The Priests

When I saw that there was an exorcism-themed movie out from South Korea, I was more than hooked. I didn't know who had directed it or even who starred in it. I do like Asian cinema quite a lot, and South Korean movies tend to be quite good.

And such was also the case with "The Priests" (aka "Geomeun sajedeul"). While it does have a story that has been seen countless of times before in other similar movies, then director Jae-Hyun Jang still managed to keep the movie interesting and entertaining.

Little needs to be said about the story here; a young girl is possessed by a demonic entity, and it is up to two priests to perform an exorcism, banish the demonic entity and thus saving the life of the young girl.

It is the way that the movie is built up that works quite well, because we get to discover things about the priests along the way, showing that they are but humans as well, and then slowly, but surely, director Jae-Hyun Jang guides the audience towards the exorcism itself.

It strikes me as a movie that didn't have the biggest of budgets, but still they managed to utilize everything to the fullest potential and come up with a rather impressive and entertaining movie nonetheless.

And while the movie is not boasting a myriad of CGI and special effects that would put Hollywood to shame, the special effects crew did manage to make the necessary effects seem good and come off as being realistic. A feat which really added depth to the movie.

The acting in the movie was good as well. Although I can't really claim to be familiar with the talents who were acting in this 2015 movie.

While "The Priests" is not a groundbreaking movie to make it out of South Korea, it is still an entertaining movie that is well-worth watching. My rating of "The Priests" is a solid six out of ten stars easily.

By now you seen one exorcism you seen them all, right?

The Priests tells the tale of a little girl processed by a old demon that needs two holy men to drive it out. The process is so standard, it comes off as cheesy. They use all the clichés of exorcisms to try to creep you out but it all comes out very dull.

the most interesting parts are when the Koreans add some of their own culture into the Catholic religion in order to perform demon hunting, like the fact that one of the priest had to be born in the year of the tiger in order to battle this particular demon.

The Priests also had a strange buddy cop element to it with a seasoned Priest who seen everything twice and his hard attitude expresses it, is force to team up with a young rookie Priest who has not even finished his studies. Although, this element of the movie seems to be used only to pass time and is not that appealing

It was interesting to see Korea's take on the process of possession, but not interesting enough to support a whole film.

Normally eastern horror movies would dabble in traditional myth or folklore, for example the haunting of girl with white dress and long hair which plagues Japan, China and even Indonesia. It's a pleasant surprise that a Korean movie tries to incorporate possession and religious tone into this genre. By maintaining respect from the original source and using it in unique atmosphere, this is a commendable as well as a successful excursion to other side of horror.

A young deacon (Dong-won Kang) is called to assist Father Kim (Yun-seok Kim) in the exorcism of a young high school girl. Both men have no connection before, and their personalities are too far apart. This is not the usual mentor and student relationship, the older Father is weary and brash which makes him a contrasting character to the young deacon. However, necessity ensures that they have to work together.

The first act is admittedly rather slow, it gives a nice look of the priests' lives and appreciated details about possession. However, this tends to stall a bit as the movie strolls through some subplots that are not necessarily crucial to the story. It ramps up significantly as the two priests walk closer towards possessed girl, at this point visual dims to portray dark premonition against the bright light of modern city.

This is suspense build up and showcase of exorcism done right. Its unusual oriental vibe works in the movie's favor by clashing the cultures together. Details like traditional rituals, tight apartments and occasional bleak view on metropolis splendidly set up the ambiance. The cinematography used is extremely chilling and engaging, viewing the struggle in creepy close encounter. This rings especially true when they face the malicious entity.

At its peak this is one of the most eerie displays of the genre. The exorcism in the east uses enigmatic theme and unorthodox setting to conjure novelty and gripping terror.

If you look at the IMDb page for "The Priests", you'll find that the summary really isn't what this film is about at all. Ignore it! Instead, the film is an interesting combination of Western films exorcism films combined with Eastern sensibilities. This combination is an interesting one and the movie by Jae-hyun Jang is well worth your time.

When the film begins, a young Catholic priest in South Korea is trying to exorcise a demon from a young girl. However, soon something expected occurs and the girl dives from her hospital window. Despite the horrible fall, she is still alive and is in a coma where she remains off and on for years---all the while the demon remains trapped within her. The priest makes it his life's work to rid her of the demon but he is so far unsuccessful. As for his assistants, they all end up leaving the case...unable to cope with the horrible fight against evil. Soon, assistant number 11 is assigned to help. Can he manage to sum up the internal strength and together they rid the world of this evil? And, once the demon leaves the girl, what exactly are they to do with it?! That is a problem they really forgot to plan for in "The Exorcist"!

As I just mentioned the film, at times, "The Priests" clearly feels like "The Exorcist". Fortunately, it is not some cheap Korean copy or reworking of the Hollywood picture and differs in many, many ways. Because it's an Asian film, it integrates quite a bit of Eastern religion and mysticism as well. You'll see shamans, salt used for purification and many other non- Western elements within the film. You also have some amazing special effects as well as an ending that is nothing like the more familiar Hollywood version. Additionally, the story works very well and it will keep you on the edge of your seat! Plus, the ending really is awfully intelligent and offers an excellent pay-off. Well worth seeing and I look forward to more films from Jae-hyun Jang.

Exorcism movies are far too common in the film industry. With rather rigid formulas to evoke horror and uninspired screenwriting and directing, even something recent like 'The Possession of Hannah Grace' that comes with a new premise, could not trespass the overused pattern. However, The Priests shows possibility that an exorcism movie may still have a bright future.

Between his controversies, an exorcist and his new assistant, a deacon with a trauma, must perform an exorcism to a girl who in her edge of physical endurance, along with deadly terror that brings upon them.

The short premise may sound too familiar to us. The ambiance of horror and dialogues between priests, also quite known already in this kind of movie. However, what's different is how the movie narrates with the deacon's perspective. With light nuance in the beginning, The Priests gives new perspective, comedy and drama, which never quite well delivered in my exorcism-movies experience. Rather than being flat and boring, this attempt makes the buildups to the climax (the exorcism scene, of course), becomes more suspenseful and interesting. I am surprised this movie can pulled this off, since this formula is quite overused in Korean films I watch so far, but somehow it's different.

What's also makes this movie more interesting, is how the movie humanize the priests not over the top. Sometimes, the priests in many movies deal with faith problem, and we have the realization moment. This movie, while quite following similar pattern, also depicts the imperfectness and goofiness in the men who serve for the church. The rapport not makes me overly emotionally invested, but it's good enough to makes me stay interested.

The next good thing, sometimes you will listen many exorcism scenes do anything with various languages spells and so on without any explanation, but this movie gives more background to the exorcism and what is the nature of the devil. It gives more sense of depth to the movie, and I like it a lot. The appearance of a traditional Korean shaman also spices up the movie, bringing sense of reality that in the dangerous time, it is not uncommon to try different methods to overcome evil. This particular thing, is not explored well in Western movies that often portray the exorcism in only certain way.

While all's been very positive to me, I am not a fan of many clichés that happen throughout the movie (really, I've seen three Korean movies today and they all have car accident scenes) and how the exorcism scene feels quite dry rather than a blast to pay the buildups. I highly recommend this movie for those who longing for a good exorcism film, with drama plot added. It's not full of twist, but shows us that in doubt of this kind of movie, with right formula and plot, even your standard exorcism movie plot can be a gem.