''Priest'' is a 2011 American
action horror film directed by
Scott Stewart and stars
Paul Bettany
Paul Bettany (born 27 May 1971) is an English actor. He is mostly known for his roles as J.A.R.V.I.S. and Vision in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, recently starring in the Disney+ miniseries '' WandaVision'' (2021), for which he was nominate ...
as the title character.
It is loosely based on the
Korean comic of the
same name by
Hyung Min-woo. In an
alternate universe, humanity and vampires have warred for centuries. After the last Vampire War, a veteran Warrior Priest lives in obscurity until his niece (
Lily Collins
Lily Jane Collins (born 18 March 1989) is a British and American actress and model who is known for her work in several films, including ''Stuck in Love'' (2012), ''The English Teacher'' (2013), and '' Love, Rosie'' (2014), comedy ''Rules Do ...
) is kidnapped by vampires.
The film was released on , 2011. The film earned over $78 million at the box office against a $60 million production budget, but it was panned by critics, who praised the film's visual style and art direction while criticizing the movie's use of genre clichés, writing, acting, editing and action scenes.
Plot
A centuries-long war between
human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...
s and
vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deat ...
s has devastated the planet's surface and led to a
theocracy
Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs.
Etymology
The word theocracy originates fr ...
under an organization called The Church. Despite the vampires' vulnerability to
sunlight, and all of mankind's technological advances, the vampires' greater strength and speed made them impossible to defeat until humanity sheltered them in giant walled cities and trained a group of elite warriors, the Priests, which turned the tide.
In the opening scene, a group of Priests enters the Sola Mira Hive but are ambushed by the vampires. As they attempt to retreat, one of their numbers is seized from behind, and their leader tries to pull him to safety, but is forced to let go and watch him dragged, screaming, back into the hive.
Years later, the majority of the vampires have been killed, while the remainder were placed in
reservations. With the war over, the Clergy disbanded the Priests. Outside the walled cities, some humans seek out a living, free from the totalitarian control of The Church.
Priest (
Paul Bettany
Paul Bettany (born 27 May 1971) is an English actor. He is mostly known for his roles as J.A.R.V.I.S. and Vision in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, recently starring in the Disney+ miniseries '' WandaVision'' (2021), for which he was nominate ...
) is approached by Hicks (
Cam Gigandet), the sheriff of a free town, Augustine. Priest learns that his brother, Owen, and Owen's wife, Shannon—Priest's girlfriend before he was recruited by the clergy—were mortally wounded in a vampire attack, and Priest's niece, Lucy (
Lily Collins
Lily Jane Collins (born 18 March 1989) is a British and American actress and model who is known for her work in several films, including ''Stuck in Love'' (2012), ''The English Teacher'' (2013), and '' Love, Rosie'' (2014), comedy ''Rules Do ...
), was kidnapped. Hicks asks for Priest's help in rescuing Lucy. Priest asks the Church to reinstate his authority, but leader Monsignor Orelas (
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...
) does not believe the vampire story and refuses, insisting on maintaining the common belief that the vampires have been completely defeated, for fear of compromising the Church's authority. Priest defiantly leaves the city and Orelas sends three Priests and a Priestess (
Maggie Q) to bring him back.
Priest and Hicks arrive at Nightshade Reservation where humans called Familiars, people infected with a
pathogen
In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ ...
that makes them subservient to the vampires, live alongside a number of the surviving vampires. After a fierce battle, the pair discovers that most of the vampires have taken shelter in Sola Mira, which was thought to have been abandoned after the war. Priestess, one of Priest's team during the failed attack on the Hive, joins them at Sola Mira. The trio destroys a Hive Guardian vampire, then discover that the vampires have bred a new army and dug a tunnel out of the mountain towards a town called Jericho. The other three Priests have arrived at Jericho just as night falls and an
armored train arrives, unleashing hundreds of vampires upon the population. The vampires are led by a powerful and mysterious human wearing a black hat (
Karl Urban). When the three Priests reject Black Hat's offer to join him, he kills them all.
The next morning, Priest, Priestess and Hicks arrive in Jericho and discover the town empty and the three dead Priests
crucified
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...
. Priest and Priestess share an intimate moment when she confesses her feelings for him, hoping that now that Shannon has died, he would no longer feel bound to her. Priest gently refuses. Priest realizes that the vampires have been using the trains to travel by day and attack the free towns by night, with the walled cities at the end of the train line. Hicks believes the cities are likewise protected by the sun, but Priest explains that the cities'
massive clouds of smoke and ash have permanently deprived them of sunlight. If the train reaches one of the cities, the attack will be a slaughter.
