The Wailing: That’s interesting!

15th April, 2018.

Yes … 

I have been known — occasionally — to catch a movie.

Occasionally?   I’ll swap it for a film.   Occasionally both … 

Ever less rarely?   I’ll catch a TV show, or a good read.

Or an album: Into Battle with the Art of Noise is — at the moment — never off my metaphorical turntable.



Or the AppleTV, at least.

Via iTunes, rather than Spotify, but, at least, you get to hear it without paying for it!

At any rate?   You get the point.

I like a film, now and again: managing to rent/watch both Thelma and Raw, recently.

With Thelma coming off the worse to Raw, I should add.

Yes.

I’ve had another night off.

And caught another movie.

Tonight’s?

The supernatural horror that is … 

The Wailing.

Although ‘interesting’ is possibly selling it short!

~≈§≈~

Set in South Korea, The Wailing, shows us the small, rural village of Goksung: a village that’s recently seen a mysterious Japanese stranger move in.

The village is ALSO the residence of Jong-goo (Kwak Do-won) and his family: his wife (Jang So-yeon), mother-in-law (Jin Heo) and daughter, Hyo-jin (Kim Hwan-hee).

Theirs lives are interrupted, when Jong-goo’s work load rises.

Not long after the stranger moves in?   The folk of Goksung are hit by a mysterious disease: that leads to one member of a family slaughtering the rest.

The gossip?

Points to the stranger … 

And an eventual raid on the Stranger’s house?



Goes badly: but DOES show the trappings of ritual slaughter.

And a rather big black dog.

Not long after that … ?



Little Hyo-jin falls ill … with the same rash that seems to have sent other villagers MAD … !

You can tell this is going to end badly, can’t you … ?

~≈§≈~

Now … 

Interesting … ?



Maybe interesting is the wrong word to use, there.

Maybe the word …



Hmmm …



You know, I don’t know that — if asked — I could give any for more accurate than ‘Interesting,’ there.



Although there’s possibly a lot I could use.

By turns?   By turns The Wailing has touches of comedy, menace,  joy, gore, mystery … 



And a sense of menace that makes it almost as riveting as Martyrs.



The Wailing’s a little … a lot … lighter in tone: but certainly, at it’s height, heading for the same twisted, doomy territory.

And, for all it’s a long film?

For all it’s a long film, The Wailing’s a better paced film than some I could mention.

Personally?

I think you’ll enjoy The Wailing …

The Wailing
★★★☆