10 Great Horror Movies That Will Crush Your Soul
9. The Wailing
The Wailing is an enormously impressive horror epic from South Korea, which centres around a mysterious haunting occurring at a remote South Korean village. A demon is causing people to snap and slaughter their families, and police officer Jong-goo (Kwak Do-won) tries to save his daughter, who has become one of the possessed.
At two-and-a-half hours, The Wailing is longer than most horror films, and it really pulls the viewer in, establishing its characters and its story world with impressive detail. It's an emphatic, involving viewing experience, and therefore, its relentlessly tragic events will hit audiences right in the feels. By the time the ending comes along, most will feel drained, downcast, and utterly exhausted.
Speaking of which, if there's one thing you should never expect from a South Korean horror flick, it's a happy ending. These movies do often go for bleak finales, more so than a lot of American horror films would, and that's very much the case with The Wailing. After Jong-goo pursues the wrong suspect, the real demon causes his possessed daughter to kill him, his wife, and his mother-in-law. Evil wins and the good guys fall. You wanted a happy ending? Denied!