Can you feel it creeping ever closer, my ghouls and ghoulies? Yes…it’s coming, the 31st of October is nearing faster and faster, and it won’t be long now until we can all rejoice and take pleasure in that wonderful holiday. Although for some people that holiday is torture, but eh can’t win them all is what I always say. Unfortunately that means this series of posts is also nearing it’s end. Fear not though, there are still three more installments to come after this one, so it ain’t over till it’s over. Which is especially true when it comes to horror I suppose, as it’s a genre that’s famous for shock endings, infamous resurrections, and more fun stuff like that! This week I’m tightening the screws of terror with a Korean movie that dates back to 2016. If you are a horror fan you will know that in many ways the Asians are able to create an atmosphere of fright in their horror films, that other countries can only dream of. I don’t know how they are able to do so, or even why that is, but I can say that quite often they succeeded in scaring the living daylights out of me. And then there are movies that go even beyond this level of scares and are just genuinely disturbing. The Wailing falls into this last category.

Jong-Goo is a police officer in a small rural town called Gokseong. It’s one of those sleepy little towns where nothing really happens. Which is why the police isn’t prepared for the horror that is about to land at their doorstep. When Jong-Goo is called in the middle of the night to a very bloody crimescene, together with his partner Oh Seong-Bok, he can’t believe his eyes. A diseased man covered in sores appears to have slaughtered his entire family. And this incident is just the beginning as soon another equally horrifying crime like this one occurs. At a loss to explain what is going on, Jong-Goo begins to hear rumors that a mysterious Japanese man who has recently moved into town might be responsible for these strange events. At first he doesn’t really believe all this superstitious nonsense, but things become more serious when his own young daughter Hyo-Jin seems to have contracted the strange disease and is acting ever more irrational. At a total loss of what to do, he even turns to a shaman to perform an exorcism on his little girl. Eventually the helpless police officer is forced to face the truth that an evil presence has entered the town of Gokseong. An evil that isn’t going to be turned away very easily…..

It isn’t very common for a horror movie to have a run time of nearly two and half hours. For a movie such as this to keep it’s audience’s attention it needs to make sure it keeps up the pace and the tension. Imagine a needle that slowly enters the skin of your hand, and then gets pressed deeper and deeper inside, until you can’t help but scream your lungs out. That’s how I could describe the feeling that this movie instills upon the helpless victims that watch this masterpiece. Because it truly is just that. Blending together multiple different horror genres from zombies, supernatural scares, exorcisms, and unimaginably horrifying imagery, this cocktail succeeds in putting your mind into a total overdrive and have a meltdown. One that will last for many hours, maybe even days long after it’s final scene. At the start of this film, things aren’t even so bad. Hell, the bungling efforts in trying to solve the crime by Jong-Goo and his partner, might even be called humorous. It’s also just that what’s so clever about this film. The sense of false security that at first takes hold of you when you watch it, while at the same time you are feeling that something just simply isn’t right here. Where you might at first think all this isn’t to be taken too seriously, your mood soon changes, when things go down a darker path, faster and faster.

This mood is further enhanced by the use of it’s incredible cinematography. Beautiful rural landscapes are mixed with horrifying and often quite disturbing scenes of absolute and total horror. A horrendous downpour that is almost continuously present also adds to the atmosphere of this movie. It would be a mortal sin to not also mention the high level of acting that this film has to offer. Jong-Goo’s character played masterfully by actor Kwak Do-Won, is no superhero. In fact he’s just an ordinary, and one might call even incredibly clumsy guy, that’s thrust into a situation that’s just far above his (or anyone else’s for that matter) pay grade. It doesn’t stop him from trying though, and I loved the journey that he was taken on throughout the course of the film. His love for his daughter turned him into something so far removed from how he started out, that it only takes a special actor to make this believable. Kwak Do-Won accomplished this feat though. I have often wondered what the effect is on young children that have to play in horrorfilms. I don’t know if that’s a healthy thing really, especially not when you see what horrors the young Kim Hwan-Hee who plays Jong-goo’s daughter has to endure during the course of this film. But man, what a performance this, at the time of this movie only 14 year old actress, delivers. Both incredibly frightening, but also totally believable, it’s one of the many highlights this film contains.

