The Wailing (2016)

A mysterious Japanese man arrives in Gokseong, a small mountain village. Soon, a bizarre infection breaks out, causing villagers to go mad and kill their families. A hunter claims he saw the stranger with glowing red eyes eating a deer. Police officer Jong-goo meets a mysterious young woman, Moo-myeong, who tells him the stranger is an evil spirit.

When Jong-goo's daughter, Hyo-jin, shows signs of the infection, he and a Japanese-speaking deacon, Yang I-sam, search the stranger's house. They find a shrine with photographs and belongings of the victims, including Hyo-jin's shoe. Jong-goo orders the stranger to leave. A dead goat appears at Jong-goo's gate, and Hyo-jin stabs a neighbour.

The family hires a shaman, Il-gwang, who says the stranger is a demon and performs a violent death-hex ritual. As Hyo-jin screams in agony, Jong-goo stops it. Jong-goo and his friends hunt the stranger, are attacked by a reanimated corpse, and eventually seem to kill him. Hyo-jin appears to recover.

But Il-gwang meets Moo-myeong, vomits blood and flees. He phones Jong-goo, saying Moo-myeong is the real demon, and the stranger was a shaman trying to stop her. Hyo-jin disappears. Moo-myeong tells Jong-goo that she has set a trap for the demon and that he must wait until the rooster crows three times, or his family will die.

Jong-goo sees Moo-myeong wearing items from the victims, and his daughter's hairpin. Believing she is the culprit, he runs home before the third crow and finds that Hyo-jin has murdered his wife and mother-in-law. She attacks him. Meanwhile, Yang I-sam finds the stranger alive in a cave, where he transforms into a red-eyed demon. Il-gwang arrives at Jong-goo's house and photographs the dead family. As he leaves, a box of photos of other victims falls from his car. Jong-goo dies, remembering happier times with his daughter.

Who is the demon? The Japanese stranger. In the cave, he reveals himself as a red-eyed demon with wounds on his hands, like a twisted version of Christ.

Was Il-gwang helping? No. The final scenes show Il-gwang photographing the dead family, just as the stranger photographed his victims. He appears to be working with the demon, and his ritual was aimed at Hyo-jin, not the stranger.

Who is Moo-myeong? She seems to be a protective spirit of the village, trying to stop the demon. Her trap would have worked if Jong-goo had waited until the third crow.

Why did Jong-goo fail? Doubt. He could not decide whom to believe and was tempted away at the crucial moment, just as Il-gwang warned him not to be tempted, for the wrong reasons.

What does the Bible quote mean? The film opens with Luke 24:37 to 39, where Jesus shows his wounds to frightened disciples. The demon's final form turns this upside down, showing that faith and fear can be manipulated.