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Exhuma
Movie

Exhuma

2024 • Unknown

Woke Score
3
out of 10

Plot

After tracing the origin of a disturbing supernatural affliction to a wealthy family's ancestral gravesite, a team of paranormal experts relocates the remains—and soon discovers what happens to those who dare to mess with the wrong grave.

Overall Series Review

Exhuma is a horror film centered on Korean shamanism and feng shui, following a team of occult experts hired by a wealthy Korean-American family to address a generational curse. The investigation quickly escalates, uncovering a deep-seated national wound tied to the Japanese occupation of Korea. The film heavily leverages traditional Korean folklore, spirituality, and a clear nationalistic, anti-colonial message, framing the supernatural evil as an intentional spiritual attack on the Korean peninsula by a malevolent Japanese figure. The main team of experts includes a formidable female shaman, who is a central, powerful figure, working alongside a group of competent male professionals. The narrative emphasizes the power of ancestry, land, and cultural tradition as forces against a foreign evil, leading to a focus on spiritual morality and cultural preservation.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics8/10

The narrative's central conflict relies entirely on national and ethnic identity, pitting a dedicated group of Korean professionals against a malevolent force tied to historical Japanese imperialism. The film explicitly defines the villain by his foreign, Japanese identity and his plot to spiritually sabotage the Korean nation, making racial/national identity an immutable characteristic that drives the entire plot rather than universal merit.

Oikophobia1/10

The film demonstrates the opposite of civilizational self-hatred; it is a thoroughly nationalist work that celebrates and defends Korean heritage, folklore, and land from a foreign historical aggressor. Ancestors who defended the nation are honored, and the institutions of traditional spirituality (shamanism/geomancy) are depicted as the necessary shield against chaos and foreign evil. The one ancestor who is vilified is a 'Chinilpa,' a Korean collaborator who betrayed his own nation.

Feminism2/10

The core team features a highly competent and charismatic female shaman, Hwa-rim, who is a powerful professional and often takes the lead in ceremonial matters. However, she works as a complementary partner with equally skilled male characters, including a respected elderly feng shui master and a mortician. Men are not depicted as bumbling idiots, and the plot is initiated by the need to save a baby, showing no anti-natalist messaging.

LGBTQ+1/10

The narrative focuses exclusively on the occult, Korean nationalism, and ancestor worship. Sexual and gender identity politics are entirely absent from the plot, which maintains a normative structure centered on traditional familial and national lineage.

Anti-Theism1/10

Traditional Korean spiritual beliefs, including shamanism and geomancy (feng shui), are the source of all moral and practical strength in the film. The movie completely embraces a transcendent, objective moral order where real spiritual forces of good and evil exist and are actively engaged through ritual and faith. There is no hostility toward religion or suggestion of moral relativism.