Why Women’s Screams Go Unheard: A Review of The Wailing and Its Chilling Metaphor

Rachel Willis’s review of The Wailing cuts to the heart of what makes horror truly effective: its ability to tap into our most profound, societal fears. Moving beyond mere jump scares, director Pedro Martín-Calero’s film constructs a chilling metaphor around the terror of being silenced and disbelieved. Willis explores how the film’s fractured, reverse-chronology narrative masterfully follows multiple women haunted by a sinister force, arguing that the real horror lies not in the supernatural entity itself, but in the apathetic bystanders who refuse to listen. It’s a potent critique that resonates far beyond the screen, making The Wailing a unnerving and thought-provoking entry into the genre.

The Wailing

A group of young people inadvertently resurrects a seemingly invisible evil.

Release date: 25 October 2024 (Spain)

Director: Pedro Martín Calero

Running time: 1h 47m

Why Women’s Screams Go Unheard: A Review of The Wailing and Its Chilling Metaphor

A Horror Movie Review by Rachel Willis

For as many horror films as I watch, it’s rare for one to truly unnerve or scare me. The ones that do tend to hit a deeply held fear or anxiety. Director Pedro Martín-Calero’s film The Wailing hits one of those fears—the fear of not being believed.

Co-writing with Isabel Peña, Martín-Calero movie follows several women as they encounter a sinister presence. Each section of film follows a different woman, traveling backward and forward in time to show how each one is impacted by the violent entity in their lives.

The first is Andrea (Ester Expósito). While walking home one day, the music on her phone is interrupted by the ethereal wailing of one or more women.  

The film’s tension picks up quickly. One especially frightening scene pairs the fear of not being believed with the anxiety of being ignored. As Andrea pleads and screams for help in a crowded room, onlookers simply stare at her, unmoving and unmoved.

It’s these moments, and several quieter ones, where the film excels. As the suspense and mystery grows, it’s clear the takeaway is that when women are ignored, everyone is the worse for it. While the women are the most negatively and directly impacted, the violence has a sinister spread with the potential to affect everyone in it orbit.

The only element the film struggles with is how to convey text conversation. The choice to overlay images with text messages is distracting and negates the rising tension.

Fortunately, this is only an issue during Andrea’s story. Then the film moves back in time to follow Camila (Malena Villa) as she interacts with Andrea’s mother, Marie (Mathilde Olliver).

The Wailing excels in following a reverse timeline to explore the extended metaphor of the long-term effects of not believing women. The film ends on what could be construed as a hopeful note, but the choice of how we move forward is left to the audience to decide. Believing women is the first step; what comes next is up to us.

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