# The Wailing (2016 film)

The Wailing (Korean: 곡성; Hanja: 哭聲; RR: Gokseong) is a 2016 South Korean horror film written and directed by Na Hong-jin and starring Kwak Do-won, Hwang Jung-min and Chun Woo-hee. The film centers on a policeman who investigates a series of mysterious killings and illnesses in a remote Korean village in order to save his daughter. The film was both a commercial and critical success.

## Plot

A mysterious Japanese man arrives in Gokseong, a small village in the mountains of South Korea. Soon after, a bizarre infection breaks out, causing villagers to become deranged and violently kill their families. Officer Jong-goo's daughter, Hyo-jin, becomes one of the possessed. Jong-goo then meets a mysterious young woman named Moo-myeong, who claims the Japanese man is an evil spirit. A local hunter reports seeing the Japanese stranger with glowing red eyes eating a deer carcass. After a series of disturbing events and violent deaths, Jong-goo enlists the help of a Japanese-speaking deacon, Yang I-sam. They investigate the stranger's house, discovering a shrine with photos and belongings of the murdered villagers, including Hyo-jin's shoe.
As Hyo-jin's condition worsens, Jong-goo confronts the stranger, ordering him to leave the village. Jong-goo's family discovers a dead goat hanging at their gate, and Hyo-jin stabs their neighbor to death. A shaman named Il-gwang is consulted, who claims the Japanese stranger is a demon and performs a death-hex ritual. Jong-goo stops the ritual midway, taking Hyo-jin to the hospital. The next day, Jong-goo and his companions hunt down the stranger but are attacked by the reanimated corpse of another victim, giving the stranger time to flee. They eventually kill him, and Hyo-jin's health improves.
Il-gwang encounters Moo-myeong and vomits blood. After his ritual fails, he leaves town in terror but a swarm of flying insects stops him. He calls Jong-goo, warning that Moo-myeong is the real demon, and the stranger is a shaman who was trying to kill her. Meanwhile, Yang I-sam receives news that his uncle Oh Seong-bok has killed his family. Jong-goo goes home and finds Hyo-jin had disappeared.
While looking for Hyo-Jin, Jong-goo runs into Moo-myeong. He confronts her about Hyo-jin's whereabouts. Moo-myeong claims his daughter is possessed by the stranger who is sucking her dry. She tells him his daughter is still alive and had just returned home. She tells him that his daughter will kill his family. She tells him that she has set a trap for the demon, and all he has to do is remain there and wait. Jong-goo says he is not sure if he believes her. The shaman phones him and says he must not let Moo-myeong tempt him. Moo-myeong says all he has to do is to wait until the third crow of the rooster.
Hyo-jin returns home possessed and while eating with her hands eyes a knife in the kitchen.
While Jong-goo is engaged with Moo-myeong, Yang I-sam returns to the stranger's house armed with a sickle. Yang finds him, alive inside a cave. The stranger tells him he is the devil. Yang says if the stranger reveals his true form to him he will leave him alone. The stranger chuckles at this.
Jong-goo notices his daughter's hairpin on the ground and Moo-yeong is wearing items of the victims. Believing this to be proof that she is responsible, he returns home, before the third rooster crow.
Jong-goo rushes home and discovers that Hyo-jin has slaughtered his wife and mother-in-law; she then attacks him.
The stranger photographs Yang I-sam repeatedly. He asks whether he has doubt in his heart. He then assumes his true appearance—that of the red-eyed demon, bearing stigmata.
Il-gwang returns with a camera in his hand and finds Jong-goo's dead family as Hyo-jin sits in a trance and Jong-goo lies dying. Il-gwang photographs the dead family members. Il-gwang returns to his car and retrieves a box which he drops. The box contains photos of other families and victims of the demon. The dying Jong-goo is reminiscing about the happy times with his daughter.

### Deleted ending

In a deleted scene at the end, the Japanese man is seen sitting on a bench by the roadside. He spots a family on the road and entices a child to him by offering her candy. The mom picks up the child before she reaches the stranger. Il-gwang arrives to pick up the Japanese man. Moo-myeong witnesses the car fading away on the horizon.

