Film Review: EXHUMED (2011)

EXHUMED *** U.S.A. 2011 Dir: Richard Griffin 86 mins

A mysterious family are living together in a home in suburbia. They are no ordinary family with everyone having their own little quirks about them. When a new ‘member’ moves into the home it shakes the very foundations that this family unit has put together. What has begun as an uptight efficient home will soon be covered in blood and the bodies will mount.
Shot in black and white this atmospheric psychological thriller harks back to the days of early Hammer films when they were solely doing thrillers. You can easily get lost in the beauty of this film and not realise it is actually of this century, if not for cult icon Debbie Rochon appearing throughout, you would think this was from the 1950’s. The film relies more on the inner workings of the ‘family unit’ to tell the story and not rely on special effects or bloody mayhem. It is hard not to spot that this film was inspired by TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962) and WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1962). Richard Griffin already had prior experience with working with Michael Thurber, Michael Reed and Sarah Nicklin on the 2011 film THE DISCO EXORCIST. A fine performance from every one involved and it is surprising to note that the quality of EXHUMED is amazing, even more so when you find out that the film was shot in a mere 11 days. Worth checking out for a more mature film from Richard Griffin’s filmography.

Review by Peter ‘Witchfinder‘ Hopkins