Wailing, The (2016)
Staci Layne Wilson
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Starring Kwak Do-won, Kunimura Jun, Chun Woo-hee, Hwang Jung-min
Directed by Na Hong-jin
I can’t say I relate well to most Asian horror films – I prefer to see spooky stuff en Français if I’m going to be reading subtitles between the noggins of my fellow theater-goers – but there are some notable faves: A Tale of Two Sisters, Wishing Stairs, The Host, and I Saw the Devil.
The latest Korean supernatural smash is called The Wailing. It’s currently #1 one at the box office in Korea for two weeks in a row and will be released Stateside on June 3. Director Na Hong-jin’s opus clocks in at a mind-numbing two hours and forty minutes of nonsense centering on demonic possession.
The story is set in rural Korea, where there is just one small police station with no security and only a couple of bumbling, babbling officers who make the Keystone Cops look like Eliot Ness. Our hero – of sorts – is Jong-gu (Kwak Do-won), and we meet him just as he is summoned to the scene of a multiple homicide. Not a common occurrence in his jurisdiction, but it’s about to become all too familiar.
Speculation begins to spring up – who is the killer? There is a wild-man living in the forest known only as “The Jap” (Kunimura Jun) who’s been acting shifty. Maybe the homicidal rampages are because of toxic mushroom poisoning. Or could it be… SATAN?! Well, it’s going to take you almost three hours to find out.
While the epic tale of terror is beautifully shot – the Korean countryside and forest are simply stunning – that’s not enough to make The Wailing worth watching from start to finish in a theater.
For one thing the poorly cobbled English captions make the dialogue seem stilted. The acting is so over-the-top it’s reminiscent of the Silent Era. The demon’s obviously CGI’ed eyes take away from moments that are supposed to be chilling. There are some gross-out moments that feel like they were left on the cutting room floor of the 1990 Exorcist spoof Repossessed. The Wailing is so long and rambling that it’s hard to stay focused on the already unwieldy narrative, so that by the time the end comes, the audience may feel like wailing themselves.
Or maybe that’s just me. Hey, a lot of people like this movie and it is numero uno in its native Korea. It’s not all bad. As I said, the cinematography is gorgeous, effectively capturing the vividness and atmosphere of the setting. The hero is oddly watchable – while he is a dunce, there is something compelling and even a little lovable about Jong-gu. The Wailing may better lend itself to home viewing.
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Film
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