Ridley Scott’s Company Considering A Remake Of The Wailing

Given how the news of planned remakes is usually greeted, we'd expect The Wailing to have something of a double meaning in this case. But success breeds attempts to capitalise, and so it is that Ridley's Scott's production company Scott Free is putting out feelers for a remake of Na Hong Jin’s Korean horror hit.

Written and directed by Na, The Wailing is set in a quiet Korean village where the tranquility is shattered by a series of inexplicable murders seemingly tied to the arrival of a mysterious stranger. An investigating officer's daughter falls under a violent spell, and he has to bring in a shaman to try to help cure her.

But before you begin the rending of garments, tearing of hair or gnashing of teeth in fearful anticipation of a dodgy remake, bear in mind that it's still very early days for this, with Fox International Production Korea simply talking to Scott Free about a potential new version. “They said The Wailing reminded them of films such as The Exorcist, The Ring and Seven," FIP Korea boss Hosung Kim. "The locality and sensibility of The Wailing is so strong that I don’t think it would be easy to do a Western remake, and it will be important who directs it. So I told him I think the only director who could do the remake is Na Hong Jin. But we are still in early stages of talks. We’re being careful. As you know, there are a lot of remakes out there being developed that haven’t come to fruition."

So for now, it's a wailing game... Sorry, a waiting game.

Read Empire's Review Of The Wailing

Exclusive Clip From The Wailing