It’s almost impossible to believe that someone so young is able to play a part that older actors would struggle with. She pulls it off though, and you can’t help but be both in awe, as well as horrified by her skills. With all these positive notes, is there also something negative to mention about this film? Well, one could argue the fact that the ending might not be to everyone’s taste, as it leaves a few threads of the story (as well as the mystery) unanswered. Quite honestly I thought it fitted the film perfectly, and if one pays close attention there are also quite a few answers that can be found. The Wailing is a film that will keep you guessing until the end as to what exactly is going on. Or even more importantly, who or what is responsible for the unspeakable terrors that are unleashed upon this helpless town. It’s also a film that once again proves how incredibly skilled the Koreans are in making movies that are unconventional, but at the same time highly entertaining. A movie such as this simply could not be made by Hollywood. If they would ever be dumb enough to attempt a remake, it would fail. Pure and simple. The Wailing is a deeply disturbing, genuinely frightening, cinematic masterpiece that I cannot recommend enough to fans of horror movies. Just don’t expect to be sleeping well for a few days after you have seen this one.
I give The Wailing a 9 out of 10 score.

Yeah, Hollywood always seems to bomb these kinds of movies when they try them. Not that I’ll be watching this, from Korea OR Hollywood. Scary movies and me, no sir!
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Haha, fair enough!😂 This definitely is one of those films that’s truly frightening and very disturbing, so yeah if you are not a fan of scary movies, avoid this one at all costs!😀
But true, Hollywood and their endless remakes? It almost never works out, maybe with one or two rare exceptions😊
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I just completely skipped your review, as I have this on DVD, still not watched. It had great reviews everywhere!
Best wishes, Pete.
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Fair enough Pete, I always avoid spoilers as you know, but I always like to go into a film with as little knowledge as possible. It’s a great film though Pete! Genuinely scary though, no denying that! 😀Hope you will enjoy it when you see it!😊
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Great review! Like you, I feel a lack of familiarity will help, and yes, Korean cinema goes to some weird places for sure…
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Haha…the weirdest place I think at times, but eh that’s one of the reasons I love it so much! Thank you as always! 😀😀
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This sounds great! I would watch it if people had not voted for me to watch weird Halloween movies! Also much more people wanted me to watch bad movies than good so I am in the bad/ weird spectrum this year! Maybe next year people will vote for me to watch good ones 😉
Great review!
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Haha, thank you so much! 😀This really was an amazingly good movie, and one I know you would enjoy! That said, maybe next year you should let people vote for two categories lol😂😂 Fingers crossed!😀😀😀
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Ooh no I’m too wussy for this! Great review as always!
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Haha, I pretty much am convinced this is not a movie for you😊 Thanks as always for the kind words! 😀
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Unlike poor Fraggle, this is definitely a must see for me!
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Haha, I definitely had you in mind when I published this one😊 Pretty sure you will love this. Be warned too, sleepless nights might occur after this one😅😅😅
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😁👏
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Awesome review! I’ll have to add this to my Halloween weekend watch list 🙂 To be honest I actually did watch try to watch it when it was available on Netflix a few years ago but stopped midway through, so you’ve convinced me to give it another shot 😀 Looking forward to your final three posts for Halloween, after those I’ll be counting down to your next Halloween posts in 2021 😛 !
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Thank you so much, glad you enjoyed the post! 😀 It really is a great film. It might start out a bit slow, but it packs up speed quite rapidly, and eventually goes towards full horror territory. It’s definitely very terrifying😅😅😅 Lol, well I have some stuff planned for this year still too, and that will be revealed later this week😊 But yeah, gotta love Halloween!😀
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Lovely review! 😀 I haven’t had a chance to see this, but it sounds right up my alley. The Koreans, Japanese and Thai are all brilliant at atmospheric horror.
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Great review. I agree that the cinematography was amazing and enhance the tone of the film. Amazing movie.
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Sorry for the late reply, but somehow your comment ended up in the spamfolder😅
Thanks so much though! It really was a truly amazing (and terrifying) film. I had an absolute blast watching this, even though it was truly unsettling at times😊
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I don’t watch as much horror as I once did. At one point it was almost all I watched. But I do still enjoy a great horror movie every so often. I think my favorites have mostly come from Japan and Korea, and occasionally Thailand. I checked and found this one already in my queue but way down near the bottom, so I’ve popped it up towards the top. Probably won’t get it in before Halloween, but maybe shortly after. Looking forward to trying it. Thanks for the great review and recommendation!
