This piece revisits The Wailing, the 2016 South Korean supernatural mystery from director Na Hong-jin, arguing it remains his finest work and recommending it now that his long-awaited follow-up, Hope, has arrived. The article frames the film as a companion piece to Hope, noting how both share Na's fascination with ordinary, ill-equipped people confronting forces beyond their understanding, and highlights the film's blend of horror, folklore and dark comedy that has drawn comparisons to Hereditary and Parasite.

The Wailing follows Jong-goo (Kwak Do-won), a bumbling village police officer investigating a spate of gruesome murders that spirals from a straightforward procedural into supernatural horror. The review praises Na's use of atmospheric, weather-drenched environmental storytelling, its unpredictable tonal shifts between grotesque horror and comic ineptitude, and a climactic sequence in which converging storylines force the audience into the same confusion as its protagonist. It notes the film was Na's last feature before Hope and is currently available to stream for free.