Director: Kwon Hyeok-jae
Notable Cast: Song Hye-kyo, Jeon Yeo-been, Lee Jin-uk, Moon Woo-jin, Huh Joon-ho, Kim Guk-hee, Massimo Fierro
Right at a decade ago, in 2015, Jang Jae-hyun burst onto the scene with his exorcism horror film, The Priests, a feature-length expansion of his 2014 short, 12th Assistant Deacon. This film garnered considerable attention and buzz in South Korea, and fans of the region flocked to see this highly effective and absolutely unnerving piece of horror cinema. Now, in the current year 2025, we get a return to this dark and chilling, spiritually driven world with a "sequel" of sorts. I wouldn't quite call it a traditional follow-up, but Dark Nuns ties back into the first film. Thankfully in more ways then one, and yes, before we even get going here, I do absolutely think a third film will be made, and hopefully it doesn't take another decade before that happens, for reasons I won't spoil here.
Sister Guinia (Song Hye-kyo) is a nun who finds herself in the presence of a possessed young boy. When the Catholic church turns a blind eye, shrugging the whole incident off as a psychological issue that should be solved by therapy and meds, Sister Guinia takes it upon herself to betray the church's wishes. She seeks out help from a fellow nun, Sister Michela (Jeon Yeo-been). This exorcism is intended to be performed by an unordained nun, and the act is considered unethical, as proper procedures aren't being followed, according to their religious infrastructure and the way things are generally regulated. Guinea and Michela take the demonic battle into their own hands, and things get spooky, as per usual with these possession-based films, with the outcome playing out somewhat as expected. I do think a good twist of sorts plays out in the third act, which I won't elaborate on much to avoid spoilers. Still, I think it added a tremendous amount of weight and reverence to our leading lady, who really just smokes cigarettes, curses aloud, and waterboards demons with a multi-gallon jug of holy water. There doesn't seem to be much to her character initially. Still, I think her rugged demeanor and her no bullshit approach to fighting off evil entities makes for a cool central figure and a heroine that usually isn't present in this sub-genre of horror. She is never too cool to have flaws, and her cracks appear front and center at multiple points throughout the film. I admire the combination of the writing and Song's wonderful performance that helps bring those things to life.
I must admit, this may be an unpopular opinion, but I do think I preferred Dark Nuns over The Priests. I believe the central performance from Park So-dam (yes, Jessica from Parasite) as Young-shin is leagues above anything in this film in the acting department, as that is such a very crucial performance for not only Park's budding career, which quickly exploded thereafter, but I think it has become one of the definitive performances for any possessed character in the genre's history since the medium started. She truly delivers a juggernaut performance that will be remembered throughout the ages; however, Dark Nuns hosts multiple strong turn-ins all across the board. Every single player here, both main and supporting, all knock it out of the park. Jeon Yeo-been plays the other nun opposite to Song, and she is the more timid of the two, but her heart aligns with her elder Sister's, and she wishes to battle the evil within this poor boy head-on. Speaking of the aforementioned boy, popular television actor Moon Woo-jin, he really does an outstanding job in the role of Hee-joon, the central character who is possessed by a demon. He admittedly has enormous shoes to fill from Park's previous knockout stunner of a performance, but he really gives it his all, too, and I found a chill or two creeping down my spine on more than one occasion. I do think the final battle is weaker by comparison, but again, not many films reach that level of perfection in execution, so I can't really fault the movie too much.
Where Dark Nuns outshines The Priests is virtually everywhere else, and the film as a whole just flows better and is absolutely jaw-dropping with its visuals. So many frames were painterly and struck a chord in me that I found myself disappointed in all the promotional images floating about online. This is one of the most beautiful films of the year thus far, and it boasts some of the best cinematography I've seen all year, which is saying a lot. The entire film has a somber tone, and the shots feel cold and, at times, sterile; yet, in that emptiness, evil lurks just beneath the surface. Their fates feel impending, and yet Song Hye-kyo packs a wallop in more ways than one. I absolutely love her character, and I think she brings levity to this otherwise very dark and almost nihilistic world that Dark Nuns presents to its audience. The film can occasionally lean a bit too much into feeling formulaic, but the craft and passion help elevate it from being a standard affair. It is relatively slow, but meticulous in its calculations on when and where to deliver the horror, and I think it succeeds gloriously.
I try to avoid forming opinions about others' views before I see a film, but the general consensus about Dark Nuns somehow made its way to me. I can wholeheartedly say I disagree with the majority of people being cold on this one. I, without a doubt, prefer it to The Priests, which, as I said before, I'm sure many will disagree with me on, but I genuinely mean it. I quite liked this one, and I think it will be an overlooked sleeper in the horror community this year; that's a shame. In terms of possession films, it may not reinvent the genre, but it certainly leaves a strong impression within it. This gets my highest recommendation to the right moviegoer. It doesn't work with everyone, but the ones it does resonate with, it will land quite well. Bring on the third film, please!
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