‘Holy Night: Demon Hunters’, which has garnered attention as the first occult film by ‘box office monster’ Ma Dong-seok, is expected to captivate audiences with the eerie tension that only the occult genre can provide, as well as the exhilarating thrill of Ma Dong-seok’s signature action scenes.

The movie, which opens on the 30th, tells the story of a city thrown into chaos by an evil-worshiping group, and the ‘Holy Night’ team of dark solvers with special abilities.The ‘Holy Night’ team, led by Bau(Ma Dong-seok), receives a request from Jeong-won(Kyung Soo-jin), who visits ‘Holy Night’ after much trouble due to her younger sister Eun-seo’s(Jung Ji-so)strange symptoms that even doctors cannot understand, and ends up facing ‘the greatest evil of all time’.

O action is GOOD, humor is SO SO

Although the film is based on the subject of ‘exorcism’ and is advertised as an occult genre, it attracts attention as a work that does not lose the refreshing and cool charm that only action movies have, by putting the character of Bau(Ma Dong-seok)at the forefront as he confronts devil worshippers and some evil spirits with powerful fist action.

The traditional ‘exorcism ritual’ of exorcist Sharon(Seo Hyun), who fights against demons with spells and the like, and the ‘exorcism action’ of Bau, who removes evil through physical attacks, are performed simultaneously and alternately, providing a new spectacle never seen before in occult films.In particular, as Ma Dong-seok, who not only starred in the film but also participated in its production, emphasized, “I put a lot of effort into the sound,” the sound effects that maximize the sense of impact increase the audience’s immersion.

In addition, Ma Dong-seok, who had mainly shown action scenes based on reality, used wires to expand the radius of action for this film where he has to fight against supernatural beings, and added fantasy elements such as red light and smoke through VFX.Through this, an action scene with even greater catharsis was completed.

Although the unique and refreshing action scenes are impressive, Ma Dong-seok’s unique humor, which is considered his ‘special strength’ along with the action, is not fully utilized in this film, which is regrettable.Even considering that the film was filmed in 2021, Ma Dong-seok’s wordplay-like humor seems weak and old, and does not match the serious tone of the film.

O Seohyun and Jung Ji-so’s possessed performance

Although the film is being promoted as a ‘Ma Dong-seok one-man film’, the actors who actually give the most impressive performances in the film are Seo Hyun as exorcist Sharon and Jung Ji-so as the possessed girl Eun-seo.The most impressive scene in the film is also the fierce fight between Sharon, who tries to drive the demon out of Eun-seo’s body, and Eun-seo, who is possessed by a great evil.

Seohyun, who had a strong image as a ‘girl who lives a good life’, took on the role of Sharon, who is splendid from the outside and beyond, and she plays the central role of the ‘Holy Night’ team by going back and forth between eccentricity and charisma.She successfully transformed by feeling the evil energy in the middle of a world where Eastern and Western elements coexist and reciting spells in an ancient language, completing a uniquely mysterious atmosphere.

Jung Ji-so, who has previously been recognized for her outstanding acting skills in works such as ‘Parasite’, perfectly performed the difficult role of being possessed by a demon in this film.She is expected to shock the audience with her truly possessed acting, constantly changing from the anxious face of a frightened ordinary girl to the creepy face of a demon in a fierce exorcism ritual.


Reporter Seungmi smlee@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.