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Despite that fact that this countdown might seem to give you the opposite idea, I have actually not watched a lot of horror myself lately. This is a good month to do some catch up with horror though, so I’m pretty glad I got inspired by Halloween to finally watch a little bit more in one of my favorite movie genres.
This really is an amazing film, that truly scares the living daylights out of me at times. Something that doesn’t happen to me often. Thanks once again for an amazing comment! I hope you will enjoy the film as much as I did when you get a chance to see it 😀
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Great review! I have still not gotten up the courage to watch this one 🙂 I hear so many people with far more knowledge of the genre than myself say it’s truly disturbing… I feel like I need to build a horror threshold for this and I’m just not there yet.
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Thank you! 😊Haha, no I don’t think that this one is good to start with if you want to build a horror treshold. That’s pretty much like jumping off a tall building😂😂
But yes, this film truly is quite disturbing, not going to deny that for a second! 😊
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Looking at the comments, I’m glad I’m not the only fraidy cat around here! But I’m glad horror fans will enjoy this one.
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Haha, yes this one really is not for the faint at heart. It’s really disturbing, and if you don’t like horror, this one is best avoided, that’s for sure😀😀
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I would love to this since it was such a hit, and I have no doubt it is an excellent film, but I’m sure you know the horror level in this one is a no go for me. It would leave me feeling uncomfortable for a long time, lol 🙂
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Haha, yeah I’m pretty much convinced that this one isn’t for you. This not Train to Busan, but Train to Busan on acid I guess😂😂
It really is a masterpiece though, with a great cast, truly terrific stand out character moments, and genuinely frightening scene. When it comes to horror, it doesn’t become much better than this😊
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YES! 🙂
Good post as ever. Glad you enjoyed it. Really liked the needle analogy which I think was very apt for how this film gets to you. It is one of the few films that truly left me breathless by the end of it, and worse still, how to write my review ad do justice to it!
I think Asian culture is unique that it can spawn tales of horror and fantasy like no other which western cultures can’t, therefore we rely on blood and guts as opposed to a wonderfully rich folklore to mine for ideas.
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Thank you so much! 😊
Yes, I was struggling to find something with which to describe this movie in the best way possible, and then I though of that analogy 😂😂
But true enough…I struggled with this post too. It’s hard to fully do justice to a movie that contains so many elements, and is simply put so incredibly good. In some ways every word you write, seems to be too less😊
Yeah, I will take Asian horror over American horror any day, even though admittedly there certainly are a couple of good American horror movies too😊
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Great write-up. As usual I’m late to the party on this one. I was going to watch it a three or four years ago, after reading a lot of great reviews, but it got lost in the shuffle. I’ll remedy that soon. Maybe I should watch it on December 31st to put a lid on how terrible 2020 has been.
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Haha, yeah I think that would be a great way to close of this year that’s for sure. It’s certainly a movie that is incredibly tense and not to mention very frightening indeed. As for films being lost in the shuffle. Trust me I have quite a few of those myself 😀😀
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Korean movies seem to pop out of nowhere these days as well as being great things to watch! Great review
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Thank you 😀Haha, yeah that they do! But well, most of them just simply are insanely good! This one certainly being one of them. If you like horror, this is definitely one you want to check out!😀
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Will do🤘🏻
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I’m a SOOOOO happy to see that you saw this movie! I saw it a couple of weeks ago and was incredibly amazed by how complex it turned out to be!!! Was it not beyond the standards of most Hollywood movies nowadays?!!? I also loved how the ending unfolded. So twisted. So insane. And it didn’t even go over-the-top, although I would’ve been okay if we didn’t have that “zombie” sequence later in the movie. Otherwise, it’s definitely one of the best horror movies I’ve seen in a long time! Excellent thoughts on this one, Michel! 😀
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Thank you as always! 😀Yeah, I know what you mean! That zombie sequence was maybe my least favorite scene of the movie, despite still being quite terrifying😅
That said, other than that the entire film was incredible. It’s a crazy, twisted an highly insane fright injected roller coaster. Nothing Hollywood makes could ever come close to creating this kind of horror. That’s something only the Asians can create😊Nice to hear that you enjoyed the film yourself as well! 😀
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