Note: The article reveals part of the movie’s content
Exhuma: Unearthing the Demon’s Tomb is the hottest movie at the Vietnamese box office today. According to data from Box Office Vietnam, after only 4 days of release (including early screenings), the work earned 53 billion VND. The film is also expected to usurp the throne Suddenly Win the Lottery to become the most popular movie project of all time from the land of kimchi at our country’s box office. Before, Exhuma: Unearthing the Demon’s Tomb also dominates the Korean market and “takes the spotlight” in many other Asian countries.
Besides the horror story with the theme of excavating graves, the film attracts viewers thanks to a series of cleverly installed metaphorical details, attracting a series of debates on film forums. Below are some explanations that can help the audience understand more about the meaning behind this fascinating spiritual story.
To better understand the content Exhuma: Unearthing the Demon’s Tomb, first of all, the audience needs to understand the inspiration that helped director and screenwriter Jang Jae Hyun create this work from a series of historical and historical events about the Japanese colonial period in Korea. This element is clearly shown and repeated many times in the film. In particular, the periods mentioned are the period when Korea was invaded by Japan from 1592–1598 and 1910–1945.
The reason why the Park family was revenged by the grandfather and only the eldest sons were haunted by ghosts
The tragedies in Exhuma: Unearthing the Demon’s Tomb poured on the Park family. In the film, they are the descendants of Koreans who turned their backs on their homeland to serve Japan, in return for power and money. This is also the explanation for this family’s wealth in the modern era.
One point that makes many viewers difficult to understand is why the soul of the deceased grandfather, after escaping, returns to take revenge on his descendants. Viewers can easily see that this character’s grave is buried on a deserted hill, not carefully cared for or built. The group of shamans in the film also found it difficult to understand why a wealthy family would choose this place as a place to bury their ancestors.
Park’s family encountered disaster after the tomb was excavated.
Throughout the film, the audience can feel that the Park family is always trying to hide something from the tomb exhumation team they hired. The most reasonable reason for this detail is that they themselves do not want to reveal this bad past. Even later generations of the family left their homeland as a way to break with their ancestors.
Therefore, when he escaped, the soul of the Park family’s grandfather sought out his descendants to avenge that ungratefulness. His grave was not properly cared for for many years while the following generations still lived well off the wealth they left behind from selling the country for glory. In particular, this punishment focuses on the eldest son in the family tree, the individuals who according to custom are responsible for burying and cleaning the graves of their ancestors.
“The fox bit off the tiger’s waist” and coordinates 38.3417, 128.3289
This is a curious statement in the movie and is remembered by many audiences. The tiger is an animal with many spiritual meanings in Korean – Korean culture. It symbolizes courage and strength and is considered the guardian god of this land. In particular, the map of the Korean peninsula – South Korea has long been compared to the image of a tiger.
In the movie, the evil spirit Oni (Japanese for devil) repeats many times the saying “the fox bites off the tiger’s waist” and the coordinates 38.3417, 128.3289. To explain these details, the audience needs to go back to the history of past Japanese invasions. Specifically, after Japan lost World War II and withdrew, this land was divided into two countries: North Korea and South Korea. Calculated on the map, coordinates 38.3417, 128.3289 are the dividing point between the two countries and also coincide with the tiger’s waist. Meanwhile, the image of the fox symbolizes the Japanese army, who contributed to the division of the Korean and Korean islands until today.
The saying “the fox bit the tiger’s waist” also refers to an anecdote that before withdrawing troops, the Japanese used black magic to split the peninsula in two. That was also the inspiration for the detail of the evil spirit Oni having an iron rod stuffed in his body and buried upright in the ground to cast a spell.
Why are there two coffins on top of each other?
The evil Oni in the movie was originally a Japanese general assigned to Korea and Korea to rule during the period 1592–1598. That’s why he often claimed that this land belonged to him. When Japan lost, instead of returning home, the Japanese shaman performed a ritual to turn his body into a protective stake on the peninsula.
