One of the best horror movies available to watch on Netflix is one I’d wager most people reading this article haven’t even heard of — I didn’t know about it until a friend recommended it, but now I’ve watched it, I think everyone needs to see this masterpiece of creepy cinema.
The movie I’m referring to is called The Wailing, and it’s from 2016, not to be confused with another horror movie of the same name from this year (news of which is what reminded me to finally take up the recommendation and watch the 2016 movie!). It’s been off and on Netflix a few times in the last few years but has never been publicized much by the streamer, which doesn’t make sense because as I discovered it’s one of the best movies on Netflix right now. It’s on the platform in both the US and UK.
A Korean movie, The Wailing is about a spate of violence in a remote village in the mountains, which may be linked to a strange Japanese man who recently began living in the woods. A police officer called Jong-goo begins to investigate resulting murders after his own daughter seemingly becomes possessed.
To describe more about the story, or twists and turns, of The Wailing would threaten to spoil some of it, and therefore make it less exciting and confusing as you watch it yourself. I appreciated it most going in blind, and so you should have that same experience. So I’m not going to say a single word more on the story; suffice to say it has an incredibly oppressive atmosphere all the way through, and each new element added will keep you guessing as to what’s really going on in the village.
You don’t have to take my word for its quality though, because The Wailing has the near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score of 99%, with every single review save for one praising the movie. And the major gripe of the sole negative review is the movie’s meaty runtime, which is certainly a valid point as the movie is over two and a half hours long.
The Wailing has built up quite a cult following in the west since its release, largely based on word-of-mouth viewership which is how I saw it. While it played at Cannes Film Festival in 2016, it was in the Out of Competition section, which doesn’t always receive as much press attention as it deserves, and most of the other awards it was put up for were Asian ones. So it might not have been brought to the attention of western viewers as much as it should.
That’s a shame because as its reviews point out, The Wailing is a great counterpoint to the typical American horror movies we see, as it puts more of a focus on atmosphere and tension-building rather than loud jump scares and buckets of blood and gore.
If you’re looking for something new to watch this weekend, then, I’d definitely recommend The Wailing — as long as you’re okay with tense and slow-burn horrors.
If you don’t have Netflix, then you’ll be glad to know that the movie is also free to watch on Tubi and The Roku Channel in the US and can be seen with a Prime Video subscription in the UK.