The Wailing

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The Wailing

2016

2h 36m

Mystery & Thriller

Horror

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Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

99%

Tomatometer

87 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Suspicion leads to hysteria when rural villagers link a series of brutal murders to the arrival of a mysterious stranger (Kunimura Jun).

Critics Consensus

The Wailing delivers an atmospheric, cleverly constructed mystery whose supernatural thrills more than justify its imposing length.

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Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

The Blue Lenses

08/25/2018

The Wailing's is a world where histories, identities, cultures, realities and generic codes and conventions collapse in spectacular, unforgettable style.

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Nigel Andrews

Financial Times

12/27/2016

4/5

Very crazy, very Korean, very long: 156 minutes of murder, diabolism, exorcism and things that go bump by day and night.

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Kate Muir

The Times (UK)

11/29/2016

4/5

A complex Korean horror with the surreal village feel of Twin Peaks.

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Isaiah Colbert

io9.com

Nov 24

It’s a film that haunts you long after the credits roll, not because it screams, but because it speaks plainly. And what it says is terrifying.

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David Day

Horror Movie Talk

Sep 23

8/10

I would call The Wailing the Indiana Jones of horror movies. It’s constantly throwing new stuff your way. It’s hard to know what’s around the next bend, but you can bet that it will be exciting, terrifying, or totally shocking.

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Carolyn Hinds

JoySauce.com

11/09/2022

Written and directed by Na Hong-jin, The Wailing is one of my favorite horror films. It’s deeply unsettling in how Na Hong-jin uses sound, imagery, time, and costuming to build a layered story...

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Jonathan J

@jonjondotcom1312 6h

Hilarious. Stressful. Thrilling. Horrifying. Mind-bending. Words fail to capture how well the story unfolds and questions it raises about belief & prejudice.

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Draco T

@RT64640507 Jun 26

Was interesting until towards the end where the plot stops adding up

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Musa A

@doodleflame May 24

Brilliant. Just brilliant. I wasn't sure where the film was going in the first half but it got SO good. One of the best horror movies of all time

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Ahmd K

@RT18810073 May 23

If it had been half a star, I would have given it. Too much pointless shouting. Ridiculous characters. Pointless jumping between events. A ridiculous ending. I wasted two and a half hours of my life.

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Kate T.

@ckat9 May 19

Terrible script, bad storyline, ridiculous characters, reminiscent of the old 1940s and 50s movies attempting to scare us with voodoo and cutting off chickens heads. I will say that the filming was beautifully done. They used video, but it really gave it a film like quality. Beautiful scenery excellent camera work and editing. However, only a film student or a producer would have interest in this film because they could see what could be done with the technicians work on other scripts because this one just blows. Boring as hell. I would never believe the two lead characters were cops. I never saw them do a single Police like action. As a matter of fact, they usually did exactly the opposite of anything a policeman is trained to do. If it was a comedy, OK, but this is a totally thrill less thriller. I stayed till the end simply because there were so many great reviews which were obviously 100% phony wrong. The script is so bad and that is what makes a movie.

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Garry A

@heavyg May 17

Two and a half hours is a long running time, especially for a movie in the horror genre. I wasn't really scared but the movie held my interest the entire time.

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Na Hong-jin

Director

Kwak Do-won

Sgt. Jeon Jong-gu

Jun Kunimura

The Stranger

Hwang Jung-min

Il-Gwang

Chun Woo-hee

Moo-myeong

Kim Hwan-hee

Hyo-jin

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The Wailing: Trailer 1

1:50

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Synopsis

Suspicion leads to hysteria when rural villagers link a series of brutal murders to the arrival of a mysterious stranger (Kunimura Jun).

Director: Na Hong-jin
Screenwriter: Na Hong-jin
Distributor: Well Go USA
Production Co: 20th Century Fox International, Ivanhoe Pictures, Side Mirror
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Horror
Original Language: Korean
Release Date (Theaters): May 20, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 6, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $785.4K
Runtime: 2h 36m