The detail of the main character group discovering the second coffin is also the turning point of the film.
Later, groups in Korea searched for these protective piles to destroy them. To strengthen his magic, the same Japanese magician Gisune tricked Park’s family into burying his grandfather’s body on that grave, to hide the old ward stake. This magician’s name in Japanese also recalls the word Kitsune, meaning fox. In the film, director Jang Jae Hyun details that the Park family is very superstitious and often has to invite famous feng shui masters to choose a good piece of land to bury their ancestors. The Japanese magician took advantage of this to serve his purposes. From then on, their family suffered a series of disasters later on.
The snake looks after the grave
During the excavation, the main group discovered a snake lying on the coffin. The worker hired to dig the grave used a shovel to kill it and then received the curse, his eyes bleeding. Many viewers commented that this detail was reminiscent of the Nure-onna demon in Japanese culture, with a human head and a snake body. Perhaps, the magician Gisune placed it to guard two important graves in his plan. Some Japanese legends also mention Nure-onna as a loyal servant of Oni.
Nure-onna demon symbol in Japanese culture.
Oni’s request to female shaman Hwa Rim
In the movie, when confronting Oni for the first time, Hwa Rim (Kim Go Eun) was questioned by the demon if he was his subordinate. He tested her by asking the female magician to bring her melons and fish as instructed. This detail is inspired by the Sekigahara war in Japan between the Western army and the Eastern army, early in the late 16th – early 17th century.
The dishes Oni asked Hwa Rim to bring him during their first encounter.
According to history, melon is the symbol of the Eastern Army and fish is the symbol of the other side. Hwa Rim knew that Oni was a general of the Western Army, the main force participating in the invasion of Korea not long ago. So she answered correctly and seemed to fool the devil. However, he later discovered that she was just a normal person so he decided to kill her.
The reason Oni spared Hwa Rim’s death
Realizing he had been tricked, Oni chased after and tried to take the liver of the female magician Hwa Rim. At this time, Bong Gil (Lee Do Hyun) rushed up and blocked her attack. However, the devil acted inexplicably when he spared Hwa Rim after discovering he was at a temple. This detail can be explained from the influence of Buddhism on Japanese culture. At the same time, when preparing to approach Hwa Rim, Oni also heard the rooster crowing signaling dawn. This could also be a reason why the demon had to leave.
Also out of respect for Buddhism, when gouging Bong Gil’s liver, Oni deliberately avoided the tattoos of Buddhist scriptures on his body. At the end, the tomb exhumation team also deliberately painted Buddhist scriptures on their bodies to overcome the demon, but unfortunately he had already found a way to deal with it.
The tomb excavation team painted Buddhist scriptures on their faces to deal with the Oni.
Kim Sang Duk’s finishing blow
In the final battle between the tomb exhumation group and the Oni, character Kim Sang Duk applied his feng shui knowledge to use a wet wooden stick to finish off the final boss. However, this detail is embedded with more historical messages than that. The weapons Kim Sang Duk uses are engraved with the names of Iron Blood Alliances team members. This is a symbolic image of the anti-Japanese movement in Korea, demanding independence and freedom for the country, and is also the main message of the film.
The wooden stick Kim Sang Duk used to finish off the Oni.
Kim Sang Duk’s daughter’s wedding
Exhuma: Unearthing the Demon’s Tomb ending with the wedding image of feng shui master Kim Sang Duk’s daughter, with the full presence of the tomb exhumation team. This detail can be seen as a metaphor for a new beginning for Korea after painful history. This is also the source of motivation for character Kim Sang Duk to be determined to break the enchantment even though his previous teammates tried to stop him.
Director Jang Jae Hyun skillfully depicted the dazed faces of each member of the tomb exhumation team. It can be seen that, even though the past has passed, inside each person still cannot forget all the horrors they had to go through before.