In 2015 director JANG Jae-hyun unleashed the exorcism horror film The Priests starring KIM Yoon-seok, GANG Dong-won, and PARK So-dam. The success of the film has spawned a new spin-off titled Dark Nuns that hopes to bring more of the same that made The Priests a success. Now, Well GO USA is bringing both home for fans to revisit and experience for the first time.  

 

The Priests follows a young girl named Young-shin who began experiencing terrifying, inexplicable phenomena after a hit-and-run accident. Desperate for answers, renegade priest Father Kim, long shunned by the church for his unorthodox methods, takes on one final exorcism. He enlists Deacon Choi, who secretly reports to the church. As they enter Young-shin’s room, the ritual begins—a battle for survival against an unspeakable evil.

 

I am always hit and miss on haunting and exorcism horror films. They tend to be tedious and never really have a good payoff, but when they do it is a great and often scary experience. This is one of those that while a slow burn stays interesting from beginning to end for a variety of reasons. Outside of the exorcism that is the focal point there is a whole other plot of a young Deacon’s journey into this world and the difficult relationship building with the priest.

 

They have some great exchanges that take us through the plans and training to perform this exorcism. It fully embraces the darkness of it all and goes all in once we get to the exorcism itself. There are moments reminiscent of The Exorcist during the exorcism itself while still doing its own thing. Bringing in visuals of bugs, blood and straight up chaos at times while never falling into a silly place.

 

The dynamic of the priests makes for a compelling story all its own, but then to see the detailed approach to the exorcism and the execution is outstanding. The