wed 04/12/2024

DVD: The Wailing | reviews, news & interviews

DVD: The Wailing

DVD: The Wailing

Ambitious South Korean horror smash bites off more than it can chew

Small-town policeman Jong-Gu (Kwak Do-Won) struggles with his possessed daughter in 'The Wailing'

In the extras on the DVD release of The Wailing, South Korean director Na Hong-Jin says, “Every genre of film has its own strengths and weaknesses.

By combining many genres you could say that I was able to build and emphasise the strengths, while diminishing the weaknesses.” And indeed, over its monumental 156 minutes, The Wailing attempts to meld comedy, an overt homage to The Exorcist, zombie movie tropes and social commentary. Unfortunately, the different stylistic elements play off against each other instead of melding into a cohesive whole, making The Wailing lack consistent tension.

The Cannes-screened horror drama was an award-winning, box-office record breaker in South Korea and Na’s follow-up’s to 2010’s gritty thriller The Yellow Sea. After six years in development, The Wailing (Goksung: ) took six months to film: most of the shooting was undertaken on location in real-life rural villages and challenging terrain rather recreations of where the action is set.

The film's main character Jong-Gu (Kwak Do-Won) is a bumbling, lazy policeman. Although he steps up to the plate as events unfold, the characterisation seems there solely for its (ill-fitting and unfunny) comedic value. Gruesome murders take place and houses are burned out as it becomes clear a demon may be possessing locals. His daughter is affected and turns into a foul-mouthed, hate-filled monster. A mysterious Japanese stranger is blamed. A shaman is called and, in a bravura set piece, performs a ritual to end the young girl’s possession. Jong fights off hordes of the afflicted as if they are zombies on the rampage. The lack of resolution at the end implies a sequel is on the cards.

Although The Wailing is intermittently impactful, despite its evident cleverness, the craft brought to bear and the effort expended, it is too long and too unwieldy to hold the attention. The same cannot be said of the two extras on the DVD additional to the trailer: both are short puff-piece makings-of. One is an edited-down version of the other (apparently, no one involved in the release noticed they were essentially the same thing). Although worth seeing, this elaborate film would have benefitted from fewer ideas and more focus.

This elaborate film would have benefitted from fewer ideas and more focus

rating

Editor Rating: 
3
Average: 3 (1 vote)

Share this article

Add comment

The future of Arts Journalism

 

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

newsletter

Get a weekly digest of our critical highlights in your inbox each Thursday!

Simply enter your email address in the box below

View previous newsletters