“Hello?”
“I’m calling for Zoc.”
“Yes?
“Hi. I’m Will Cast from Mirackle Streaming.”
“I’m sorry, who?”
“Will Cast. You know. Our motto is if it’s good streaming it’s a mirakle.”
“Oh, right. I think I got you in a bundle with Disney+ and Shudder. What can I do for you?”
“Yeah, don’t get me started on those bundles. It’s like cable all over again. Anyway, we’re pushing the South Korean creeper, Exhuma. Made a lot of money over there and its got some legs with all the Korean and Japanese political and supernatural elements. They do good ghost stories, though a bit slow-walking to watch, but always moody and broody, you know what I mean?
“Yes, on pacing. Just finished watching the Norwegian Handling the Undead. A lot of slow-walking there but has its moments, some intense ones, so memorable.”
“Yeah, well this baby keeps your eyes busy with inquisitive camera movement, ominous and dreary atmosphere, and murderous ghosts. Especially one really big Japanese ghost–really an anima, as they say in the movie–that likes sweetfish and mellons and slaughtering people for their livers. Reminds me of that big demon, Samri, in Purana Mandir.
“It’s gory then?”
“Nah, tame stuff compared to what the U.S. puts out today.”
“What about the characters?”
“You’ve got a Feng shui master–let me think, oh yeah, the actor is Kim Sang-deok. He fits the part like a glove–and his character is also known as a geomancer: he finds the right burial spot for the dearly departed. He pairs up with Hwa-rim, played by Kim Go-eun. She’s a shaman. Along with her assistant, Bong-gil (Lee Do-hyun), the three of them hire out to rich families to handle ghostly relatives causing problems. Helping them is a mortician, played by Yoo Hae-jin, which makes sense since they need to dig up and rebury or cremate some remains to calm things down.”
“Well, that sounds promising. What’s the storyline? I asked.
“A rich family’s newborn son is in the hospital with an unknown ailment. Hwa-rim and Bong-gil are called in and she sees some sinister family secret at play causing the illness, with dead grandfather wanting some company. She calls in the geomancer to help with moving the body, but the grave is in a weird desolate spot near a temple, and Ji-Yong, the family leader, insists on immediate cremation, which makes the geomancer suspect something’s wrong and he is reluctant to disturb the body.”
“Sounds good so far,” I said.
“It gets better. Hwa-rim performs a removal ritual to help fend off any bad mojo, and that involves dead pigs and grave-diggers and her dancing like crazy, with knives, while Bong-gil plays the drums. After that frantic camera choreography, the body is finally removed. But: and it’s a big but. One dumb grave digger sees a snake and dices it with his shovel. Only problem is the snake had a human head. Me, I’m thinking it was a yokai. ”
“Now that is definitely a keeper,” I said.
“And don’t get me started on those curious foxes watching everything. The build-up is slow but never dull. Jang Jae-hyun keeps everything as natural as possible. He skipped the CGI to film on location using real stuff. The Korean shamanism is fascinating and realistically shown. Anyway, some idiot opens the coffin and that’s when people start dying. Now get this. Just when you think they resolve the trouble and it’s all over, it ain’t over.”
“You mean there’s a second story on top of the first story and they tie into each other, right?” I asked.
“Bingo! They find another coffin under the first one, only it was put in vertically and it’s big. Really big. Possession, more blood-spilling, and with them now dealing with more than a simple ghost, they have their work cut out for them. In-between the dying and the crying, the political history between South Korea and Japan is hinted at, so that may be a bit confusing, but it explains what an undead Japanese samurai is doing in Korea. Some digs tossed in about how bad Japanese ghosts can be, too. Anyway, at two hours and some minutes, it may be a bit slow-paced for some, but there’s always something happening to move the story forward. And the acting is great. Would love to see this troupe do another supernatural movie. Could be a lucrative franchise for streaming.”
“Well, it certainly is one to watch. I’ll write up a post on it,” I said.
“You do that. Oh, one other thing: the movie is sort of intertitled.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Titles come up as chapter names. For instance, chapter 3 is called Spirit, chapter 5, Illusion. If you removed them there would be no difference to the movie, but still kind of interesting.”
“I see. Can you tell me more about the mechanics?” I asked.
“The editing, mostly straight cuts I think, by Jung Byung-jin is crisp but never choppy, Lee Mo-gae’s camerawork is solid and not gimmicky (well, maybe except for some added post production spin in a scene or two), and Kim Tae-seong’s music plays quietly in the background at times, then rushes to the foreground when things get nasty. It all blends together neatly, along with a few humorous bits among the serious horrors. There’s one memorable cut between scenes that sticks with me: you have the scene of the gravedigger seeing the snake slithering. Then cut to a scene with cars driving a serpentine road, taking the body to the mortuary.”
“Thanks for filling me in,” I said. “Let me know if you see any other movies I should post about.”
“Will do,” said Cast. “Talk to you soon.”