15th New York Asian Film Festival

Jun 22 - Jul 9, 2016

Photo: Zip Cinema; Courtesy of United Pictures

The Priests

검은 사제들

The Priests is an exorcism film that delivers all of the expected tropes: spurts of blood, swarms of vermin, and a young girl tied to a bed, belching out vulgar threats in dead languages. But because this is a Korean exorcism film, it plunges even further into the abyss, with allusions to teen suicide and clerical molestation, as well as a dash of shamanism. The head priest is played by Kim Yoon-seok (The Chaser), who excels as a world-weary man with a personal moral crusade, while Kang Dong-won (Woochi) appears as a fresh-eyed acolyte with demons of his own to exorcise. Park So-dam steals the film from under them as the possessed girl, devouring her every scene. If you want to witness one of South Korea's biggest heartthrobs dashing through the streets of Seoul with a demon-possessed piglet, then this is the film for you.

Director: Jang Jae-hyun
Cast: Don-don, Park So-dam, Gang Dong-won, Kim Yoon-seok
Languages: Korean with English subtitles
2015; 103 min.; DCP

SCHEDULE:

Thursday June 23, 9:00pm
Film Society of Lincoln Center