The Wailing is a punishing, relentlessly tense horror thriller that thrives on ambiguity and sensory overload. Na Hong-jin toys with belief, suspicion and endurance, delivering a prolonged roller-coaster of dread, brutal set pieces and exhausting climaxes that leave viewers shaken, uncertain and deeply unsettled. [Read More]
Event tag: BFI LFF 2016
The Wailing (곡성, 2016) review: a relentless descent into fear and paranoia
The Wailing takes director Na Hong-jin’s almost trademark intricate, pulse-pounding narrative intensity and ramps it up yet further with palpable character fear, paranoia and desperation. Thriller by name, utterly thrilling in nature, this darkly violent, three-pronged horror ‘whodunit’ is a worthy successor to The Chaser and The Yellow Sea. [Read More]
Brief review: Park Chan-wook’s Handmaiden
I’ll leave others to do the detailed review of Park Chan-wook’s Handmaiden (아가씨), which screened at the London Film Festival this week and which will return later in the month at the London East Asia Film Festival. Suffice it to say that it’s gorgeous-looking, both in terms of costume and interiors, great story-telling and totally … [Read More]
Korean films at the 2016 BFI London Film Festival
If I were to draw up a list of feature films that I simply *had* to see this year, the following three would be on it. Thanks to the BFI selectors for securing them for the festival. There’s also a short film showing. Text below is from the BFI website. Tickets go on sale to … [Read More]