## Cast

* Kwak Do-won as Jong-goo, policeman and father of Hyo-Jin.
* Hwang Jung-min as Il-gwang, a shaman hired to protect the village.
* Chun Woo-hee as Moo-myung, the woman in white.
* Jun Kunimura as a Japanese stranger.
* Kim Hwan-hee as Hyo-jin, Jong-goo's daughter.
* Her Jin as Jong-goo's mother-in-law.
* Jang So-yeon as Jong-goo's wife.
* Kim Do-yoon as Yang I-sam, a Japanese-speaking deacon.
* Son Gang-guk as Oh Seong-bok, Jong-goo's police partner.
* Park Sung-yeon as Kwon Myeong-joo.
* Kil Chang-gyoo as Park Choon-bae.
* Jeon Bae-soo as Deok-gi.
* Jeong Mi-nam as Heung-gook.
* Choi Gwi-hwa as Byeong-gyoo.
* Lee Seon-hee as Byeong-gyu's wife.
* Jo Yeon-hee as Bar hostess.
* Baek Seung-cheol as Friend.
* Kwon Hyeok-joon as Friend.
* Park Chae-ik as Friend.
* Kim Gi-cheon as Dispatch Captain.
* Yoo Soon-woong as Chief of Police.
* Jo Han-cheol as Detective 1.
* Kim Song-il as Police.
* Bae Yong-geun as Police.
* Im Jae-il as Police.
* Lee In-cheol as Father.
* Jo Seon-joo as Bar hostess.
* Lee Chang-hoon as Doctor.
* Kim Ji-won as Nurse.

## Release and reception
### Release

The Wailing was released in South Korea on 12 May 2016. The film was shown in the Out of Competition section at the Cannes Film Festival in France on 18 May and was released in the United States on 27 May.

### Critical response

The Wailing received widespread critical acclaim. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 99% and an average rating of 8/10, based on 86 critical reviews. The site's critics consensus reads: "The Wailing delivers an atmospheric, cleverly constructed mystery whose supernatural thrills more than justify its imposing length." On review aggregator website Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100 based on 19 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Jada Yuan of Vulture described the film as "operating on a level that makes most American cinema seem clunky and unimaginative". Anton Bitel of Little White Lies commented: "By turns funny and despairing, this village noir brings the horror of uncertainty." Leah Pickett of Chicago Reader stated: "The film justifies its epic length, meshing ancient east Asian mythology and rituals (village gods, exorcisms by shamans) with more recognizable horror tropes (demonic possession, zombification, the devil represented by a black dog and rams' heads) in a way that feels novel and unpredictable. The actors are uniformly strong..." Phil Hoad of The Guardian wrote: "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." Financial Times's Nigel Andrews wrote: "Very crazy, very Korean, very long: 156 minutes of murder, diabolism, exorcism and things that go bump by day and night". Clark Collins of Entertainment Weekly gave the film B+ grade, stating: "Despite its epic length, The Wailing never bores as Na slathers his tale with generous supplies of atmosphere and awfulness". Jason Bechervaise of Screen Daily noted: "The Wailing is initially set up as a thriller and the supernatural setting also helps deliver moments akin to a horror feature, particularly when a strange woman (Chun Woo-hee) first appears. But the film's gradual progression into something more sinister puts a different spin on Na's masterful use of pacing". Jacob Hall of /Film commented: "The Wailing as it exists would involve burning the very structure of a traditional western movie to the ground. It's why the movie is so great and it's also why a remake seems so strange".
Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter added: "As dark and pessimistic as the rest of South Korean thrill-master Na Hong Jin's work, The Wailing (Goksung, a.k.a. The Strangers in France) is long and involving, permeated by a tense, sickening sense of foreboding, yet finally registers on a slightly lower key than the director's acclaimed genre films The Chaser (2008) and The Yellow Sea (2010), both of which also got their start in Cannes." Maggie Lee of Variety noted: "There's nothing scarier than not knowing what you should be scared of. "The Wailing" erupts with a string of gruesome deaths in an insular village, but the investigation unleashes a greater terror — that of the paranoid imagination." David Ehrlich of IndieWire stated: ""The Wailing" boasts all the tenets and tropes of a traditional horror movie, but it doesn't bend them to the same, stifling ends that define Hollywood's recent contributions to the genre. The film doesn't use sound to telegraph its frights a mile away (there are no jump scares, here... well, maybe one), nor does it build its scenes around a single cheap thrill. On the contrary, this is horror filmmaking that's designed to work on you like a virus, slowly incapacitating your defenses so it can build up and do some real damage. There's a looseness here that's missing from mainstream American horror, a sense that absolutely anything can happen next (and always does)." Aja Romano of Vox gave the film four points out of five, stating: "The Wailing is the most unsettling Korean horror film in years, but it offers more chills than answers."
Lincoln Michel of GQ wrote: "At just over two-and-a-half-hours long, The Wailing definitely takes its time, yet you could never describe it as a slow burn. This is a horror film that jumbles up ghosts, zombies, body horror, Eastern exorcism, Christian mythology, demonic curses, creepy children, and a lot more into one sustained narrative. This description may make it sound like the movie is a messy mash-up, but director Na Hong-jin ties it all together seamlessly. Instead of being a mess, the combination of tropes makes each individual one feel both fresh and terrifying." James Hadfield of The Japan Times gave the movie four stars out of five, writing: "The Wailing veers from police drama to ghost story to zombie horror and back again, while tossing a generous helping of shamanism and Christian symbolism into the mix. At times, it resembles The Exorcist transplanted to the South Korean countryside; at others, it's closer in tone to Memories of Murder, Bong Joon-ho's masterful, slow-burning serial-killer drama".

### Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
| 2016 | 25th Buil Film Awards | Best Film | The Wailing | Nominated |
| 2016 | 25th Buil Film Awards | Best Director | Na Hong-jin | Nominated |
| 2016 | 25th Buil Film Awards | Best Actor | Kwak Do-won | Nominated |
| 2016 | 25th Buil Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Hwang Jung-min | Nominated |
| 2016 | 25th Buil Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Jun Kunimura | Nominated |
| 2016 | 25th Buil Film Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Chun Woo-hee | Nominated |
| 2016 | 25th Buil Film Awards | Best New Actress | Kim Hwan-hee | Nominated |
| 2016 | 25th Buil Film Awards | Best Cinematography | Hong Kyong-pyo | Nominated |
| 2016 | 25th Buil Film Awards | Best Art Direction | Lee Hoo-kyeong | Nominated |
| 2016 | 25th Buil Film Awards | Best Music | Jang Young-gyu & Dalpalan | Nominated |
| 2016 | 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Film | The Wailing | Nominated |
| 2016 | 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Director | Na Hong-jin | Won |
| 2016 | 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Actor | Kwak Do-won | Nominated |
| 2016 | 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Jun Kunimura | Won |
| 2016 | 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Chun Woo-hee | Nominated |
| 2016 | 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best New Actress | Kim Hwan-hee | Nominated |
| 2016 | 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Popularity Award | Jun Kunimura | Won |
| 2016 | 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Screenplay | Na Hong-jin | Nominated |
| 2016 | 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Cinematography | Hong Kyong-pyo | Nominated |
| 2016 | 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Editing | Kim Sun-min | Won |
| 2016 | 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Art Direction | Lee Hoo-kyeong | Nominated |
| 2016 | 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Lighting | Kim Chang-ho | Nominated |
| 2016 | 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Music | Jang Yeong-gyoo and Dalpalan | Won |
| 2016 | Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival | Audience Award | The Wailing | Won |
| 2016 | Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival | Best of Bucheon Award | Na Hong-jin | Won |
| 2016 | Fantasia International Film Festival | Prix AQCC | Na Hong-jin | Won |
| 2016 | Fantasia International Film Festival | Audience Award for Best Asian Feature | Na Hong-jin | 3rd place |
| 2016 | 53rd Grand Bell Awards | Best Film | The Wailing | Nominated |
| 2016 | 53rd Grand Bell Awards | Best Director | Na Hong-jin | Nominated |
| 2016 | 53rd Grand Bell Awards | Best Actor | Kwak Do-won | Nominated |
| 2016 | 53rd Grand Bell Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Hwang Jung-min | Nominated |
| 2016 | 53rd Grand Bell Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Chun Woo-hee | Nominated |
| 2016 | 53rd Grand Bell Awards | Best New Actress | Kim Hwan-hee | Won |
| 2016 | 53rd Grand Bell Awards | Best Cinematography | Hong Kyung-pyo | Won |
| 2016 | 53rd Grand Bell Awards | Best Recording | Kim Shin-yong | Won |
| 2016 | 53rd Grand Bell Awards | Best Lightning | Kim Chang-ho | Won |
| 2016 | 53rd Grand Bell Awards | Best Editing | Kim Sun-min | Won |
| 2016 | 36th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Top Films of the Year | The Wailing | Won |
| 2016 | Korean Film Actor's Association Awards | Top Director Award | Na Hong-jin | Won |
