Review of The Wailing (2016) by Adam B — 07 Feb 2017

I will start off by saying that Korean Films are by far my favorite films and though I haven't seen every single one the ones I have seen have been cemented into memory as Masterpieces. The film is directed by Na Hong-jin and this is the first movie I have seen of his but his third major directed film.

The story centers on a village that is being plagued by sickness and running rampant with heinous crimes. The main character who is a cop is trying to find a way to stop what is going on as so to save his daughter.

The acting was excellent with Do-Won Kwaki who plays the cop Jong-goo and Hwan-hee Kim playing the daughter Hyo-Jin. They do a great job and so do all of the other cast members. The one thing I have come to love about Foreign films especially Korean ones is how much raw emotion and talent they can portray in a movie with actors I know nothing about and that they can pull you into caring deeply about these people.

I also like how the cops aren't Americanized. I mean as someone who is an American citizen the cops are portrayed as militant and bullies to a degree and here they are portrayed as docile being that they have no real weapons and being in a small village and they're not prepared to handle what is going on with the current state of affairs.

The action is invigorating. I mean the heart of this 2.5 hour movie is a straight tension filled drama with some very well crafted action scenes but don't come into this movie thinking it's a John Wick or even close.

I would say think the movie Seven. The cinematography is gorgeous with each shot being meticulously edited and put onto film. The locale is beautiful and makes you want to re-watch it again just to feast your eyes on it for a second time.

I will conclude with saying that this is definitely in my new favorite Top 10 horror films of all time and as someone who is a horror fanatic like myself that is a bold statement. I'm glad I didn't review this movie immediately after watching it but waited about a day because the ending will make you side one of two ways obviously and at first I didn't like it.

I waited and read some remarks on google about the ending and came up with my own theory. The movie has an Inception feel to it and I will leave it at that but I can say you don't want to skip this film.

I find it to be fresh and tasteful and worth a watch at least once. Don't let not liking to read subtitles waylay your interest. The fundamental theory behind this movie is about a man in a Quandary of a situation but surrounded by religious connotations.