Gokseong AKA The Wailing

 

Gokseong AKA The Wailing (8/10)
Genre: Horror
Director: Hong-jin Na
Cast: Kwak Do-won, Jun Kunimura, Hwang Jung-min, Chun Woo-hee
Country: South Korea
Language: Korean/Japanese
Year: 2016

The Wailing is one of the best horror films I've seen that draws a thin line between reality and the paranormal.  This movie tests your belief and harnesses your doubts whenever you ascertain a conclusion and makes you wonder - what to believe or whom to believe? Writer-director Hong-jin Na's screenplay is a dark twisted fable of horror, black magic, folklore, and human beliefs. The rural backdrop cultivates a creepy and dark tone throughout the film, and a stupid protagonist at the forefront of supernatural occurrences just makes it a horror masterpiece. The ending will leave you flabbergasted, which will make you question the entire events in the film as well as the intentions of the characters. 

To be honest, I ended up doing some research after watching this film, even watched a deleted ending scene to get some closure. According to Director Hong-jin Na, he designed the ending to be open-ended and wanted the audience to develop their own theories, and that is why he intentionally changed the ending to confuse the audience. With a run-time of more than two and a half hours, The Wailing requires a lot of patience and understanding but never fails to hold your attention. 

The creepy ambiance and foolish characters fabricate an unusual narrative. In the beginning, the film might seem like a supernatural murder mystery but as the plot unfolds it gets darker and diabolical. 

The story is about a police officer trying to solve a series of unexplained murders after the arrival of a mysterious Japanese man in his village. 

Take a bow to Hong-jin Na for his brilliance not only in the direction but for an equally captivating script. Kwak Do-won will remind you of Detective Park Doo-man in many ways - a stupid cop with good investigative instincts caught in the middle of a mess. Jun Kunimura as the mysterious Japanese man, Hwang Jung-min as the shaman, and Chun Woo-hee as a mysterious entity play their parts to perfection. The cinematography by Kyung-pyo Hong and the editing by Sun-min Kim are exceptional. Dong-Han Kim's sound design creates an environment of terror. 

The Wailing was also screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016. The Wailing may not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you crave dreaded horror tales, it is a treat.