Gokseong-The Wailing

It's a three day weekend and in celebration and lack of funds, I've been binge watching movies on Netflix for the past few hours. I took note of a particular film that came highly recommended by the homies, so in broad daylight and with the TV on for background noise, I decided to take on Na Hongjins' thriller, The Wailing.

Standard "Had to do it on 'em" pose

I don't do horror films, so to my immediate relief, I found that I could actually sit through this one and was able to turn off the TV and focus. In short, some sort of epidemic causes villagers to just lose their shit and go on a rampage, killing their family while leaving their minds in a state of vegetation or sorts until eventually they just...well, die. I don't really like summaries nor enjoy retelling the story line just because it ends up being lackluster, so just watch it if you have 2.5 hours to kill and nothing else of Netflix screams out to you. I did enjoy the movie, but what I liked more was the explanation and analysis of it all because honestly, I had questions afterwards.

It was fairly clear cut, but I still delved into the Reddit threads and thank gawd I did. I just wanted to know what happened to the policeman, if the girl ever recovered fully, but the explanations and theories I read had me up and out of my seat like, "How dafuq did I miss this?! Was I that preoccupied with the subs that I easily disregarded details with deeper meanings?" I didn't think there was more to this movie than for it to be just another scary movie to play when Halloween comes around again. The biblical connection that was made by one user about those being without sin casting the first stone and the woman in white just throwing rocks at the policemen hinting at her purity became blatantly obvious as soon as I read that when at the moment it just seemed like comedic relief. Or how another user posed a question many before have pondered: why is it so easy for us to accept that the devil/demon/ghosts-what-have-you exist but require so much more proof and evidence to believe the polar opposite is just as tangible or alive? I guess it would be akin to not giving anyone the benefit of the doubt, accepting that everybody is inherently evil or out for themselves, only to come across someone genuinely kind and thinking, "What the fuck is this thing?" I'm not a religious fanatic, but it is always a wonderful surprise and more enjoyable when there is more to a movie or book than what it initially seems.

And then there was the thing about the mushrooms which I still don't get and I don't even know if I'm focusing my attention to the right place or just over analyzing shit at this point. When the incidents started happening, the police thought the connection may be to some special 'shrooms, making people lose their minds to the point of murder. Nothing really came out of that and that whole explanation kind of just left my mind for the rest of the movie until the end when the news reports and credits the mushrooms as the cause of the murders. You would think that in a place where people are suspiciously dropping dead like nobody's business and where zombies exist, that there would be news crews loitering in every corner. I have no idea where the rest of the task force is at, but our policeman says no to the mushrooms explanation and readily accepts the "my daughter is possessed, let's get the shaman and do an exorcism" narrative real quick. It seemed like everyone in the village was buying into the rumors about the Japanese man being the ghost and the cause of all the problems. On top of that they were even willing to assemble a mini mob in record time to hunt down a ghost all the while rejecting the notion that something organic and natural can be the cause.  Flash forward to the news report playing as the policeman and his family have been slain, they explain everything away with the assertion that the plants were the reason behind the murders.

And thennnn, just when I thought I was done thinking bout this film, my mind goes back to when the woman in the white, the good guy so to speak, pleads with the policeman to stay, have faith in her, believe that she is protecting his family. You got that picture in your head? Okay, now tell me why as our policeman lays dying, he says to his daughter all this nonsense about "Trust me, your dads' a cop, I'll protect you" like damn, you couldn't even trust the lady in the white, your saviour, nor could you protect your family and here you are telling your 8-year old daughter who just murdered the whole family that you got this down pat. Frustration is boiling in me now because if that connection is there and the lady in white was some sort of angel or god, how does and average guy supposed to hold to that promise when the "good guy" couldn't save them. And here's another one, word to Khaled, what sin did the policeman commit that was the start of his daughter being the one to suffer? Before he and his buddies killed the Japanese man, what did he do that warranted the target of his daughter? Was it maybe the fact that he believed in the rumors? Or was the shaman right in that the evil ghost was "fishing" for a victim and the daughter took the bait? What was the bait? Would the lady in white have saved the family once and for all if he had just went about his business? And why didn't she protect the other victims or is she simply assigned to one particular family? And why was she wearing clothes from who I'm assuming was a shawl from a prostitute, or the jacket of a dead guy?

Overall, it was a pretty decent movie and I just have a bunch of questions; I'm all about interpretation, but I like knowing the answers when all is said and done. Answers I'm pretty sure aren't the crux of the films' point I'm sure.

Me overthinking this movie way too much and second guessing myself for a film that is supposed to be interpreted however you want it to leaving no right or wrong answer....