Hicks, who is in love with Lucy, threatens Priest, believing that Priest intends to kill her if she has been infected by the vampires. Priestess explains that he cannot do so, because Lucy is actually Priest's daughter, and that Owen stepped in as a husband and a father when Priest was taken by the Church. Lucy was never told the truth about her parentage.
While Priestess rushes ahead to plant a bomb on the railroad tracks, Priest and Hicks board the train to rescue Lucy. Battling vampires and Familiars, the two are finally overpowered by Black Hat just as they find Lucy. Black Hat is revealed as the priest who was lost in the attack on Sola Mira. After being captured, the vampire Queen gave him her blood, turning him into the first Vampire-Human hybrid who can survive the sun. As Priest fights Black Hat, Lucy discovers the truth about her parentage. On the tracks ahead of the train, Priestess battles several Familiars, but one of them destroys the detonator for the explosives. Instead, she mounts the explosives on her motor bike and drives it into the train engine. The explosion and subsequent derailment kills the vampires and engulfs Black Hat in flames, while Hicks, Priest, Priestess, and Lucy are able to escape.
Priest returns to the city and confronts Monsignor Orelas during Mass, telling him of the burnt train containing the vampires' bodies, but not the Queen's. He proves this by throwing a vampire head onto the floor and shocking everyone in the room. Orelas still refuses to believe him, declaring that the war is over, while Priest says that it is just beginning. Outside the city Priest meets Priestess, who confirms that other Priests have been notified and will meet them at a rendezvous point. Priest sets off into the sunset.
Cast
*
Paul Bettany
Paul Bettany (born 27 May 1971) is an English actor. He is mostly known for his roles as J.A.R.V.I.S. and Vision in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, recently starring in the Disney+ miniseries '' WandaVision'' (2021), for which he was nominate ...
as Priest
*
Karl Urban as Black Hat
*
Cam Gigandet as Hicks
*
Maggie Q as Priestess
*
Lily Collins
Lily Jane Collins (born 18 March 1989) is a British and American actress and model who is known for her work in several films, including ''Stuck in Love'' (2012), ''The English Teacher'' (2013), and '' Love, Rosie'' (2014), comedy ''Rules Do ...
as Lucy Pace
*
Brad Dourif
Bradford Claude Dourif (; born March 18, 1950) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Oscar, and won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for his film debut role as Billy Bibbit in ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975). He is also kno ...
as Salesman
*
Stephen Moyer as Owen Pace
*
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...
as Monsignor Orelas
*
Alan Dale as Monsignor Chamberlain
*
Mädchen Amick
Mädchen Elaina Amick ( ; born December 12, 1970) is an American actress and television director. She is known for her starring role as Shelly Johnson on the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991), its prequel film '' Twin Peaks: Fire ...
as Shannon Pace
*
Jacob Hopkins
Jacob Turner Hopkins (born March 4, 2002) is an American actor.
Early life
Hopkins was born in San Francisco, California to Gerald and Debra Hopkins. He has an older brother named Gerad (Born 1998).
Career
Hopkins is best known for playing the ...
as Boy
* Dave Florek as Crocker
* Joel Polinsky as Dr. Tomlin
*
Josh Wingate as Familiar
Production
''Priest'' is directed by
Scott Stewart and written by Cory Goodman. The film is based on the supernatural horror and action
Korean comics ''
Priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...
'' by
Min-Woo Hyung.
The project was first announced in March 2005 when the studio
Screen Gems bought Goodman's
spec script
A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned and unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or ...
. In January 2006, Andrew Douglas, who directed ''
The Amityville Horror'', was attached to direct ''Priest''. In June 2006, actor
Gerard Butler
Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor and film producer. After studying law, he turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as '' Mrs Brown'' (1997), the James Bond film '' Tomorrow Never ...
entered negotiations to star as the title character, and filming was scheduled to start in Mexico on , 2006. Filming did not proceed and, by three years later, director Douglas had been replaced by Stewart, while Butler had been replaced in the starring role by
Paul Bettany
Paul Bettany (born 27 May 1971) is an English actor. He is mostly known for his roles as J.A.R.V.I.S. and Vision in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, recently starring in the Disney+ miniseries '' WandaVision'' (2021), for which he was nominate ...
. Stewart and Bettany had previously worked together in the Screen Gems film ''
Legion
Legion may refer to:
Military
* Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army
* Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army
* Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...
''.
With a budget of $60 million,
filming began in August 2009 in Los Angeles, California, and it concluded in November 2009.
The film was the most expensive production from Screen Gems, to that date,
and as of 2018 is still tied for
third-most expensive, behind only ''
Underworld: Awakening'' and ''
Resident Evil: Retribution''.
