The real strength of “The Wailing” is that it functions as a horror movie as well as a whodunnit. After the village’s mysterious Japanese man is accused of being a demon, multiple other plausible suspects emerge, all of whom could be responsible for the series of killings, and writer-director Na Hong-jin does an effective job of keeping you guessing until the very end. When the true culprit is finally revealed, it manages to be a genuinely terrifying moment even if you were to correctly guess their identity ahead of time.
“The Wailing” also boasts strong performances from its cast. Kwak Do-won is perfect as the small-town cop who means well and just wants to protect his daughter, but who slowly becomes more and more unraveled as he tries to catch the person (or creature) responsible for all the mayhem. Jun Kunimura plays the village’s suspected demon with a kind of quiet tranquility that’s unnerving, and “The Wailing” is worth watching just for the scene where Jong-goo confronts him and smashes up his home all while he watches impassively.
Elsewhere, Hwang Jung-min plays a local shaman who’s called in to perform various rituals to cleanse the village, and these scenes are so tense and scary that they’re almost overwhelming. However, young Kim Hwan-hee might be the best of everyone in “The Wailing.” Her turn as the enraged, slowly crumbling Hyo-jin is nothing short of astonishing.
Suffice it to say, we cannot recommend “The Wailing” highly enough. If you love horror, it’s well worth checking out.