The Wailing (Goksung) (2016)
91%RT Audience Score: 82%
Awards & Nominations: 34 wins & 57 nominations
The Wailing delivers an atmospheric, cleverly constructed mystery whose supernatural thrills more than justify its imposing length.
The Wailing is a wild ride that will have you questioning everything you thought you knew about horror movies. With murder, diabolism, exorcism, and a whole lot of things that go bump in the night, this Korean film is not for the faint of heart. But if you’re up for a challenge, buckle up and get ready for a 156-minute parade of every horror trope imaginable. Na Hong-jin creates the ultimate supernatural whodunnit, throwing everything except the kitchen sink at us to keep us guessing until the very end. It’s hideous and exquisite, heart-breaking and horrifying, and definitely worth a watch if you’re in the mood for something truly unsettling.
Production Company(ies)
Shangri-La Entertainment, Tuff Gong Pictures, Cowboy Films,
Distributor
Well Go USA
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
South Korea
MPAA / Certificate
TV-MA
Year of Release
2016
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital
-
Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
-
Runtime:2h 36m
-
Language(s):Korean, Japanese
-
Country of origin:Korea (South)
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 20, 2016 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 4, 2016
Genre(s)
Horror
Keyword(s)
starring Kwak Do-won, Jun Kunimura, Hwang Jung-min, Chun Woo-hee, Jang So-yeon, Heo Jin, directed by Na Hong-jin, written by Na Hong-jin, horror, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Elissa Suh, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Nigel Andrews, Kate Muir, Phil Hoad, Anton Bitel, Brian Eggert, Toussaint Egan, Howard Gorman, Brent McKnight, VyceVictus, Panos Kotzathanasis, MPAA rating, Well Go USA,
Worldwide gross: $49,851,770
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $61,442,235
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,247
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 6,700,353
US/Canada gross: $786,633
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $969,524
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,195
US/Canada opening weekend: $77,892
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $96,002
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,949
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $6,420,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $7,912,641
Production budget ranking: 1,754
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $4,260,957
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $49,268,637
ROI to date (est.): 405%
ROI ranking: 342
Jun Kunimura – The Stranger
Hwang Jung-min – Il-Gwang
Chun Woo-hee – Moo-myeong
Jang So-yeon
Heo Jin
Director(s)
Na Hong-jin
Writer(s)
Na Hong-jin
Producer(s)
NA
Film Festivals
Cannes
Awards & Nominations
34 wins & 57 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (85) | Top Critics (27) | Fresh (84) | Rotten (1)
The Wailing is worth every second of its 156 minute run time.
March 13, 2020
Elissa Suh
StageBuddy.com
TOP CRITIC
The Wailing’s is a world where histories, identities, cultures, realities and generic codes and conventions collapse in spectacular, unforgettable style.
August 25, 2018
Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
The Blue Lenses
TOP CRITIC
Very crazy, very Korean, very long: 156 minutes of murder, diabolism, exorcism and things that go bump by day and night.
December 27, 2016 | Rating: 4/5
Nigel Andrews
Financial Times
TOP CRITIC
A complex Korean horror with the surreal village feel of Twin Peaks.
November 29, 2016 | Rating: 4/5
Kate Muir
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The layers of dissembling and self-dissembling pile up so thickly that not only does Na evidently touch on something integral about the nature of evil, but actually seems to be in the process of summoning it before your eyes.
November 24, 2016 | Rating: 5/5
Phil Hoad
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
By turns funny and despairing, this village noir brings the horror of uncertainty.
November 21, 2016 | Rating: 4/5
Anton Bitel
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
Na’s film belongs on a shortlist of horror titles that question everything, forcing the realization that most people know nothing for certain and yet still behave with conviction. What could be more frightening?
February 18, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
It’s a masterpiece of mood, and a 156 minutes, a parade of every horror trope imaginable.
October 20, 2021
Toussaint Egan
Polygon
Na Hong-jin creates the ultimate supernatural whodunnit, chucking everything except the kitchen sink at us to throw us off the scent of the whoever, or whatever is to blame.
June 10, 2021
Howard Gorman
NME
Na Hong-jin takes elements of zombies, black magic, ghosts, and possession stories, synthesizes these staid tropes in unique ways, and creates a visceral, moving film that is simultaneously hideous and exquisite, heart-breaking and horrifying.
July 3, 2020 | Rating: A
Brent McKnight
The Last Thing I See
I can say enthusiastically that The Wailing is an astonishing film that manages to truly unnerve and entertain in equal measure.
February 6, 2020
VyceVictus
Birth.Movies.Death.
Na Hong-jin directs and pens an agonizing thriller, building the tension gradually as the story progresses, until the utterly shocking finale, which is, probably, the film’s greatest sequence.
April 6, 2019
Panos Kotzathanasis
Asian Film Vault…
Plot
In the small village Goksung in South Korea, police officer Jong-Goo investigates bizarre murders caused by a mysterious disease. His partner relays gossip that a Japanese stranger, who lives in a secluded house in the mountains, would be an evil spirit responsible for the illness. Jong-Goo decides to visit the stranger along with his partner and a young priest who speaks Japanese. They find an altar with a goat head, pictures on the walls of the infected people that died, and an attacking guard dog that prevents their departure until the stranger arrives. Jong-Goo finds one shoe of his beloved daughter, Hyo-jin, in the house of the stranger, and soon she becomes sick. His mother-in-law summons the shaman Il-gwang to save her granddaughter while a mysterious woman tells Jong-Goo that the stranger is responsible. Who might be the demon that is bringing sickness to Goksung?
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The Wailing features an excellent cast, including Kwak Do-won, Jun Kunimura, Hwang Jung-min, Chun Woo-hee, and more.
Na-Hong-jin.jpg
