The Wailing 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

The Wailing 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Well Go USA is revisiting a couple of its older 1080 releases of South Korean films, with both this release and the simultaneously released The Man from Nowhere 4K. Both releases sport some interesting changes to the video, but both have advertised Dolby Atmos tracks that are not included.

The Wailing 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc in this package.

The Wailing is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Well Go USA with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.39:1. When I was writing my original 1080 review of the film, the IMDb hadn't yet populated much technical data, but in the interim they've updated things to confirm the use of Arri cameras that I mentioned in my 1080 review, as well as the fact that this had a 2K DI. I actually liked the look of this 4K presentation better than that of Well Go USA's day and date release of The Man from Nowhere 4K, perhaps due to my probable preference for the appearance of digital captures in 4K when compared to 35mm, even though in this case kind of ironically I mentioned how the other South Korean effort's 4K presentation actually looks relatively grain free at times. One way or the other, detail levels enjoy a subtle but noticeable improvement throughout this presentation, which may actually add a "squirm" factor for some of the more troubling effects. What really struck my eyes in this version, though, is the beautiful new highlights that Dolby Vision and/or HDR grant this property. As I mentioned in my original 1080 review, the almost pastoral views of South Korean countryside are elevated here both in detail and especially suffusion, and both the often gorgeous blue gradings and then slightly more green tinged teal gradings really pop evocatively throughout. Shadow detail is also improved, especially in some of the Outsider sequences.

The Wailing 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As with Well Go USA's 4K UHD release of The Man From Nowhere, The Wailing is advertised as offering a Dolby Atmos track, but as mentioned above, that is not the case, and instead the 4K UHD disc repeats the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that was offered years ago on the 1080 release. The film achieves some of its most potent surround activity in simply detailing the sounds of the environment, especially out in the forest where the Outsider takes up residence. Some of the torrential downpours depicted in the film also (appropriately) wash through the side and rear channels. An interesting score which sometimes uses ethnic instruments like gongs also resides quite comfortably in the surrounds. Dialogue is cleanly rendered, and there are no problems of any kind to report. Optional English subtitles are available.

Note: I had the same temporary issue with this disc and Well Go USA's simultaneous 4K UHD release of The Man from Nowhere 4K where either due to a faulty HDMI handshake or some authoring error, playing the film the first time from the main menu did not engage the soundtrack. Only stopping playback and starting again solved the issue on both discs.

The Wailing 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 4K UHD disc sports no supplemental features. The 1080 disc in this package has the minimal supplements covered in my The Wailing Blu-ray review.

Packaging features a slipcover.

The Wailing 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Wailing is long on mood, which may help it to elide both arguable over length and some less than helpful "comedy" bits. This 4K UHD version sports really nice looking video, but it does not offer the advertised Dolby Atmos audio. With caveats noted, Recommended.