We follow a few women who have one thing in common: they all see a scary old man who creeps them out. Who is this person?
The Wailing is a movie I found interesting, and I liked the atmosphere. It has that kind of creepy, slow vibe that I enjoy, but what I didn’t enjoy was the overall storytelling and the ending, which left me confused.
The problem with the story is that it doesn’t lead anywhere when you look at the final scene. I’m not sure if they’re planning a sequel, but this isn’t a movie for the average viewer. As I mentioned, it’s a slow burner that builds tension and has some creepy moments, but that’s not what sells horror movies these days—except for films like It Follows. The Wailing shares a similar atmosphere with It Follows, but It Follows is more audience-friendly due to its faster pace.
The acting is pretty good, and some of the characters are interesting to follow, but don’t expect fleshed-out characters—especially the one we follow last. She’s like a blank sheet.
I feel that The Wailing could have been a much better movie with a more coherent script. “Coherent” isn’t a word I’d associate with The Wailing. The start, and especially the first story—if you don’t count the opening scene—feels like it’s building up to something.
But then the second story, where we follow a film student who secretly films the woman from the third story without her permission, feels kind of strange. It does manage to build some mystery and connect to the first story, but the third story has such a weak ending, and what we see in the apartment left me so confused that I almost cried. What the hell was the point of that?
The Wailing is worth checking out if you like atmospheric and mysterious horror movies with a slow pace. But it misses the mark with an ending that never wraps the story into something coherent.