The Wailing

This review may contain spoilers!

This is such a bizarre horror/thriller but at least it has more plot than most horror films out there. I'd give The Wailing a 6/10.

This film had tension in spades, while I wouldn't describe this as an inherently scary film it does find a way of unnerving you and getting under your skin. There is a long game here about what is really causing these evil possessions throughout the town which is far more complex than most horror films manage; the 'whodunnit' element of this film really provides something unique. The score for this film was pretty well used as well, the contrast between the shaman's exorcism and the Japanese man's ritual is one of the best scenes of the film because of the music. The cinematography shows a very trained eye in charge of this film's creation, there are several shots that look as beautiful as paintings.

Kwak Do-Won, who played Jong-Goo, is a very grounded protagonist in this film; the internal conflict he experiences over the fate of his daughter is one of the more powerful plot points of the film. Jun Kunimura, who played the Japanese Man, made for an antagonist that left me rather on edge by the end of the film; Kunimura is an actor who can display the power behind his character just through the power of his voice. Kim Ki-Cheon, who played Captain of Police Substation, was very good at portraying a strong authoritative character; his sharp cracks at Jong-Goo's expense were great.

However the best performance came from Hwang Jung-Min, who played Il-Gwang. Jung-Min has fast risen to be one of the greatest Korean actors that I've watched and he always delivers a powerful performance. This film seems to be quite a fun role for him, he plays the shaman quite over the top and in an extremely comedic manner at first. Yet his role exhibits greater and greater levels of fear as the film progresses, demonstrating the capabilities Jung-Min possesses as a dramatic performer.

This film is extremely long, with a viewing time that's closer to three hours, the pacing does become laboured and you get bored over several instances. There were some themes that also felt extremely confusing, a lot of this plot isn't really presented in a very clear way; it fails to balance the surreal and the linear narrative. The editing was also a bit of a let down, the cuts were very simple and meant the film slowed down completely.

Chun Woo-Hee, who played Moo-Myeong, felt like an important character who was really mishandled; her lack of screen time meant that we never really came to understand the character. Kim Hwan-Hee, who played Hyo-Jin, gave quite a bland performance in this film; the whole 'kid gets possessed' trope is very played out. Jang So-Yeon, who played the Wife, was given very little focus in this film; she wasn't treated as a character at all. Heo Jin, who played the Mother-In-Law, wasn't an interesting role; her only true purpose in this film was to introduce Jung-Min's character. Son Kang-Kuk, who played Oh Sung-Bok, was a side role that had very little impact upon the narrative; his lack of chemistry with Do-Won really let down his performance. Kim Do-Yoon, who played Yang Yi-Sam, was really shoehorned into the film's narrative; I felt like his character was treated as far more important than he really was.