Novel becomes anime: strategy behind 'Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning' production

By KTimes

“Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning” is now in theaters. As both a horror film and an animated feature, its unique combination has intrigued audiences, who are responding with great enthusiasm.

The film was released on Feb. 21. It is an occult blockbuster, depicting the beginning of an epic battle between exorcists with supernatural abilities and an ultimate evil. It is based on the novel with the same title, which first serialized in 1993 and has since sold over 10 million copies. Fans of the original work have shown strong reactions to the film's release.

What has raised some eyebrows, however, is the decision to produce “Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning” as an animated film. In South Korea, animation has traditionally been associated with children’s entertainment. Given that the novel gained popularity in the 1990s, many of its original readers are now middle-aged — an age group not typically considered the core audience for animation. This posed a unique challenge for the film’s creators.

Of course, the fusion of horror and animation is not entirely unprecedented. The Japanese anime “Ghost Stories” gained a strong following in South Korea. However, that series aired on Tooniverse, a network primarily geared toward children. While “Ghost Stories” featured young protagonists, “Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning” follows a group of adults fighting to protect a single child.

Why, then, was “Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning” made as an animated film? Kwak Jin-young, the planning producer at Locus, the film's production company, explained, "It is one of the best-regarded works in Korean fantasy literature in terms of entertainment, quality and mass appeal. However, adapting it into live action has long been a challenge. The difficulty of portraying the novel’s occult and supernatural battle elements, combined with the fact that the original work is now quite old, contributed to this challenge."

Kwak noted that animation provided a solution to these issues. "If adapted into live action, many elements would be difficult to depict convincingly, potentially requiring reductions or changes to the world-building. However, animation allows us the freedom to fully realize the occult universe without such limitations," the producer said.

"Animation is a visually dynamic and youthful medium — not necessarily in terms of audience, but in how it incorporates cutting-edge technology and aesthetics. When combined with acting, music and direction, animation can often have a stronger impact than live action."

He continued, "In essence, animation allows 'Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning' to be reborn with a fresh and modern appearance. We believed this approach would appeal to both longtime fans who remember the original and new audiences experiencing the story for the first time."

The film’s genre and format were carefully chosen through strategic planning.

Ultimately, “Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning” has overcome initial skepticism. The film topped the box office for five consecutive days among films released in the same period. According to CGV's age-based reservation data on Feb. 26, thirtysomethings accounted for 33.6 percent of ticket sales, fortysomethings 31.6 percent, people in their 50s 18.5 percent and in their 20s 15 percent. The film has successfully captured the interest of both middle-aged fans of the original work and younger audiences. Attention now turns to the new records “Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning” may set in the coming days.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.