Action, thrill and a touch of romance: Now playing in Korean theaters

Exhuma | Madame Web | Dune: Part Two | Poor Things

A scene from ″Exhuma″ [SHOWBOX]

Exhuma (15)Mystery, thriller / 134 min. / Korean / Feb. 22 Who would have thought that digging up a grave could unleash such horrible consequences?

In “Exhuma,” a supernatural thriller by director Jang Jae-hyun, two young shamans, Kim Go-eun's Hwa-rim and Lee Do-hyun's Bong-gil, must investigate a series of mysterious happenings that affect a wealthy family in Los Angeles. When they realize that a certain grave was the origin of a sinister spirit haunting the family for decades, feng shui expert Sang-deok, played by Choi Min-sik, and undertaker Yeong-geun, played by Yoo Hae-jin, join forces with Hwa-rim and Bong-gil to relocate the grave.

Jang Jae-hyun is best known for directing occult films such as “The Priests” (2015), starring Kim Yoon-seok and Gang Dong-won, and “Svaha: The Sixth Finger,” starring Lee Jung-jae, Park Jeong-min, Lee Jae-in, Jung Jin-young and Jin Seon-kyu.

A scene from ″Madame Web″ [SONY PICTURES]

Madame Web (12)Sci-fi, action, adventure / 116 min. / English / March 13 Another Marvel Comics superhero has made their way into your nearest cinema: “Madame Web,” starring Dakota Johnson as the titular character.

This film follows Madame Web’s origin story and how she went from being a paramedic in New York City as Cassandra “Cassie” Webb to the psychic hero Madame Web who can predict the future within the “spider world.” Former explorer Ezekiel Sims, played by Tahar Rahim, gains clairvoyance and attempts to murder three women who have potential to become Spider-Women in the future, because his visions tell him that they will kill him first. Cassie intervenes Ezekiel to try and stop him. The three women are played by Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced and Celeste O’Connor.

“Madame Webb” is the fourth film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, following “Venom” (2018), “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” (2021) and “Morbius” (2022).

A scene from "Dune: Part Two," starring Timothee Chalamet as Paul Atreides, left, and Zendaya as Chani [WARNER BROS. KOREA]

Dune: Part Two (12)Action / 166 min. / English / Feb. 28 “Dune: Part Two” continues the “Dune” universe, based on the 1965 epic science novel by Frank Herbert. But this time, it’s packed with more action and new characters.

Paul Atreides, played by Timothée Chalamet, is exiled from his family House Atreides and embarks on a journey to avenge the death of his father and fall of his family. He teams up with the Fremen people who inhabit the desert planet Arrakis to overthrow the antagonistic family House Harkonnen. Chani Fremen, played by Zendaya, becomes Paul’s love interest, which is another development in the plot of “Dune: Part Two.” The film sees actors Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux and Souheila Yacoub as newly-joined cast members.

Director Denis Villeneuve is known for films such as “Sicario” (2015),” “Arrival” (2016) and “Blade Runner 2049” (2017). He received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Director for “Arrival.”

A scene from ″Poor Things″ [WALT DISNEY COMPANY KOREA]

Poor Things (18)Drama, romance, comedy / 141 min. / English / March 6 This film not only gave actor Emma Stone her second Academy Award for Best Actress, but also won Best Production Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling and Best Costume Design in this year's edition.

Stone stars as Bella Baxter, a woman from the Victorian era of London who is brought back to life through a brain transplant by the quirky yet brilliant surgeon Godwin Baxter, played by Willem Dafoe, after she tries to kill herself. The problem? She’s now a full-grown woman with the brain of her unborn child, forcing her to discover the journey of life all over again. The main cast also features Mark Ruffalo, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott and Jerrod Carmichael.

“Poor Things” is based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Alasdair Gray. The director of the film, Yorgos Lanthimos, is known for his previous films such as “The Lobster” (2015), “The Killing Of A Sacred Deer” (2017) and “The Favourite” (2018).

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]