Whether “the supernatural” exists or not there are places able to evoke the sort of dread of it that consumes you – an overwhelming sense that whatever might be behind it all bespeaks a horror that seems ably to encapsulate whatever it is that encompasses “the human condition”.
In particular, this can often be conveyed more intimately when embedded in a “little village” somewhere. And here it takes the form of “a mysterious sickness” spreading among the population. Often intertwined in one or another religious narrative. Or “folk religion” as some call it.
For example, the Black Plague way back then. Thought of as natural or supernatural, it seemed to embody a world in which something really, really awful was ever and always just around the corner, ready to pounce.
One or another demon. Or, perhaps, one or another stranger. Or infidel.
And, maybe this time, it will pounce on you.
Where things get tricky though is when a plot like this unfolds in the “modern world”. Both the demons and the Gods have to contend with a frame of mind that has been “contaminated” over the centuries by an understanding of the world that is considerably more “twenty-first century”. In other words, even the smallest of villages are now connected to narratives that would have been almost unthinkable 500 years ago. Here it is modern day South Korea.
On the other hand, if you don’t believe in the existence of folk-religion “demons/ghosts”, you can always go elsewhere to explain all the evil in the world. Of course many people will believe in them just because, even if they bring great suffering, they are somehow “proof” of the existence of a world beyond this one.
As for what it all “means” [especially the ending], here are a few takes on it:
movies.stackexchange.com/questi … iling-2016
movies.stackexchange.com/questi … a-hong-jin
youtu.be/aiJHaxIyfLQ
IMDb
[b]For his ceremony scene, actor Jung-min Hwang filmed for 15 minutes without break. It was one long-take scene.
According to director Hong-jin Na, this movie was made on the base of folk religions in Korea and Nepal, and the Catholic faiths.
Hwan-hee Kim who played Hyo-jin (Jong-goo’s daughter) practiced modern dance for 6 months to perform scenes of her being possessed by the devil. [/b]
at wiki: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wailing_(film
trailer: youtu.be/43uAputjI4k
THE WAILING [Gok-seong] 2016
Written and directed by Hong-jin Na
[b]Title card: “They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghoist does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
[Luke 24: 37-39]
…
Sergeant Jong-gu: What’s wrong with him?
Cop: He doesn’t smell of alcohol and he’s not talking. I think he ate some wild mushrooms. They say he just suddenly got like that…
…
Cop [to Jong-gu looking at a bizarre crime scene]: What kind of twisted fuck is he?
…
Jong-gu: Listen you dumb ass, they did the autopsy, ran all kinds of tests, they were talking about how he probably ate some bad mushrooms…You know those mushrooms that make you go crazy…They found large quantities of it in his blood sample, it was at his house, dried up and untouched…
Detective: Sergeant, do you really believe that?
Jong-gu: The tests results are in!
Detective: Sergeant, have you ever tried those kinds of mushrooms as a kid? Mushrooms don’t do that to people, you saw the condition he was in! You think mushrooms did that?!?
…
Jong-gu: Seong Bok…That woman…The one from the burned house we just came from, I knew I saw her somewhere before! That woman from last night, standing naked at the window! When the lights went out! That’s her!
…
Villager [to Jung-gu]: It is my opinion all these people dying in the village, it has something to do with him. He is not a human…[/b]
Cue the Japanese “stranger”.
[b]Village: Look. Over there.
Detective: Isn’t that a deer?
Jong-gu: So, you weren’t making this up.
Detective: What in God’s name is happening?
…
Jong-gu: Why are you acting like this…? Get yourself together!
Detective [barely above a whisper]: It’s not just one or two people… He takes pictures of them before they turn into…And he takes pictures of them when they die…He goes back to photograph them…
Jong-gu: What the fuck are you babbling about?!? You’re not making any sense!
Detective: He is the one responsible. He’s the criminal.
Jong-gu: That is enough! We’ll talk later! What exactly did you see…? What did you see!
[he shows him Hyo-jin’s trainer]
…
Jong-gu: Did you lose a trainer…?
Hyo-jin: No…
Jong-gu [showing her the shoe]: So what is this…?
Hyo-jin: It’s not mine…
Jong-gu: This isn’t your handwriting?
Hyo-jin: I said it’s not mine…
Jong-gu: You know there is a Japanese person that lives around here, right? Answer me! You know him, right? You met with him, right? Answer me now!..Your father is a cop. I’ll know if you’re lying. You met him, right?
[Hyo-jin nods]
Jong-gu: Tell me! Everything! Where did you meet him? What did you guys do?
Hyo-jin: Why should I tell you…?
Jong-gu: This is important!
Hyo-jin: Why is it important? What is so important…? Tell me, what is it so important…? What? What! IS THAT REALLY SO IMPORTANT!
…
Hyo-jin: What are you doing?
Jong-gu: I thought you were asleep.
Hyo-jin: What the hell? Yanking up your daughter’s skirt in the middle of the night?
[Jong-gu just gapes at her]
Hyo-jin: Speak up, will you. Tell me, asshole!
