The Wailing (2016) Review

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We watched The Wailing on Shudder.com and found out just how badly a well meaning dad can fuck up his entire family. A lesson I learned long ago.

@dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website.

Synopsis

Jong-goo (Kwak Do-won) is a local policeman and caring father to Hyo-jin (Hwan-hee Kim), the precocious young daughter. A stranger enters their village and immediately things start to go awry.

Families are found horrifically murdered, and people in the village seem to be changing.

A Japanese man who lives in the forest is fingered as the culprit, but what is really going on?

As Hyo-jin gets sick, father Jong-goo takes it on himself to solve the mystery surrounding what exactly is happening to their village. 

Review

The Wailing was directed and written by Na Hong-jin and many have called it one of the most impressive horror movies of the last 20 years.

I would call The Wailing the Indiana Jones of horror movies. It’s constantly throwing new stuff your way. It’s hard to know what’s around the next bend, but you can bet that it will be exciting, terrifying, or totally shocking.

More than that, it’s an engaging labyrinth of a story that answers questions only to reveal more questions.

Those who want an ending that’s easy to understand may want to steer clear of The Wailing, but to be honest it’s pretty fun to guess at what it all means.

Personally, this movie has been hyped for so long by so many that I came away a bit underwhelmed. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fine movie that’s pretty interesting and it definitely kept me on the edge of my seat.

I just expected something so much more scary than this due to everyone’s reaction to it and there’s just no way it could deliver.

There’s also something of a cultural rift that I feel in The Wailing more so than in other foreign films. I felt like there was tons of subtext and meaning that I was missing due to my inherent Western upbringings.

Score

8/10

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