Jang Jae-hyun's occult thriller shares Jury Prize with Canadian feature 'Rumors' as 'In a Violent Nature' claims Grand Prix
South Korean supernatural thriller "Exhuma" split the Jury Prize at France's Gerardmer International Fantastic Film Festival on Sunday, continuing the momentum for Korean genre films in the international film festival circuit. Director Jang Jae-hyun's boundary-crossing horror film shared the honor with "Rumors," a Canadian feature from Guy Maddin and the Johnson brothers.
Released in theaters here on Feb. 22, 2024, "Exhuma" weaves a tale of four spiritual practitioners — a shaman and her protege, a geomancer and an undertaker — who unearth malevolent forces behind a wealthy family's ancestral curse. An immediate box office sensation in South Korea, the film pairs genre icon Choi Min-sik (of "Oldboy" fame) with K-drama star Kim Go-eun in a potent blend of occult horror and historical reckoning.
The Gerardmer International Fantastic Film Festival, hosted annually in its namesake French ski resort town, has served as a showcase for genre cinema since 1994. The festival primarily spotlights European and Asian productions that offer alternatives to mainstream horror and fantasy.
The festival's 32nd edition ran Wednesday through Sunday, presenting 50 features across its venues under a jury led by French actor Vimala Pons.
The Grand Prix went to Canadian director Chris Nash's "In a Violent Nature," a slasher about a resurrected serial killer that marks the 42-year-old Ontario native's directorial debut.
Spanish filmmaker Pedro Martin Calero's debut "The Wailing" claimed the Critics' Prize, while Irish director Damian McCarthy's "Oddity" took home the Audience Award. The Best Short Film honor went to French director Hakim Atoui's "Blood Ties."
