Overview
A small village grapples with a terrifying mystery as a father fights to save his daughter from an unseen evil.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- Graphic
- eerie
- foreboding
- darkly comic
- late night horror marathon
- rainy night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as an atmospheric, cleverly constructed, unpredictable supernatural mystery whose long runtime is justified by its escalating dread and layered ambiguity.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Jong-goo, the stranger, Moo-myeong, and Il-gwang offer conflicting explanations for the sickness and murders, keeping the investigation radically unstable.
Il-gwang's exorcism, village beliefs, ritual objects, and references to gods and demons shape the central conflict.
The Japanese stranger, the mysterious woman, the shaman, and the disease are all framed through contradictory signs and testimony.
Goksung's residents circulate accusations about the stranger while bizarre deaths and illness spread through the rural community.
Films like The Wailing, and why
The Exorcist
shared rural supernatural horror, investigative mystery, and escalating uncertainty about occult evil
The Blair Witch Project
shared unsettling village atmosphere, possession themes, ambiguous supernatural forces, and dread-filled investigation
The Handmaiden
shared Korean horror tradition, family-centered terror, grief, and psychologically destabilizing supernatural ambiguity
The Witch
shared folkloric horror, religious ritual, competing explanations of evil, and tonal shifts between dark humor and despair
Movie Details
- Director
- Na Hong-jin
- Release Date
- 2016-05-12
- Runtime
- 156 min
- Rating
- 7.4 / 10 (2175)
Cast
- Kwak Do-won
- Hwang Jung-min
- Chun Woo-hee
- Jun Kunimura
- Kim Hwan-hee
- Heo Jin
- Jang So-yeon
- Kim Do-yoon
- Cho Han-chul
- Son Kang-gook
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, Philo, Fandor Amazon Channel, Screambox Amazon Channel, Hi-YAH, Midnight Pulp Amazon Channel, Hi-YAH Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Wailing about?
- A bumbling rural police officer confronts murderous illness, ritual terror, and an unknowable evil threatening his daughter.
- What is The Wailing like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Wailing as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as dense.
- Is The Wailing violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Wailing as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Wailing?
- Critics broadly praised the film as an atmospheric, cleverly constructed, unpredictable supernatural mystery whose long runtime is justified by its escalating dread and layered ambiguity.
- Which films are like The Wailing?
- Films with a similar feel include The Exorcist, The Blair Witch Project, The Handmaiden, and The Witch.
- How long is The Wailing?
- The Wailing runs 156 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Wailing?
- In United States, The Wailing streams on fuboTV, Philo, Fandor Amazon Channel, Screambox Amazon Channel, Hi-YAH, Midnight Pulp Amazon Channel, Hi-YAH Amazon Channel.
