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.

ICYMI: Our July Reviews!

July was a hell of a month for good movies, as evidenced by the above-average grades that all but 2 of the 12 that we reviewed, recieved. 

The Blackcoat's Daughter stands out as the best of the new ones, with The Wailing and The Absent One not being far behind. Netflix did a hell of a job with the series Stranger Things, too.

We broke out the Blu-rays for three of our favorite 80's flicks -Return of the Living Dead, The Lost Boys, and Manhunter- which made for a crisp and visually-stunning trip down memory lane. Scream Factory did an excellent job with their ROTLD and Manhunter discs, and even though The Lost Boys BD that we own isn't quite a "Deluxe" edition, it was great too.

The only movie that really let us down in July was Satanic, and it wasn't completely horrible.

So here are all of the reviews that we did in July, listed in graded order, from “best” to “worst.” If you haven't read through them yet, feel free to do so now, and enjoy!

August's Blu-ray of the Month: Session 9 (2001)

One of our favorite movies of the 00's, and one of genuinely scariest that we've ever seen, Session 9 is finally coming to Blu-ray, courtesy of our friends over at Scream Factory!

It's really hard to find movies that scare us anymore, and I'm talking about the "slowly creeps into you and settles in your bones" kind of fear. I'm not trying to over-sell it, and no doubt there are plenty of people this movie wouldn't affect so profoundly, but for me, and for everyone here who has seen it, Session 9 is a truly terrifying Haunted House story.

And it's coming to Blu-ray!!!

"A deft exercise in atmospheric horror and insanity." – Paul Malcolm, L.A. Weekly

It looms up out of the woods like a dormant beast. Grand, imposing... abandoned and deteriorating, the Danvers State Mental Hospital, closed down for 15 years is about to receive 5 new visitors.

Donning protective gear, the men of the Hazmat Elimination Co. venture into the eerily vast and vacant asylum that is filled with an evil and mysterious past. Rampant patient abuse, medieval medical procedure and rumors of demonic possession are some of the many dark secrets the hospital holds - but then so do each of the men.

This "deliciously disturbing" (Us Weekly) thriller, directed by Brad Andreson (The Machinist), features a talented cast including David Caruso (CSI: Miami), Peter Mullan (War Horse, Trainspotting), Paul Guilfoyle (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation), Josh Lucas (American Psycho), Stephen Gevedon (Show Me a Hero) and Brendan Sexton III (The Killing, Boys Don't Cry)."

Bonus Features

• NEW Return To Danvers: The Secrets Of SESSION 9 Featuring Interviews With Director/Co-writer Brad Anderson, Actor/Co-writer Stephen Gevedon, Actors Josh Lucas, Brendan Sexton III, Larry Fessenden, Composers The Climax Golden Twins And Director Of Photography Uta Briesewitz
• NEW Horror's Hallowed Grounds – Revisiting The Locations Of The Film
• Audio Commentary With Brad Anderson And Stephen Gevedon
• Deleted Scenes And Alternate Ending With Optional Commentary By Director Brad Anderson
• Story To Screen Featurette
• The Haunted Palace Featurette
• Theatrical Trailer

Scream Factory is absolutely killing it this year with their releases, and as much as we love them for bringing Return of the Living Dead, Nighthawks, The Thing, Manhunter, and Bubba Ho-Tep to Blu-ray, we may love them most of all for giving us Session 9.

This is an excellent movie, and a special one to me, and it's a Must Own of the highest caliber. You can read our review and Pre-order a copy below.

UPDATED: Our Top 31 Upcoming Movies of 2016!

We're always, ALWAYS, searching for newest and best Horror & Genre movies & TV shows to watch, which is why we work so hard to keep our Blu-ray & DVD, Theatrical, VOD, and TV release dates pages up to date.

One thing that we've never done though, until now, is kept a running list of the movies coming soon to a big or small screen near you that we want to see the most, and there are always a lot of those. With that in mind, below you'll find the Top 30 Upcoming Horror & Genre Projects that have us chomping at the bit like rabid fiends. And yeah, they're in order from most to least anticipated.

• The movies listed below all have release dates that are set. As you know, some of them can, and will, change.
  
• You'll only find new projects that will be Theatrical, VOD, and TV releases on this list. Nothing that's coming soon on disc (unless it’s some sort of Special Edition.).
  
• You can click the pics to be taken to each movie's IMDB page, for release date info, etc...The release dates can also be found in the file names.
  
• This list will be mainly comprised of upcoming Horror projects, but the occasional Superhero, Sci-Fi, or Action flick might break through. It's all relative to our interests.
  
• Even though it's already been released, we include Green Room here because its Limited Theatrical run was very limited, and like many of you, we're going to have to catch it on VOD.
  
• We will add and remove titles from this list as needed, which will be pretty often.
  
• Mark your calendars! 

*7/29: Added ABCs of Death 2.5, Francesca, In Order of Disappearance, Phantasm: Ravager, Shelley, and a new poster for The Blackcoat's Daughter.
*7/29: Removed Train To Busan, Jason Bourne, and Viral, due to release; and Before I Wake and Ouija: Origin of Evil, because they got bumped down.  

I SWEAR THAT IF YOU USE YOUR MOUSE TO SCROLL UP AND DOWN WHILE LOOKING AT THIS PIC, THE VIDEO TAPE MOVES. CREEPY.