The Wailing (2016)
Unpredictable horror epic.
Presentation:
Where most horror films are usually quick amusement park rides, this one feels like a 2h40m epic. Unfortunately it’s quite slow and the biggest thrills happen at the very end of the ride. You’ll have to have quite a bit of patience, but if you do, this is unlike any other horror mystery. The story is of a bumbling policeman dealing with a series of grizzly murders in his small village. If it sounds a bit like Memories of Murder, it is, except appearing to lean more toward some zombie horror. I didn’t like the humor or incompetent cop trope, which does create a shocking contrast with the second half, but just hang in there! Once the mystery sets in motion, there’s no looking away. The tone for the first half is quite silly but the second half the lighting, grade and atmosphere finally become fittingly grim.
Story:
The burning question at the end of the film is who is the demon/ghost? It is quite clear that the Japanese man and shaman are in cahoots and the woman in white was trying to protect them all along. It’s just there are so many red herrings to throw us off from accepting our initial conclusions. We can predict the shaman is bad in several scenes. When he claims the rat has taken the trap, he says so in Japanese. He also wears the same diaper as the Japanese man. Then at the end it’s crystal clear with the photos. What doesn’t make sense is the ritual. We know that the shaman is connected to another family’s death, but what is he accomplishing? He seems to agitate the host and the Japanese man, which doesn’t make sense and can be chalked up to misdirection. His main purpose is so we doubt he is the demon. Then it doesn’t make sense that he runs to Seoul if he’s going to run back anyway, just to make it look like he is dramatically trying to save him. In reality, he is trying to trick Jong-goo not to trust the woman, whom would have saved his family if he trusted her spell.
There’s even more misdirection with the Japanese man, whom really has no need to run away. But I really like how the film made us think he was potentially trying to protect them. But it’s quite clear that it was him all along, as we see him feasting on people, rape a woman and the fishing metaphor for his victims. They use photography as part of a ritual for possession or evil. Hiding in plain sight, but we all fall for it. The red herrings were mostly gratifying, the main frustration is how as a police officer Jong-goo is completely useless and never utilizes his resources.
Analysis:
Ultimately this film is about faith, as mentioned in the Bible passage from Luke in the beginning of the film. We see other Christian moments throughout the film through the priest, whom along with Jong-goo serve as vessels for wavering religious doubt. If Jong-goo had just listened to the woman in white, the spell would have worked and his family would be saved. Instead, he was actually tempted by the shaman and went home, triggering his family to die by breaking the flower ward. It’s a dark twist to emphasize the importance of not losing faith.
Conclusion:
Some may be frustrated by the film’s ambiguity, but I think the plot is actually pretty clear if you are paying attention. The execution of uncovering the truth and not knowing what is real makes for such a satisfyingly unpredictable experience for seasoned thriller lovers. Those 5 minutes felt like an eternity and we experience the same test in real time with the protagonist. Not without faults, but still a very spicy experience even by Korean standards with a great thematic message to boot.
Recommendations
Unpredictable horror epic.