2016 was Amazing year for Korean Films (with films like Train to Busan, and The Hand-Maiden) which leads me to The Wailing. This film is an unbelievable blend of so many genres that if done wrong would be a total disaster.The Wailing is a long film, and you have to really pay attention because if you miss certain scenes, you will be slightly confused. Do not get me wrong, this film is in my top ten of the year along with the other two films I mentioned above, The Wailing is a film like no other that you will see here in the States because we just are not that savy with originality of late. It is a comedy at times, a police procedural, a thriller, a philosophical drama, and last most a truly horrifying supernatural thriller that will stay with you long after viewing. The last 25 minutes are truly terrifying with some imagery that has actually given me some sleepless nights.

I am glad to have been able to order this DVD through Amazon.Com. I live in a Little Red Dot called Singapore where Korean movies and TV dramas are very popular. Yet, I couldn't find this DVD at DVD shops. I read a newspaper review of the movie and wanted to see it but work commitments got in the way and I missed it. When it comes to horror movies, Korean horror takes a backseat to Japanese horror. The Wailing is one of the better Korean horror movies. Briefly, the story is about a police officer who is called to investigate a series of murders in a rural community. The victims have their bodies mutilated. Plenty of gore for horror fans who want to see a bloody mess. There is a suspect - an old Japanese man who lives alone in the village. The suspicion is later shifted to a strange young woman who is thought to be a witch. So, is it the old Japanese or the young woman? A shaman is called to exorcise whatever demons that are believed to have been unleashed upon the villagers. He's no angel. I will stop here to avoid giving a spoiler. There's an air of mystery over the murders and how these were committed. I like the rural setting. There are creepy moments but, despite the gory scenes, this movie didn't scare the daylights out of me like the Ju-On movies from Japan did. Americans should give this movie a try - get a feel of rural Korea and Korean horror. Want to see something Korean that is really scary? It's not the demon in this movie. The scary one was in my country on 12 June where he shook hands with President Trump.

I watch a lot of horror movies (and I do mean a lot of horror movies--they're one of my passions), so when I say that this is one of the finest horror films I've seen in recent years, you know that's not empty praise. And in fact this really is one of the finest horror movies I've seen in recent years. It's wonderfully performed, beautifully shot, and amazingly suspenseful throughout.

Admittedly, it's a long movie and a bit of a slow burn at times, but none of the slower sequences are ever boring. Rather, they're fascinating as the filmmakers gradually reveal information and provide layer after layer of suspense. And this is genuine suspense. The viewer is never entirely sure what's actually going on. This is, in large part, a tale of suspicion and paranoia and the viewer consistently struggles to know which suspicions are founded and which really are just the products of paranoia. It's not a new cinematic device, but it's used about as well as I've ever seen a movie use it. Similarly, the basic plot and premise of the film will be familiar to horror and thriller fans, but they're rendered perfectly to create that rarest of all entities: a horror movie capable of haunting even the most jaded of horror fans.

If you haven't seen this yet, you really owe it to yourself to watch it.

I liked this movie quite a bit. I admit I will watch it a second time as so many macguffins were thrown in it. At first I thought it was a comedy, then a Zombie movie and then the door to true terror opened up. It's a little long in places but thats not an issue as it makes the slow sequences come back and haunt you I wasn't expecting the ending and no spoiler from me. But why does't Hollywood try to shake the stories up like the Koreans do ? Well worth a watch or two, its subtitles so I go back to see if I have missed action.. I don't know if this one would work dubbed as the actors have a pace of speaking which intrigues your mind about what comes next, great , enjoyable evening!

This is probably one the best horror movies I've seen in a while. It has a mix of multiple themes, from zombies, to ghosts, to possession, to witchcraft, to even crime mystery. And yet it never seems to falter in its plot, from start to finish it manages to juggle all these aspects well, while keeping the viewer on their toes. The movie also has a lot of plot twists and will keep you guessing at what will happen next. Even the most incidental scenes can hold great impact later in the plot.

Overall the film at times may seem like a slow-burn horror, that may turn some people off of it. And though it can get gory at times it never does so without just cause. In the end, I'd say if you're tired of cliched horror movies, with predictable plots then give this movie a watch.

Ok so right off, I am avid collector of horror movies. Seen 1000s so horrors so to me it was not in the least bit creepy BUT it was still very good. If you had a hard core horror fan looking for creepy or scary this is not it. It does have heart-pumping scenes just not jump out BOO moments or make your skin crawl moments. Still as a horror fan I really liked it. It keeps you guessing til the very end. Has a few sad moments. Little action and trace comedy. The wow factor for this movie is the twists and turns. trying to figure out what to believe.
Warning! You do have to read this movie. It is not in English but subtitles are big and sentences pretty short so you can read with ease.

This is a very short and to-the-point review. "The Wailing" is a masterpiece of engrossing, brooding horror; a perfect cinematic examination of pure unadulterated evil and its many faces and manipulations. At 156 minutes it's long but there is not one wasted second and no filler whatsoever. Everything in the film has relevance to the story, and frankly, I didn't want it to end. This would make one hell of a mini-series, but for now I'm quite happy with "The Wailing" as a film. If it's jumps and jolts that defines your idea of a scare-flick, then skip this. But if you like dark, uncompromising and viciously unconventional horror, then you need to stop what you're doing and see this movie! Whatever you do, don't give up on it and don't pay any attention to anyone who says its too long. This is a complex story with more than one road the viewer must travel in order for everything to come together at the end. The final moments of "The Wailing" don't necessarily provide a satisfying answer to everything you just witnessed, and it doesn't need to. It's all there. Just think about it. On the other hand, you might not want to think about it too hard, if you intend on sleeping peacefully.

Lately I've been disappointed at everything from Hollywood and america. Bad acting, boring stories, horrible horror movies. So I started watching foreign movies and so far I've loved everything from korea, I've watched like 7 Korean horror movies, all of them have amazing acting! a very interesting story and most of them made me cry, they touched your heart and make you care for the characters while in American movies there's no such thing like that,you don't feel sad for the characters. American horror movies have these one dimensional shallow characters, you just want to see them suffer haha and most american horror have the tacky and unnecessary sex scene. You won't ever see such garbage in Korean horror, this one in particular made me so sad because of what happened to the dad and little girl. The twist was very surprising, I enjoyed how the movie made us think one thing but it was another thing...just watch it.