The Wailing: The Art of Uncertainty

 The Wailing

The wailing is a Korean horror movie directed by Na Hong Jin. The protagonist of the movie who is a policeman investigates a series of murders in his village, Goksung. The series of murders is usually caused within a family by a family member this indicates that there is a paranormal ailment affecting the village of Goksung causing people to become possessed resulting in the death of their families. The main suspect of the movie is an old Japanese man who is shown as an outcast and a loner. The Japanese man is outcasted by the villagers as they all think of him as the suspect for the mysterious murders that has taken place. Although it does not seem suspicious in the beginning, the presence of the old Japanese man radiates eeriness as he deliberately does things that makes the protagonist uncomfortable. The plot of the movie thickens when the daughter of the protagonist is possessed which is shown to be the doing of the Japanese man. However, as the movie progresses, we are left to contemplate whether all of the supernatural killings are done by him or not, as the old man lives his day-to-day life ordinarily, it creates a sense of familiarity among us.

 

This is exactly what the director wants us to feel as she says, " I started out with the image of someone far away, indistinguishable gradually coming towards you and the moment when they are right Infront of your face when you can see their pores, smell them and feel their sweat, and what it must feel like when evil attacks and invades you. I started with that image of evil approaching from far away to show its identity to you"  

 

Throughout the movie we as the viewers witness how slowly the old man invades into the life of the protagonist, this distance keeps the threat unclear and builds uncertainty. we are left to think what information is trustable and which character is feeding us the false narrative. This movie creates an uncertainty and eeriness in the minds of the viewers which makes them doubt their own judgement. After finishing this movie, I was left with a strange and uncomfortable feeling as well. This movie is not like other typical horror movies that tries to scare you with cheap jump scares but rather lets you go through a spiral of emotions and leaves you in a state of confusion, sadness, and disorientation.