Review of The Wailing (2016) by Brandon W — 06 Nov 2016

The Wailing is directed and written by Na Jong-jin, and ur stars Kwak Do-Won, Hwang Jung-Min, and Chun Woo-Hee, in a South Korean mystery thriller about a sergeant policeman that has a case of people killing each other while looking really weird, their houses burned down, and Jong-Goo (Kwak Do-Don) believes that from his best friend and a mysterious woman, a Japanese man may be the cause of it.

I wanted to see it because of the high reviews that was almost 100%, and the trailers that sold me on it. I managed to find it on PlayStation Store, and when I finished it, I was speechless during the night until I went to bed.

The acting is pretty good, some people will find the main guy to be over the top, and maybe he is, but it's part of his character that he plays. The little girl did a great job of acting innocent and being a crazed person.

The mystery of it is fantastic that I have absolutely no idea where it's going, and when I was sure enough to know where it was going, especially at the end, there's another twist in there that I went back to square one of not knowing anything, and like the main character, I wanted to know what's going on.

It is a supernatural film in terms of the demons and stuff, but it's well-told in a different way that I've never seen before, especially when it brings Korean culture to it in terms of their legends and other things.

The first act is really funny as the main character is very clumsy and is really bad at his job, but when things start to take a route for the worst, it gets more dark as the film keeps going, and I wasn't laughing anymore and was more or less worried for the characters as I care about them and wanted them to save the little girl.

The writing by Na Hong-jin tightly constructed that manages to be confusing and understanding at the same time until you start to realize it at the very end, which is a very effective one that I didn't see coming.

The movie is long, no doubt, but it kept me interested from beginning to end that I didn't care at all about how long it is. The Wailing is a fantastic film that I'm glad I notice this film as it's one of the most interesting supernatural films in years.