The Gist
Despite the objections from the Church a Priest hands over a difficult exorcism case to an extremely gifted nun.
The Review
We have had more than enough exorcism horrors and thrillers over the years but the one thing they have all lacked have been originality or the power to make their audience walk away from the cinema deep in thought.
Fitting firmly into that description was 2015’s The Priests – it was okay film but certainly didn’t do enough to suggest that a decade later it’s spin-off Dark Nuns would have the power to turn this genre upside down and ask questions that will have people thinking ‘hey, wait a moment.’
Directed by Hyeok-jaw Kwon (Count) Dark Nuns centres around Sister Junia (Song Hye-kyo – The Grandmaster) a nun who despite the South Korean Catholic Church’s move away from the practice of exorcisms is still called in to help with the Church’s more difficult cases.
However, when Sister Junia is called in to help with the supposed possession of a young boy named Hee-joon (Moo Woo-jin – Vagabond) she finds herself clashing with Father Paolo (Lee Jin-wook – The Three Musketeers) who is also a trained psychiatrist who not only doesn’t believe in exorcisms but believes the boy can be healed medically.
Stuck in the middle is one of the Nuns who works at the hospital. Sister Michaela (Jeon Yeo-been – Cobweb) has seen how deadly the demon inside Hee-joon can be and seems to be listening to the ideas of Father Paolo, but at the same time she is intrigued by Sister Junia and the work that she is doing.
While the leaders of the Church still fight over whether an exorcism is the right thing to do soon Sister Junia finds herself teaming up Sister Michaela, Father Andrea (Huh Joon-ho – Escape From Mogadishu), a sharman named Hyo-won (Kim Gook-hee – Tune In For Love) and Ae-dong (Shin Jae-hwi – More Than Family) to perform what maybe the most difficult exorcism of her career.
There is a lot to unpack with Dark Nuns. Excuse the pun but the screenplay here takes its characters and audience into some dark places. From the film exploring what it is like for a character to know that she is going to die through to a harsh debate about spiritual warfare – this is a film that packs a punch.
When it comes to deep theological questions this is also a film that afraid to open a real Pandora’s Box. From asking questions about a correlation between demon possession and mental illness through to what the modern day Church’s stance around the ancient practice of exorcism should be.
And if there are people out there wondering whether or not this is a religious film well that should be answered by the fact that the film also explores the deep theme of whether or not both religion and witchcraft have a role side-by side.
The unique thing about Dark Nuns is the fact that while the screenplay does allow the film to explore some very deep subjects it doesn’t forget about characterisation or suspense. While there are some scenes here that may have the audience confused and be wondering ‘what the hell is happening here’ they are also suspenseful enough to have you sitting on the edge of your seat wondering what is going to happen next.
While many exorcism films play around with the notion that demon possession can turn deadly Dark Nuns explains the rule of the game quite clearly early on – yes the demon possession here can certainly be deadly and nobody is safe.
The strong screenplay also allows for some strong acting performances. Song hye-kyo and Jeon Yeo-been are phenomenal throughout the film and the scenes they share together are electric. The pair share some of the film’s more poignant films and they are part of the reason why this becomes such a special film. They are also well supported by Kim Gook-hee, whose performances lifts the film’s supernatural elements, and Shin Jae-hwi who steals just about scene that he is in. He is part of the reason why the film’s finale works so well.
The Verdict
Dark Nuns is not a film whether your average horror lover. If you are expecting a film that fills the Hollywood exorcism cliches than this isn’t the film for you. If you are looking for a well-written supernatural thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat while throwing some deep thought-provoking questions at its audience then you have come to the right place. This is a film that can teach Hollywood a thing or two about the thriller genre.
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