''The Priests'' (; "Black Priests") is a 2015 South Korean

supernatural horror Horror is a genre of speculative fiction that is intended to disturb, frighten, or scare an audience. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defi ...

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' *Mystery, a seahorse that SpongeBob SquarePants adopts in the episode " My Pre ...

film written and directed by

Jang Jae-hyun Jang Jae-hyun (; born 1981) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. He gained recognition through the blockbuster films ''The Priests (film), The Priests'' (2015), ''Svaha: The Sixth Finger'' (2019), and ''Exhuma'' (2024). Education A ...

, based on his award-winning

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

''12th Assistant Deacon''.

Plot

A young girl who belongs to Father Kim's

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

becomes

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...

tose after a

hit-and-run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the criminal act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there ma ...

accident caused by two priests. Father Kim suspects she is possessed by an evil spirit. Father Kim along with a rebellious young

seminarian A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

named Choi try to exorcise the demon and confine it in a piglet. Members of a

Rosicrucian Rosicrucianism () is a spirituality, spiritual and cultural movement that arose in early modern Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts announcing to the world a new Western esotericism, esoteric order. Rosicruc ...

sect inform Father Kim that two of their priests were killed by this demon. During the exorcism, the demon manifests, inflicting unnatural bodily rashes. Choi initially runs out halfway through the exorcism attempt, but eventually decides to return, determined to finish what they started. Father Kim tells him to believe this ministry isn't in vain and the reward is in the Lord's hand (Isaiah 49:4). Choi replies by quoting Ezekiel 2:6, and affirms he is prepared now. When they try to free the girl from the demon's powerful hold, they realize that the demon they are facing is an ancient one named Malphas and is far more dangerous than they ever thought. However, they manage to confine it in the piglet, but the police arrive and try to arrest them for killing Young-shin, acting on a complaint by her extremely traumatized parents. Choi runs out with the pig, faces many obstructions but successfully drowns it in the river as instructed by Kim (Luke 8:33). Young-shin who was considered dead shows signs of life, and Father Kim's and

Brother A brother (: brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used ende ...

Choi's rashes disappear.

Cast

Kim Yoon-seok Kim Yoon-seok (; born January 21, 1968) is a South Korean actor, film director and screenwriter. Kim began his career in theater and it subsequently led him to be cast in minor roles in films and television dramas. His breakout role came as the v ...

as Father Kim *

Gang Dong-won Gang Dong-won (; born January 18, 1981) is a South Korean actor. He debuted as a model and rose to stardom through the film ''Temptation of Wolves'' (2004). He is subsequently known for starring in the films ''Maundy Thursday'' (2006), '' Jeon ...

as Deacon Choi *

Park So-dam Park So-dam (; born September 8, 1991) is a South Korean actress. She gained recognition through her appearances in the film ''The Priests (film), The Priests'' (2015) and Korean drama, television series ''Cinderella with Four Knights'' (2016), ...

as Young-shin *

Kim Eui-sung Kim Eui-sung (; born December 17, 1965) is a South Korean actor. He is a first-generation film actor who started as a stage actor in the 1980s and 1990s. He is known for his roles in the films '' The Day a Pig Fell into the Well'' (1996), ''Off ...

as Dean of clergy *Son Jong-hak as Monsignor * Lee Ho-jae as Father Jeong *Nam Il-woo as Abbot *

Kim Byeong-ok Kim Byeong-ok (born October 11, 1960) is a South Korean actor. A veteran supporting actor, he is best known for his role as Mr. Han in '' Oldboy''. Career In 2015, he was featured in a controversial Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: En ...

as Professor Park *

Cho Soo-hyang Cho Soo-hyang (; born January 21, 1991) is a South Korean actress. Career Cho Soo-hyang won Actress of the Year Award for her role in the film ''Wild Flowers'' (2015) at the 19th Busan International Film Festival in 2014. She is noted for ...

as Agnes *Park Woong as Bishop *Lee Jeong-yeol as Young-shin's father *Kim So-sook as Young-shin's mother *

Jeong Ha-dam Jeong Ha-dam (; born February 28, 1994) is a South Korean actress. Jeong debuted with a lead role in ''Wild Flowers'' (2015). Her second lead role was in '' Steel Flower'' (2016), in which she was praised for her outstanding performance by Vari ...

as Shaman Young-joo * Kim Soo-jin as Father Kim's younger sister *Don-Don the pig as the Pig

Reception

The film was number-one on its opening weekend, with ₩13 billion. By its third weekend, the film had grossed at the South Korean box office.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Priests 2015 films South Korean mystery thriller films South Korean buddy films CJ Entertainment films Films about exorcism 2010s mystery thriller films South Korean supernatural thriller films Features based on short films Films directed by Jang Jae-hyun 2010s South Korean films 2010s Korean-language films