| 2016 | Korean Film Actor's Association Awards | Top Star Award | Kwak Do-won | Won |
| 2016 | Korean Film Producers Association Awards | Best Director | Na Hong-jin | Won |
| 2016 | Korean Film Producers Association Awards | Best Cinematography | Hong Kyung-pyo | Won |
| 2016 | Korean Film Producers Association Awards | Best Lighting | Kim Chang-ho | Won |
| 2016 | Phoenix Critics Circle | Best International Film | The Wailing | Nominated |
| 2016 | Sitges Film Festival | Focus Asia Award | Na Hong-jin | Won |
| 2016 | Sitges Film Festival | Best Cinematography | Hong Kyung-pyo | Won |
| 2016 | BloodGuts UK Horror Awards | Best International Film | The Wailing | Nominated |
| 2016 | BloodGuts UK Horror Awards | Best Director | Na Hong-jin | Nominated |
| 2016 | BloodGuts UK Horror Awards | Best Actor in an International Film | Kwak Do-won | Won |
| 2016 | BloodGuts UK Horror Awards | Best Actor in an International Film | Hwang Jung-min | Nominated |
| 2016 | BloodGuts UK Horror Awards | Best Actress in an International Film | Chun Woo-hee | Nominated |
| 2016 | Molins de Rei Horror Film Festival | Special Mention | Hong Kyung-pyo | Won |
| 2016 | Molins de Rei Horror Film Festival | Best Film | The Wailing | Nominated |
| 2016 | Saskatoon Fantastic Film Festival | Honourable Mention | The Wailing | Won |
| 2016 | CPH:PIX | Politiken's Audience Award | The Wailing | Nominated |
| 2017 | 11th Asian Film Awards | Best Film | The Wailing | Nominated |
| 2017 | 11th Asian Film Awards | Best Director | Na Hong-jin | Won |
| 2017 | 11th Asian Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Jun Kunimura | Nominated |
| 2017 | 11th Asian Film Awards | Best Sound | Kim Dong-han | Nominated |
| 2017 | Central Ohio Film Critics Association Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | The Wailing | Nominated |
| 2017 | KOFRA Film Awards | Best Film | The Wailing | Won |
| 2017 | KOFRA Film Awards | Best Director | Na Hong-jin | Won |
| 2017 | Seattle Film Critics Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | The Wailing | Nominated |
| 2017 | Korea Cable TV Awards | Cable VOD Grand Prize (Film) | The Wailing | Won |
| 2017 | Fangoria Chainsaw Awards | Best Foreign-Language Film | The Wailing | Nominated |
| 2017 | 53rd Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Film | The Wailing | Won |
| 2017 | 53rd Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Director | Na Hong-jin | Nominated |
| 2017 | 53rd Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actor | Kwak Do-won | Nominated |
| 2017 | 53rd Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Chun Woo-hee | Nominated |
| 2017 | 53rd Baeksang Arts Awards | Best New Actress | Kim Hwan-hee | Nominated |
| 2017 | 53rd Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Screenplay | Na Hong-jin | Nominated |
| 2017 | 22nd Chunsa Film Awards | Best Director | Na Hong-jin | Won |
| 2017 | 22nd Chunsa Film Awards | Best Actor | Kwak Do-won | Nominated |
| 2017 | 22nd Chunsa Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Hwang Jung-min | Nominated |
| 2017 | 22nd Chunsa Film Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Chun Woo-hee | Nominated |
| 2017 | 22nd Chunsa Film Awards | Best Screenplay | Na Hong-jin | Nominated |
| 2017 | 22nd Chunsa Film Awards | Technical Award | Jang Yeong-gyoo and Dalpalan | Nominated |
| 2017 | Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films | Best DVD/Blu-Ray Release | The Wailing | Nominated |
| 2017 | iHorror Awards | Best Foreign Horror | The Wailing | Nominated |