ScoobyMint Disappointment for a huge fan!

Jenna Walter The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Michael Ledo Father Kim has been conducting exorcisms in Seoul, no pun intended. He has gone through a number of assistants and they are down to candidates from seminary school. Deacon Choi has been asked to be the next one, having a loose list of qualifications, one is being born in the year of the tiger. There was also been a question of molestation and in addition to assisting Kim, he also must spy on him.While this is a serious exorcism film, it does have many light moments. The dialogue was good, in spite of the English dubbing. The Korean culture comes through as we see a shaman with an ox head strapped to his back attempt an exorcism. In one scene as they prepare for an exorcism and take communion, Father Kim quips to Choi that he could have bought a better wine. It was that type of humor that was in much of the feature. I don't believe this is an "everyone" film due to the dubbing and length, as some may find it difficult to sit through.No swearing, sex, or nudity. There is a Korean option with English subtitles, or just plain English, with the opening monologue still being in Korean with English subtitles.

Paul Magne Haakonsen 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.

quincytheodore 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.

moviexclusive You wouldn't normally expect to see a full-blown exorcism in a South Korean movie, so consider us intrigued when we first heard of writer/ director Jang Jae-hyun's 'The Priests'. True enough, Jang's film is the first of its kind to dabble in the 'occult', a genre typically associated with Western cinema for both cultural and historical reasons. Digging deep into Roman Catholic theology to deliver a largely accurate depiction of the oft-misunderstood ritual, Jang delivers a tense and frequently edge-of-your-seat gripping portrait of the eternal fight between light and darkness, a theme which he also similarly explored in his award-winning 2014 short '12th Assistant Deacon'.As in that short, the key protagonists are a renegade priest Father Kim (Kim Yun-seok) and a priest-in-training Deacon Choi (Gang Dong- won), who team up to save a young girl Young-shin (Park So-dam) that begins to exhibit one of the twelve manifestations of evil tracked by the Rosicrucrianism after a hit-and-run accident. Young-shin was a member of Father Kim's congregation when he was a priest of a church in the countryside, and it is partly their history that compels him to take matters into his own hands when the other members of his flock disapprove of his intentions to conduct an exorcism for Young-shin for fear of spooking the public.It is hardly the first time that Kim is playing the role of the rebellious, tough-talking veteran, and he does it here with aplomb. He expresses with keenness not only the toll that Father Kim's fight with the demon inside Young-shin has taken on him, but also the conviction of his character's faith in the power of God over evil that gives him the strength to press on. Yet the film belongs as much to Father Kim as it does to Deacon Choi, a fresh-eyed ingénue who is plucked out of theology school to assist Father Kim while acting as spy for the larger Catholic fraternity to keep an eye on their wayward brethren - and unlike Father Kim, his motivation is less to save a life than to save himself from a life of studying in the seminary.Needless to say, Deacon Choi soon finds himself way out of his depth as he is confronted with the very definition of evil, but there is more to Choi than just his naivety; indeed, Choi remains haunted to this day by the guilt of a traumatic childhood accident where he failed to save his sister from being bitten to death by a ferocious dog. It is this frailty that the demon will exploit to taunt and scare him in the midst of the rite of exorcism, and Gang embodies his character's transformation from fear to temerity with wide-eyed wonder and tenacity. His character is intended as Father Kim's complement as well as a passing-of-the-baton from veteran to rookie, and Gang shares an engaging dynamic with Kim in their scenes together.Rather than contrive to take his audiences through a protracted story of Father Kim's battle with the demon within Young-shin, Jang opts for a much simpler narrative that places its emphasis on authenticity. Pretty much most of the first half is set-up for an elaborate display of the ritual in the second half, which takes place over the course of one full-moon night in a dingy top-floor apartment located at the heart of the bustling Myeong-dong district. Nonetheless, the first hour remains a riveting watch, constructed with scenes to underscore the peril that Father Kim and Deacon Choi will soon find themselves in. The procedure itself in its full extended glory is also more than worth the wait, packed with moments of sheer terror as the duo attempt to draw the evil spirit to reveal its name while overcoming their own personal demons.For being the first of its kind, Jang deserves even more credit for successfully demonstrating how to 'localise' a genre that has never been associated with K-cinema or K-horror for that matter. Despite being his feature filmmaking debut, Jang exhibits a strong grasp of mise-en-scene, especially with the contrast of light and dark in the film's visuals. Jang's choice to film his movie on location in busy neighbourhoods and districts in Seoul, Anyang and Daegu also gives it a strong sense of place, and a particularly nice touch in that regard is the depiction of a traditional Korean shamanistic ritual right before the rite of exorcism. Oh yes, 'The Priests' is terrifying all right, bolstered in part by its heightened sense of realism, and besides being a bold new entry into a subject matter yet unexplored in that context, it is a perfectly worthy addition to the genre in its own right.