- Actors: Kwak Do Won, Hwang Jung Min, Kunimura Jun
- Directors: Na Hong Jin
- Format: Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, THX, Widescreen
- Language: Korean
- Subtitles: English
- Number of discs: 1
- Rated: Unrated
- Studio: Well Go USA
- Release Date: October 4, 2016
- Run Time: 156 minutes
We seem to be
entering a phase of intellectual horror films, following the extremely visceral
style of the last decade. Suddenly movies with psychological depth are
succeeding over the generic spectacle, so that we have movies like The Witch, The Babadook, Goodnight Mommy,
and The Neon Demon replacing the days
of endless Saw sequels. The Wailing is South Korea’s answer to these
films, distinct in its national style by the sense of humor and in many ways it
the country’s own take on a masterpiece like The Exorcist.
Steeped in
atmospheric dread, The Wailing begins
with a series of unexplained crimes in a tiny rural village. Detective Jong-Goo
(Do Won Kwak) is awoken early one morning to report to a crime scene, assuming
it to be death by natural causes. He is shocked to discover a brutal murder
scene, with a catatonic culprit taking on an unearthly appearance. When one
murder scene turns into another as the townsfolk inexplicably begin murdering
each other, it quickly becomes apparent that something strange is happening in
the typically quiet village.
There is a
pattern occurring in the behavior of those who eventually become violent, and
many point to the arrival of a Japanese stranger (Jun Kunimura) as the cause of
suffering. At first Jong-Goo dismisses this theory, but he has a different
response when his young daughter begins to show the same symptoms as the other
killers. The irony of the character of Jong-Goo is that he is incompetent in
nearly all that he does, despite his noble intentions. In trying to solve the
mystery of his daughter’s ailment, he is often obtuse and cowardly. At first
this is rather comedic, especially as he is seen to panic at the sight of
danger, but it slowly turns tragic.
In an effort to
seek spiritual healing for his daughter, Jong-Goo hires a shaman (Jeong-min
Hwang) to perform exorcism rituals. These rituals provide the film with some of
the most expertise filmmaking, in many different ways. Even if I often had no
idea what was actually happening, I was captured by the cinematography, the
acting, and especially the editing. I sat in rapt attention, captivated by the
filmmaking in a way that engaged me for the rest of the narrative, despite a
boldly padded run-time of 157-minutes.
Towards the end
of the movie there are many twists and turns, and revelations which only make
sense upon post-viewing analysis. This is not mindless spectacle, even if the
film does end on a high note of subtle special effects. More important than the
moments of gore and horrific imagery are the deeper ideas of faith and the
battle between good an evil. This is the stuff of nightmares, though it is a
dream for true fans of the horror genre.
The Blu-ray
release of The Wailing includes a few
special features. There is a making-of featurette that is under 5-minutes long,
as well as a 2-minute promotional video and the trailer. The real reason for
this Blu-ray is the film itself, which is enhanced by the atmosphere of the
spectacular cinematography and sound design. This is also a film where the
horror is often contained in the face of the actors rather than the gore,
though there are a few particularly bloody sequences within the film. Both are
enhanced by the high definition presentation, regardless of how lackluster the
special features are.
Entertainment Value:
8/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 9/10
Historical
Significance: 7/10
Special Features: 3/10
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