The Priests (2015)

Suivez une séance d'exorcisme avec le Père Kim.

Je suis depuis quelques jours dans une mouvance « exorcisme » avec le drama « Let’s Fight Ghost », le film « The Divine Fury » & maintenant « The Priests ». Comme pour « The Divine Fury », ce film n’a pas réellement su me convaincre. Si le premier aborde l’exorcisme de façon plus trash « visuellement » celui-ci l’aborde de façon « psychologique » (Oui bon, il y a des scènes avec plein de sang… Mais soyons honnête, ce n’est rien comparé à « The Divine Fury » !)

Bref introduction : Nous suivons un jeune diacre qui devient l’assistant d’un exorciste. Ceux-ci font face à un cas difficile puisqu’une jeune femme est possédée par un démon vieux de plusieurs siècles. De plus, ce dernier à la possibilité d’avoir accès aux souvenirs de toute personne avec qui il rentre en contact visuel. (Vous imaginez bien que cela se révèle des plus éprouvant ^^)

Les personnages :
• Le jeune diacre est un personnage des plus tourmentés puisqu’il se sent coupable de ce qui est arrivé à sa sœur lorsqu’ils étaient enfants… La souffrance l’a poussé à devenir prêtre afin d’expier « sa lâcheté ». (J’avoue avoir ressenti un peu de pitié à son égard, il n’était qu’un enfant lorsque l’incident c’est produit… Comment aurait-il pu, dans un état de peur, prendre conscience que son choix entraînerait la mort de sa petite sœur…)
• L’exorciste : Nous ne savons pas grand-chose de lui, pour ne pas dire que nous ne savons rien… Mis à part qu’il connaissait la jeune femme possédée…
• La jeune fille possédée est une personne d’une grande force mentale qui tente de retenir le démon en elle… Bien que son corps et son esprit se détruisent au fur & à mesure de sa possession, elle ne permet pas au démon d’agir à sa guise.

Ce film comme pour « The Divine Fury » n’apporte rien de nouveau au genre, cependant, tout comme ce dernier, il n’est pas désagréable à voir une fois.

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This movie has quite the low rating on MDL, and if I were to guess the reason, it's probably because of people's expectations. So, before talking about anything else, let me be clear about this one part: It's not a movie that starts with scary alleys and continues with lots of jump-scares throughout the film. Well, okay, it does start with a dark alley. But it's those typical five minutes into the movie to have a starting point and to make the viewers curious.

The plot is nothing new and it reminds a bit of The Rite (with Anthony Hopkins), not so much of the original Exorcism though. Most of the story is pretty calm, it takes its time to introduce the characters through flashbacks which works pretty well in my eyes. But it still doesn't waste time as the story proceeds at the same time to slowly build up the suspense. And when you reach the climax, you'll also get your jump-scares and some bloody byproducts.

The movie works well because the camera and editing did a good job and because the cast was great. They gave life to their characters, and made them convincing and palpable. I can't tell much about Kim Yoon Seok or Kang Dong Won because I haven't seen either much with them or anything at all. If I did, it's been so long that I can't remember. But they were splendid. I do know Park So Dam and I also know that she's a great rising actress. She didn't let me down here either and her performance of a quite peculiar figure was excellent.

So, for me an enjoyable ride and a nice presentation of a Christian exorcism in a modern Korea. Of course, still kinda predictable but it's always interesting to see how far and in which directions the movie makers go with the exorcism elements. If you expect something scary and want to hide behind your sofa every few seconds, don't watch this. But if you're fan of the cast and don't mind calmer horror films that focus a bit more on the characters' relations, then be welcome and go ahead.

(But I have to advise you to find good subs, because those are essential to bond with the characters and make you invested in them)

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This isn't a movie that is suited for everyone.
The story is really unique in the Korean movie business. I personaly have seen many American ones about exorcism but never one in Korean, so I really liked that. It gives you from start untill end a myserious vibe. The dark themes, the buildings and actors helped greatly in giving off this creepy feeling. But, I wish they didn't threw in some unessecary things (the past of Choi & Kim VS. rest of the fathers).
The could have threw it in there, but they should have build more development around those extra side stories, so I am quite dissapointed in that.
The cast was splendid, I love Kang Dong Won's work and Park So Dam is alsy a great actress, she can fill in any type of role in a movie! Even though the action is in the last 40 minutes of the movie the actors keep you interested.
The music really fitted the 'exocrism' theme, so this also helped building up tension in this movie.

Watch this if you like exorcism and a bit gory movie.
Skip this if you expect romance and full on action.

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An interesting Korean remake of the original verision of the movie The Exorcist. The movie is pretty straight to the point, and there are definitely some squeamish scenes where I had to cover my eyes. However, I think what I liked the most was the balance between humor and horror, and enjoyed Kang Dong Won and Kim Yoon Suk's characters. They built up a story with a lot of substance but didn't fully develop it. I didn't truly understand the ending, so I wish there was more of an explaination on that in particular, but I suppose the writers left it open for there to be a sequel.

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This movie is really epic. From the storyline of the movie to the acting of the actors, It was just phenomenal. I really liked the story of the movie. I really got goosebumps during the movie. Park So Dam's acting was really good. It was just beyond expectations. She portrayed the character really well. The acting of the rest the of the cast was also good. For sure, you wouldn't be disappointed when you'll watch the movie. Well It wasn't a horror movie but It was a thriller one and some scene really give me jump scares. I really liked the movie because of its storyline and It was a different one from the rest. So, overall I would recommend this movie as It is a really good one to watch to.

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Started great with the characters’ introduction, showcasing different struggles they were facing in the profession they chose, yet turned into over the top “snapchat demon effects” comedy by the end.

What started as a movie that focuses on human’s weaknesses, doubt, overcoming trauma, finished CGI blood and smoke and possessed animals… Why? First and second half of the movie do not exactly match well together.

Each character had an interesting personal story that could have been explored in the context of their faith - fighting against the bureaucracy for the good of others, overcoming your trauma and finding strength within yourself, showing goodness when faced with danger and pain. Sadly, none of these plot lines were explored enough, when the movie focused more on the preparation and the exorcism itself.

Additionally, there were some plots that were introduced but truly led to nowhere (the investigation over a possible indiscretion and immoral acts of Father Kim) and I questioned the point of introducing them in the movie in the first place.

While the cinematography and camera work were truly on point, the CGI and practical effects left a lot to desire. The exorcism scene made me cry from laughing with how over the top and “excessive” it was. When will horror directors figure out that less means more?

Overall: I quite enjoyed it. The last 25 to 30 minutes were the weakest, and served a rather ridiculous conclusion to the story.

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