The Wailing (Gokseong) (2016)

Horror, Drama, Fantasy

Director: Hong-jin Na
Writer: Hong-jin Na
Starring: Woo-hee Chun, Jung-min Hwang, So-yeon Jang, Han-Cheol Jo

A ghost, a demon, a shaman and a zombie-like viral infection invade a remote mountain village, in this stylish South Korean mystery-horror.

A low-ranking police officer investigates a series of strange deaths and illnesses that occur in his small village. As the strange happenings are blamed on a mysterious Japanese man, whose recent arrival seems to coincide with all the trouble, the apparently inept investigator finds himself in the middle of it, when his daughter (a pretty remarkable performance from young actress Kim Hwan-hee) appears to be one of the foreigner's victims, and sets in motion a diabolical series of events that will spell doom for his whole family.

Although over two-and-a-half hours long, Goksung succeeds in combining a mood of deep unease with visceral gore, buddy cop comedy, and a hallucinogenic mix of horror tropes, in a manner that keeps the viewer on the edge of the seat throughout the entire movie.

Plot summary from IMDb: A stranger arrives in a little village and soon after a mysterious sickness starts spreading. A policeman is drawn into the incident and is forced to solve the mystery in order to save his daughter.

Awards: 3 wins & 1 nomination.
Runtime: 156 min
NOT R