Filmmaniak

With its non-linear narrative, The Wailing is an unconventionally structured horror movie gradually developed through the multiple consecutively arranged stories of its young protagonists, whose lives are closely connected to each other through the fact that the same murderous apparition appears to them. However, the plot is not centred on the search for the origins of the troublesome spirit or any effort to get rid of it, but on the personal dramas of the female characters. The film contains various topics (adoption, grief, flirting, paranoia, voyeurism), and various stylistic techniques are used in the individual segments – in one, the displays of modern devices, notebooks and mobile telephones are used; in another, grainy shots taken with a cheap handheld camera. Despite the alternating time periods and geographical breadth, all of the protagonists are filmed in the same way with the same slow build-up of suspense and expectations, while each storyline reaches its climax separately. The Wailing offers convincing acting and accomplished directing, but it could have benefitted from a brisker pace in places and the removal of some of the less important digressions.

A very off-the-wall romantic musical comedy featuring a pair of young people, a girl in trouble and a family of cannibalistic murderers who kidnap the aforementioned girl (the romantic formula involving the rescue of one’s beloved is enriched with powerfully exaggerated brutal violence involving a lot of the supporting characters being cut to pieces with a chainsaw or meeting some otherwise bloody end, and it’s taken as humour in all circumstances). The film gives the impression of a cheap, perverse work by several enthusiasts which, however, defies its categorisation among amateur films thanks to its relatively strong comedic qualities. Those qualities are due primarily to the stylised performances of the actors portraying the individual protagonists (some of whom have undeniable comedic talent), the humorous dialogue, the wacky situational gags and funny song lyrics (especially when they cleverly make fun of various stereotypes), the solid work with practical effects and editing, and the overall creative imaginativeness and inventive filmmaking playfulness (kind of a mix of Bad Taste, Monty Python, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Cannibal! The Musical). Thanks to their unrestrained creativity and spontaneous acting, some of the sequences have unmistakable cult potential. However, the problem lies in the fact that the two-hour runtime is simply too long, as the wheels clearly start to come off after the first half-hour (which is hilarious). An hour and twenty minutes would have been ideal. As it stands, both the story and the humour become needlessly watered down by the overly long digressions and, unfortunately, by a number of humourless dead spots.

Mr. K, an ordinary man and travelling magician, spends the night before one of his performances in a hotel that he can’t manage to leave the next day. First, he is unable to find the exit because of the labyrinthine corridors and then his escape is prevented by the other guests, the hotel staff and even the hotel itself, which functions as a living organism. The surreal and Kafkaesque story reflects the essence of human existence, when we are all basically captives of certain formulas, routine activities and rules from which we cannot escape. In that respect, the hotel serves as a metaphor for the world in which there are various levels of the social hierarchy, from the working class to the upper crust or, as the case may be, a planet that is gradually collapsing/regenerating and with the growing number of people on it starting to run out of space and doing more and more harm. However, the plot doesn’t go anywhere in particular and the film only slowly piles up strange situations and repeats the protagonist’s encounters with the bizarre characters that inhabit the hotel. As time passes, more allegorical scenes with an unclear meaning are added and the climax is outright abstract metaphysical nonsense. However, it’s worth mentioning the impressive set design of the hotel interiors and the appropriately cast Crispin Glover in the lead role.