Theatrical Review: The Wailing (2016)

"Comedy, Horror, Police Procedural... we won't soon forget this one."

And here we go again with South Korea dropping another top-notch Crime Thriller on us, only this time, it's got a Supernatural bent to it. We're all about watching Korean Gangsters war amongst themselves, or seeing a Seoul Cop or two trying to track down a Serial Killer, but throw in a Demon, a Shaman, and some good old fashioned possession, and that just takes it to the next level for us.

Director Hong-Jin Na is no stranger to us, as his excellent films The Chaser and The Yellow Sea have long since been a part of our Foreign Film lexicon. When we heard that his newest movie dipped its toe into the Supernatural pool, we knew we were in for something special. Or at the very least, different. Maybe even odd.

The Wailing is definitely all of those things.

Jong-Goo is a bumbling Police Sergeant in a small South Korean village who seems ill-equipped for his job: he shows up late; appears to be afraid of confrontation; and overall, he doesn't seem to have a clue about much at all. After being called to a grisly murder scene, it's obvious that neither he, nor any of his fellow officers are prepared to deal with what they find. Then again, they probably don't see many zombie-like killers with irritated, boil-covered skin, so it's understandable.

YEAH, YOU DON'T SEE THAT EVERYDAY.

Soon enough, more murders occur, each of them involving some sort of sickness that leaves its victims covered in angry, weeping boils. At one point, the Police decide that wild mushrooms are to blame (?!?), but after hearing rumors of an old Japanese stranger who lives in the forest, Jong-Goo begins to wonder; everything was fine before the stranger arrived, and he's shown up at every murder scene to watch the Police work, so there has to be something sinister about him. After a local man swears that he saw the stranger feeding on wild animals, with red, Demonic eyes, that stared into his soul, Jong-Goo is convinced of it.

HE IS KINDA CREEPY...

When Jong-Goo's daughter falls ill to the plague that's been sweeping through the village, he sets out to confront the stranger with the help of his partner and a local Deacon. It doesn't go well. Desperate for help, a suave Shaman is called in to put a Death Hex on the Japanese stranger, as that will no doubt cleanse the village of his evil presence. Add to that a mysterious woman in white, and things go from bad to worse pretty quick.

WHAT IS SHE ON ABOUT?

The Wailing is a long movie. clocking in at 2 hours and 35 minutes. It's a tough watch in that respect, and it could have benefited from a bit of a trim here or there, but even in its over-long state, it's one of the most engaging Thrillers that we've seen this year.

I'm still trying to grasp what the movie was truly about, as some of it makes very little sense. There's definitely an evil presence in the small village which is making people sick and causing them to commit some heinous murders, but then again, there could be more to it than that. I view it as a straight-forward Supernatural tale, but that doesn't mean that it is.

That very mystery had us going the whole time, wondering just who was causing the sickness, possessions, and re-animation of corpses, or if it was anyone at all. The Japanese guy is obviously an evil Demon, but then again he could be a innocent man who is swept up in some good old fashioned xenophobia once things start to go wrong in his new S.Korean hometown; then there's the mysterious woman in white, who seems to delight in tormenting Jong-Goo, and is also sufficiently creepy, so what if she's somehow behind the occurrences; and of course there's something not completely right about the flashy Shaman who shows up and makes a big production out of cleansing the village of its evil...

***BEWARE SPOILERS*** This movie had us guessing as to what in the hell was really going on up until the end, and in the end, we were satisfied. Without giving too much away, there's a biblical element to the movie that involves spirits using human beings for their own ends. It kind of felt like a chess game between good and evil, with Jong-Goo being the main pawn. It was clear to us that the Japanese stranger was a in fact a Demon, and that the Shaman was also one, perhaps even the strangers apprentice. As for the woman in white, we're pretty sure that she was a good entity who was trying to help Jong-Goo. I'm not sure why he was punished (the woman in white's explanation that he had "sinned' made no sense, because that "sin" didn't happen until well into the movie, and by then he had already been plagued with terrible things), but in the end, it was all about his journey.
***END SPOILERS***

Then comes the ending, which wraps everything up in horrific, heartbreaking fashion.

DUDE, SHE'S CONTAGIOUS. BACK OFF.

There's some nasty bits throughout the movie, including animal sacrifices, some grisly murder scenes, and a disturbing, blood-soaked finale.

WELL, HELL....

A sex scene, but nothing gratuitous at all.

THIS MOVIE WAS TOO CREEPY TO BE SEXY.

S. Korea is rife with Supernatural activity. And Serial Killers. And inept Cops.

THE KOREAN TONY ROBBINS.

We really liked The Wailing, and it was a fantastic movie, but it left us with an odd taste in our mouth. I think that its over-abundance of humor towards the beginning caught us off guard, as we were expecting a scary and more serious movie from the get. I think we'd have to watch it again to see how we truly feel about it. It may even go up a half grade or so, who knows.

As it stands though, The Wailing is an excellent Supernatural Thriller, and one that you should seek out and experience when you get the chance.

B+

The Wailing is in theaters (Limited) right now.

Woo-hee Chun is in this.