Recommendations for the Most Heart-Pounding Korean Horror Films, Including EXHUMA!

Kapanlagi.com - For those of you who love horror films and Korean adventure, these 5 films are perfect for you. Not only do they provide a chilling sensation, these films also invite you to dive into a complex and exciting storyline. Like a detective, you will be invited to solve puzzles and uncover hidden mysteries behind each suspenseful scene.

In these films, you will experience the peak of horror while trying to understand every clue and follow the red thread woven throughout the story. Interested in enjoying films with the above criteria? Here are 5 recommendations for the most heart-pounding Korean films that you must watch!

1. THE WAILING (2016)

Film The Wailing, Credit: Fox International Productions

The story of this film begins with the turmoil in a small town that is plagued by a horrific murder case against one of its residents. It turns out that the perpetrator is the victim's neighbor who appears to suffer from a mysterious illness. After investigation, the police officer named Jong Goo (Kwak Do Won) concludes that this strange disease is what drives the residents to commit savage murders against their own families.

The situation becomes even more tense when Jong Goo's child is infected with a similar disease. Finally, the police officer seeks the help of a famous shaman, Il Gwang (Hwang Jung Min), to heal his child and solve the terrifying mystery that haunts the village. Together with Il Gwang, this police officer must uncover the puzzle behind this mysterious disease in an effort to save the residents from the menacing threat that looms over them.

2. THE CALL (2020)

The Call, Credit: Young Film

This film tells the story of Seo-Yeon (Park Shin-Hye), a girl who was raised in Korea. One day, she decides to visit her childhood home. While exploring every corner of the house, her attention is drawn to a room on the second floor. In that room, there is an old headphone that still appears to be functioning well, arousing her curiosity about the old headphone.

However, Seo-Yeon's curiosity about the headphone triggers a series of terrifying events. Because, the old telephone suddenly rings and causes her to befriend a ghost in the house, unknowingly following the game of the supernatural being. This film is a remake of THE CALLER released in 2011. With a gripping storyline, this film captivates the audience, keeping them glued to every second of the presented scenes.

3. THE GROTESQUE MANSION (2021)

Film The Grotesque Mansion, Credit : MCMC

This film tells the story of a webtoon writer Ji Woo (Sung Joon) who is losing ideas for his work. One day he visits an old apartment building that holds so many mysteries. He does this in order to find ideas to continue his work on the webtoon. When he arrives there, he is greeted by an old apartment guard. At this point, he tries to uncover the stories in the apartment building to create stories for his webtoon.

However, due to the demands of his job as a webtoon creator, he is asked by the company to create longer stories, so he decides to return to the apartment building. However, the return of the webtoon writer to the building becomes a disaster for himself and becomes a quite terrifying story. Here, he must solve various horror puzzles in order to safely escape from this apartment.

4. THE GHOST STATION (2022)

Film The Ghost Station, Credit: Studio And New

This film begins when a journalist named Na-Yeong (Kim-Bora) receives information from Choi Woo-won (Kim Jae Hyun), her colleague who works at Oksu Station, about a suspected suicide case on the train tracks. However, CCTV footage at the station shows suspicious conditions, leading them to suspect that this case is not just an ordinary suicide.
Interested in this case, especially after experiencing problems at her office that require her to work harder, Na-yeong decides to investigate further.

With Woo-won's help, they begin to search for sources who can help uncover the mystery at Oksu Station. He even suggests that Na-yeong interview the train conductor involved in the incident, but ultimately it doesn't yield any results. As a determined journalist, Na-yeong must try even harder to uncover this issue and reveal the truth behind the haunting mystery.

5. EXHUMA (2024)

Film Exhumal, Credit: ShowBox

Surely you are familiar with the title of the film. Indeed, EXHUMA has attracted the most attention from film enthusiasts and has been trending lately. In fact, in Indonesia alone, the film has broken records with 2 million viewers!

The story of the film begins with the life of a wealthy family in Los Angeles (LA), United States, experiencing a series of unusual and mysterious events. This is very dangerous for the safety of their baby. To overcome this problem, the family seeks help from a famous couple of shamans, Bong-gil (played by Lee Do-hyun) and Hwa-rim (played by Kim Go-eun).

By starting a special ritual, the two shamans try to find the cause of the supernatural events experienced by the LA family. After some time, they discover clues that the threat comes from the evil spirit of the family's ancestors.

The spirit of their ancestors becomes a terror for this family, known as 'Graves Calling'. To overcome this problem, Hwa-rim and Bong-gil seek help from a feng shui expert, Sang-deok (played by Choi Min-sik), and a funeral officer named Young-geun (played by Yoo Hae-jin).

After finding out the location of the ancestors' grave, they discover suspicious things in the grave. The ancestors were buried in a very dangerous place. This is the moment they have to fight against the spirits of their ancestors and find a way out of this problem that threatens the safety of their baby.

Well, that's the scary Korean horror movie that also makes you think about the puzzles in its storyline. So, prepare yourself for an adrenaline test by watching those movies!

Author: Zahra Utami Putri

(kpl/wri)