[Jong-gu continues to gape at her, not recognizing her as his daughter]
Hyo-jin: Tell me, you fucking shithead!! FUCK YOU!!
[she starts to scream uncontrolably]
…
Wife [to Jong-gu]: I spoke to the shaman. He said we have a ghost in our house. It looks it has taken over Hyo-jin. We could all die if we don’t do anything.
…
Jong-gu: What did you come here for:
The stranger [through Yang Yi-sam’s translation]: To travel.
Jong-gu: Tell him I’ll throw him in jail unless he tells me the truth.
The stranger [through Yang Yi-sam’s translation]: Even if I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.
Jong-gu [to Yang Yi-sam]: You tell him everything I say, word for word]
[he turns to the stranger]
Jong-gu: You fucking prick! You loose-assed, dog fucking son of a whore! What kind of tourist hangs pictures of dead people on his wall?!..I want you to stop what you are doing and leave this village quietly. If you don’t leave, you’ll die.
…
Il-gwang [to Jong-gu]: Who was it? Who did you disturb?
Jong-gu: A Japanese man.
Il-gwang: I knew it. That was no man. That was a ghost.
…
Il-Gwang [to Jong-gu]: Listen. What I’m doing tomprrrow, it’s no ordinary ritual, I’ll be casting a death-hex. It’s incredibly dangerous. So you can’t do anything that would taint it. No intercourse. Watch what you eat and drink. Otherwise the spell will back-fire.
…
Il-Gwang: Even among other demons, he’s a master of evil.
Jong-Gu: If that’s true, why did it have to be…
Il-Gwang: …your daughter? What sin did that young girl ever commit?
Jong-Gu: Yes.
Il-Gwang: If you go fishing, do you know what you’ll catch?
Jong-Gu: No.
Il-Gwang: He’s just fishing. Not even he knows what he’ll catch. He just threw out the bait, and your daughter took it.
…
Il-Gwang: The rat fell into the trap.
…
Moo-myeong [to Il-Gwang]: What are you doing here? Get out.
…
Il-Gwang [on the phone]: I misread the divination. It’s not him.
Jong-gu: What do you mean?
Il-Gwang: I cast the hex on the wrong ghost. I saw a woman in front of your house. I made a grave mistake. A terrible, terrible mustake. It’s not the Japanese man. That woman is the evil spirit.
Jong-gu: Who was the Japanese man?
Il-Gwang: He was trying to kill that woman in order to save people from her. That Japanese man…he’s a shaman, like me.
Jong-gu: Was the woman wearing white? Was she a young woman?
…
Jong-gu: Where is my daughter? Where is my daughter?
Moo-myeong: About this tall? Hyo-Jin?
Jong-gu: Yes.
Moo-myeong: She’s possessed by an evil spirit. The old woman tells me the Jap is a ghost. He’s trying to suck her blood dry.
Jong-gu: Shut the fuck up! Answer me, bitch? Where is Hyo-jin?
Moo-myeong: Have you seen the Jap?
Jong-gu: Whare is my daughter?!
Moo-myeong: At your home, where else?
Jong-gu: She’s not there.
Moo-myeong: She is. She just got back. Don’t go back now or she’ll die. If you go now, your whole family will perish.
…
Moo-myeong: You’ve seen the demon. At the house of the hanged woman.
[Jong-gu has a flashback]
Jong-gu: It was a dream.
Moo-myeong: It was not a dream.
…
Jong-gu: What are you, a woman or a ghost? I need to know.
Moo-myeong: Just believe and your family will be saved.
Jong-gu: WHAT ARE YOU?!!!
Moo-myeong [after a long pause]: Someone trying to save your daughter. A woman.
…
Jong-gu [after a shot of Hyo-jin arriving home]: When will the demon come?
Moo-myeong: It’s already there.
…
Yang Yi-sam: I want to ask you something. What are you…?
The Japanese stranger: What do you think my true form is?
Yang Yi-sam: The Devil. You are the devil…Aren’t you going to say anything?
Japanese stranger: You’ve already said it. I’m the Devil.
…
Jong-gu [on the phone]: I’m with the woman now.
Il-Gwang: You mustn’t let her tempt you. Never. Whatever she tells you, you must go to your daughter now.
…
Moo-myeong: Is that your shaman on the phone?
[Jong-gu nods]
Moo-myeong: Don’t believe what he tells you. They’re in on it together.
…
Japanese stranger: Isn’t that right? You’re already certain I’m the devil. That’s why you came here carrying that sickle. My words, whatever I say won’t change your mind.
…
Jong-gu: Why in God’s name is he doing this?
Moo-myeong: Because her father has sinned.
Jong-gu: What sin? What sin did I commit?
Moo-myeong: Her father suspected another. He tried to kill him, and finally succeeded.
Jong-gu: But my daughter…my daughter got sick first! How can that be?!!
…
Jong-gu [dying, flashing back to happier times with his daughter]: It’ okay. My baby. You know Daddy’s a policeman. I’ll take care of everything. Daddy will.[/b]