"Dark Nuns" attracted attention right from its announcement because of Song Hye Kyo's return. However, the film also lost points because of its familiar script, few surprises, and the horror elements were not attractive enough.

Dark Nuns (Vietnamese title: Dark Nun ) attracted attention from the time of announcement to release because it marked the return of Song Hye Kyo after 10 years of absence from the silver screen, since The Queens (2015).

This is a spin-off of the blockbuster. The Priests made waves at the Korean box office in 2015, so it is expected to continue its success and bring new experiences to the audience.

Unfortunately, the film received mixed reviews about its quality. The script was also limited, preventing Song Hye Kyo from shining despite her efforts in acting.

Familiar and old motifs

In Dark Nuns , the Korean Church has issued a directive banning exorcisms. That puts the priests in a difficult position when the boy Hee Joon (Moon Woo Jin) shows signs of being possessed by a demon.

Most of the church believes that the order should not be broken, and believes that science and medicine are the appropriate solutions to "cure" him.

Faced with Hee Joon's mother's pain and despair, Sister Junia (Song Hye Kyo) and Sister Michaela (Jeon Yeo Bin) decide to go against the church. They secretly seek to exorcise the demon, despite the risk of punishment or life-threatening situations.

The genre of exorcism is not a strange dish to movie lovers, especially horror movie Hollywood. Previously, Korea also exploited this topic through many works such as The Priests (2015), The Wailing (2016), Svaha: The Sixth Finger (2019) or The Divine Fury (2019).

Most recent, Grave Digging (International title: Exhuma ) also caused a fever in both Korea and Vietnam, becoming Korean movie best-selling film of all time in our country.

Dark Nuns still follows the familiar motif of the exorcism genre. The screenwriter tried when build Two nuns' journey to make a difference with the series The Nuns famous american

The two main characters are built with contrasting personalities. Junia is strong and has a strong faith, never wavering in the face of evil. Sister Michaela (Jeon Yeo-been), on the other hand, is somewhat weak and always doubts herself.

Unfortunately, the story is not really interesting. The limited script is the big minus point of the movie.

Because of focusing too much on storytelling, sometimes Dark Nuns like a psychological drama rather than a horror film. The first half is slow and the pace can make the audience lose interest.

The possessed boy has symptoms such as a deformed face or says scary words. This is an image that is all too familiar in the series. exorcism movie so it does not surprise the audience.

Throughout the 110-minute runtime, the film has very few scares. Only near the end does the exorcism scene appear, creating a highlight but not dramatic enough to make up for the slow pace of the film before.

Song Hye Kyo has not been able to shine

The appearance of Song Hye Kyo is a factor that helps Dark Nuns attractive. Previously, the actress born in 1981 had appeared many times on the big screen but rarely had successful projects, she was even given the title "box office poison".

The role of Sister Yunia shows Song Hye Kyo's efforts to "transform", breaking the familiar sweet and gentle image to continue conquering thorny, strong-personality roles after the series. The Glory (2023) .

According to the crew, the actress spent half a year practicing smoking to perform a scene, while also portraying the character's personality as a drug addict.

Unfortunately, Sister Yunia has a lot of potential but the script does not exploit it well. The character's internal conflicts are not deeply portrayed, so the connection with the audience is also superficial.

Jeon Yeo Bin also tried her best with the role of Sister Michaela. However, the character was simple and did not really create a breakthrough compared to her ability. Sometimes, the actress was a bit humble in front of her senior Song Hye Kyo.

Besides the two female leads, the project also brings together some familiar faces such as Lee Jin Wook or Huh Joon Ho. But the stars do not have much screen time, mainly playing supporting roles and background for the story of the two nuns.

Dark Nuns premiered in January, and has been sold to more than 160 countries, including Vietnam. In Korea, the film is competing fiercely with comedy films. Hitman 2 Kwon Sang Woo's but could not surpass his opponent because of facing a wave of criticism.

Many people criticized the film, saying that the script lacked innovation, the horror elements were bland, and the potential of the cast was not fully utilized.

Late release in Vietnam, the film continues to compete with blockbusters Captain America: The New World same series of Vietnamese movies as Ancestral home , Ghost lights , The billion dollar kiss … However, many viewers said they would buy tickets to the cinema to see the movie because of Song Hye Kyo's appearance.

Overall, Dark Nuns is still an interesting choice for those who love exorcism movies as well as those who love Song Hye Kyo. However, audiences should lower their expectations if they expect a breakthrough work or an impressive, in-depth script.