Tokyopop flew Min-Woo Hyung to where production was taking place so the comics' creator could visit the art department and discuss the film with Stewart. The film diverges from the comics in following a different timeline of events and adding elements of the
sci-fi western,
cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and c ...
and
post-apocalyptic
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; ast ...
science-fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
genres.
The director described ''Priest''s vampires as not being human in origin, and humans bitten by vampires became familiars instead. There are different forms of vampires, such as hive drones, guardians, and a queen. Since the vampires were intended to move quickly, they were fully computer-generated for the film. While vampires are harmed by sunlight in most lore, the film's vampires are instead photosensitive, being albino cave-dwellers. Stewart said, "They are the enemy we don't really understand, but we fought them for centuries. They are mysterious and alien, with their own culture. You sense that they think and communicate, but you don't really understand what they are saying." The director also called ''Priest'' an homage to ''
The Searchers
''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American Technicolor VistaVision epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas-Native American wars, and stars John W ...
'' with the title character being similar to John Wayne's character and the vampires being similar to the
Comanche. The animated prologue for the film was created by American animator and director
Genndy Tartakovsky
Gennady Borisovich Tartakovsky (russian: Геннадий Борисович Тартаковский, born ), commonly known as Tartakovsky (), is a Russian-American animator, director, producer, screenwriter, voice actor, storyboard artist, ...
.
The production team includes:
*
Michael De Luca
Michael De Luca (born August 13, 1965) is an American film studio executive, film producer and screenwriter. The former president of production at both New Line Cinema and DreamWorks, De Luca has been nominated for three Academy Awards for Bes ...
* Josh Bratman
* Shareena Carlson
*
Joshua Donen
Joshua Donen (born 1955) is an American film producer. He is the son of director Stanley Donen and actress Marion Marshall.
Donen dated singer and actress Cher from 1984 to 1986.
Work
*'' The Quick and the Dead'' (1995)
*'' Underneath'' (1995; ...
* Glenn S. Gainor
*
Steve Galloway
*
Stuart J. Levy
Stuart J. Levy is a producer of manga and films and writer of manga.
Levy founded the media company Tokyopop and established the manga market in North America. He was an executive producer on the major motion picture ''Priest'' in 2011 distri ...
* Mitchell Peck
* Nicola Stern
Theatrical release
''Priest'' was released in the United States and Canada on , 2011.
The film's release date changed numerous times in 2010 and 2011.
It was originally scheduled for , 2010,
but it moved earlier to , 2010, to fill a weekend slot when another Screen Gems film, ''
Resident Evil: Afterlife'', was postponed. When the filmmakers wanted to convert ''Priest'' from 2D to 3D, the film was newly scheduled for release on , 2011. It was delayed again to , 2011, so the film could attract summertime audiences.
''Priest'' was released outside the United States and Canada on , 2011, in four markets. It grossed an estimated over the weekend, with "decent debuts" of in Russia and in Spain. It performed poorly in the United Kingdom with under $700,000.
The film was released in the United States and Canada on , 2011, in with 2,006 having 3D screenings. It grossed an estimated over the weekend, ranking fourth at the box office. Its performance was considered subpar compared to similar films in the
''Underworld'' series and
''Resident Evil'' series. To date, ''Priest'' has grossed an estimated , of which was from North America.
Critical reception
''Priest'' was largely panned by critics. Review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
gives the film a score of 15% based on reviews from 101 critics and reports a rating average of 4.00 out of 10 with a consensus that "''Priest'' is admittedly sleek and stylish, but those qualities are wasted on a dull, derivative blend of sci-fi, action, and horror clichés". At
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 41 based on 13 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade audiences gave the film was a "C+" on an A+ to F scale.
See also
* ''
Legion
Legion may refer to:
Military
* Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army
* Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army
* Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...
'', a film also directed by Scott Stewart and starring Paul Bettany.
*
Vampire films
Vampire films have been a staple in world cinema since the era of silent films, so much so that the depiction of vampires in popular culture is strongly based upon their depiction in films throughout the years. The most popular cinematic adaptat ...
, about vampires in cinema and other films featuring vampires.
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Priest
2011 films
2011 3D films
2011 action thriller films
American films with live action and animation
American action horror films
American action thriller films
American horror thriller films
2010s monster movies
Cyberpunk films
American dark fantasy films
American dystopian films
Films based on manhwa
Films directed by Scott Stewart (director)
Films produced by Michael De Luca
Films scored by Christopher Young
Films shot in California
Films shot in Los Angeles
Live-action films based on comics
American post-apocalyptic films
American vampire films
Screen Gems films
2010s English-language films
2010s American films