Written and Directed by Na Hong-jin
Starring Kwak Do-won, Hwang Jung-min and Chun Woo-hee
South Korea, 2016
THE WAILING surprised me because I remembered all of the marketing making the film seem like it was going to be a long, depressing slog. But, it’s actually pretty funny, in parts. Sure, it deals with gory murders, but it’s all seen through the eyes of a schlubby and inept village police officer who means well but often jumps to the wrong conclusions and is crippled by fear.
This is to the movie’s credit, though. It makes a movie with fantastic supernatural stuff in it seem more real, and takes a unique point of view. So many horror movies are meant to scare audiences but few of them feature characters who are appropriately frightened by the insane things they see.
It gets to the point where I’m not even sure the supernatural figures know who is wrong and who is right, who is evil and who isn’t. Which one’s the hunter and which one’s the hunted? What’s the difference? It’s rare a supernatural horror movie like this one exists in this kind of gray area, and it is refreshing.
I guess I’ve said a lot without saying much about the plot – maybe that’s for the best. I enjoyed not knowing what this movie was about or where it was going when I went into it, so maybe you will, too.
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