and vivacity.

Effects gave us accurate, dynamic elements without distortion. Though not a tremendously ambitious track, the movie’s mix seemed pretty solid.

Note that the movie also comes with a DTS-HD MA 5.1 English dub. I sampled it and found the voice acting to seem awfully overdone and unconvincing.

The lines also don’t mesh well with the material and seem obviously “canned”. Unless you really hate subtitles, stick with the superior Korean Atmos track.

A ”Making Of” featurette spans three minutes, 38 seconds. It offers notes from writer/diirector Jang Jae-Hun and actors Yoo Hae-jin, Kim Go-eun, Lee Do-hyun, and Choi Min-sik.

They giveus basics about characters and performances as well as genre and story. Don’t expect more than basic promo fluff.

The disc opens with ads for Alienoid: Return to the Future, Noryang: Deadly Sea and Dr. Cheon and the Lost Talisman. We also find a trailer for Exhuma.

As a supernatural tale, Exhuma offers a satisfying slow burn. It takes its time and brings us into its universe in a gradual and compelling manner. The Blu-ray boasts positive picture and audio but it skimps on bonus materials. Expect an engaging horror flick here.