The Wailing (2024 film)

The Wailing
The Wailing
	Theatrical release poster
Spanish	El llanto
Directed by	Pedro Martín-Calero
Written by	Isabel Peña; Pedro Martín-Calero;
Produced by	Eduardo Villanueva; Nacho Lavilla; Fernanda del Nido; Cristina Zumárraga; Pablo E. Bossi; Juan Pablo Miller; Jerôme Vidal;
Starring	Ester Expósito; Mathilde Ollivier; Malena Villa;
Cinematography	Constanza Sandoval
Edited by	Victoria Lammers
Music by	Olivier Arson
Production; companies	Caballo Films; Setembro Cine; Tandem Films; Tarea Fina; Noodles Productions; El llanto AIE;
Distributed by	Universal Pictures International Spain (es)
Release dates	25 September 2024 (Zinemaldia); 25 October 2024 (Spain);
Countries	Spain; Argentina; France;
Language	Spanish

The Wailing (Spanish: El llanto) is a 2024 psychological horror^[1] film directed by Pedro Martín-Calero and written by Martín Calero and Isabel Peña. It stars Ester Expósito, Mathilde Ollivier, and Malena Villa.

Plot

The plot follows Andrea, haunted by an invisible presence. 20 years before, the same happened to Marie.^[2]

Cast

Ester Expósito as Andrea^[3]
Mathilde Ollivier as Marie^[3]
Malena Villa [es] as Camila^[3]
Àlex Monner as Pau^[4]
Sonia Almarcha as Mercedes^[5]
Tomás del Estal as Gonzalo^[5]

Production

The screenplay was written by Pedro Martín-Calero and Isabel Peña.^[6] The helmers sought to connect their film with the literature of Mariana Enríquez.^[7] The film, Martín-Calero's debut feature,^[8] is a Spanish-Argentine-French co-production by Caballo Films, Setembro Cine, Tandem Films, Tarea Fina, Noodles Productions and El llanto AIE, with participation of RTVE and Amazon Prime Video and funding from ICAA, the Madrid regional administration, and Ayuntamiento de Madrid.^[9]^[3] Filming began in mid February 2023.^[3]

Release

The Wailing had its world premiere in the official competition of the 72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival on 25 September 2024.^[10] It also made to the slate of the 57th Sitges Film Festival, the 68th BFI London Film Festival, and the 69th Valladolid International Film Festival.^[11]^[12]^[13] It is scheduled to be released theatrically in Spain on 25 October 2024 by Universal Pictures International Spain.^[2]^[14]

Reception

Jonathan Romney of ScreenDaily wrote that "a strong feminist angle gives the film a powerful currency" "and the three young leads are compelling in different ways".^[4]

Raquel Hernández Luján of HobbyConsolas gave the film 60 points ('acceptable'), praising "the performances, the atmosphere and the directing job" but pointing out as its main flaw the screenplay "that is not clear about where it is going... or at least how to guide the viewers to the final conclusion".^[15]

Andrea G. Bermejo of Cinemanía rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, considering that the viewer will have a great time with this "elevated horror" reminiscent of It Follows "featuring an underlying thesis about violence against women".^[16]

Fausto Fernández of Fotogramas rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, praising the three lead actresses' performances as the film's best while mentioning how the film has a hard time getting started and engaging the viewer as its worst.^[17]

Desirée de Fez of El Periódico de Catalunya rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, deeming it to be unusual both in its ambition and on a structural and visual level.^[18]

Accolades


Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2024	72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival	Golden Shell		Nominated	^[19]
2024	72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival	Silver Shell for Best Director	Pedro Martín-Calero	Won	^[19]