THE WAILING (2016)

Genre: Thriller / Horror
Running Length: 2:36
Cast: Kwak Do-won, Hwang Jung-min, Jun Kunimura, Kim Hwan-hee, Chun Woo-hee
Director: Na Hong-jin
Screenplay: Na Hong-jin

"They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." Luke 24:37-39

THE WAILING starts off with that passage taken from the Bible. To provide some context to those verses, those words were spoken by Jesus in His resurrected form (after the crucifixion) to His disciples. That passage essentially anchors the entire theme of the movie.

In no way this movie is preachy, but it is an allegory of sorts peppered with Christian motif and the supernatural. In fact, the narrative is so organic and dynamic, it's really up to the audience to interpret what they want to believe. This slow-burn and strange story will keep you wondering long after you've left the cinema (at least that's what it did to me. I'm still pondering as I'm writing this review).

To me, the dominant idea of The Wailing is faith and doubt of men.

Eventhough it has a good amount of horror elements (exorcism, occult rituals etc), this is not your standard horror picture. It's more of a psychological thriller horror film - arranged in that order. It messes your mind with an unpredictable plot that will keep you guessing. There are no jump scares but yet, you will still be scared.

The story is set in the present day in a small Korean rural village. A slow-witted police sergeant (Kwak's character) is investigating a gruesome homicide where a man, seemingly being possessed by an evil spirit, stabbed his family to death. Soon, there are similar grisly murders that followed suit. From the rumours he has been hearing, our protagonist believes an elderly Japanese man (who has just moved into the village) is behind all these.

I won't spoil the rest of the movie for you because to be honest, the above is just the beginning of a series of events that gets more bizarre as the story unfolds. For example, the first 1/3 of the movie is actually pretty comedic but the filmmakers did this on purpose to reel you in for an unforgettable ride.

The acting is first class because it relies alot on the reactions of its actors. A special shout out to the child actor who played the protagonist's young daughter. There is an intense exorcism scene (with drums and all) involving the daughter and a Korean shaman that will keep you at the edge of your seat.

From a technical perspective, the cinematography is much more impressive than The Revenant. The reason for the comparison is because both the directors chose to shoot the film with natural lighting to give it a more organic and atmospheric feel. But yet, this movie is much more immersive.

In summary, The Wailing is a rare and unique movie experience with a satisfyingly ambiguous ending. I think not everyone will like this film but it did it for me - it still haunts me now. In a similar fashion, I would like to end this review with a Bible verse: "For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin." Romans 14:23

Rating: 10/10