Veteran actor Ahn Sung Ki and actor Park Seo Joon teamed up in the new Korean film ”The Divine Fury’‘ for the eternal battle between good and evil.
The film revolves around Yong Hoo (Park Seo Joon) who became an agnostic after his parents died.
After 20 years, Yong Hoo becomes a renowned mixed martial arts fighter who only believes in himself until mysterious wounds appeared in the palm of his hands. The strange wounds appear after one of his fights where after seeing a tattoo of Jesus’ cross on his opponent’s back, it triggers him to attack and beat him severely as he hears a voice inside his head saying, ”God killed Dad, get revenge.”
Upon his return to Seoul, he is still haunted by demons and his palm continues to bleed. He visits a doctor but none of them cannot explain its existence until he visits a blind shaman. She tells him that he is covered with demons and he should seek advice from the church. Obeying her advice, he soon meets Vatican representative Father Ahn (Ahn Sung Ki) who tells him that his wound is a stigmata, a bodily mark or pain resembling the wounds of a crucified Jesus, which has the ability to exorcise demons.
Father Ahn is an exorcist was called upon by Korean priests to find and defeat the Dark Bishop (Woo Do Hwan) who offers souls to the sacred serpent demon for his personal gain.
Upon his talk with Father Ahn, Yong Hoo decides to help him with exorcisms and that’s when the test of faith and action begins to blend together
Father Ahn fights evil using the words of God while Yong Hoo uses his physical strength to beat up demons with the help of his stigmata.
The climax is the battle between the Dark Bishop and Yong Hoo where Father Ahn’s life hangs in the balance.
The film also stars Park Ji Hyun (”Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum”), Choi Woo Shik (”Parasite”), Jung Ji Hoon (”Intimate Strangers”) and Lee Seung Hee (”Midnight Runners”), making for a star-studded cast that delivers an exceptional performance.
”The Divine Fury” reunites writer and director Jason Kim and actor Park Seo Joon who worked together in the 2017 hit film ”Midnight Runners.”
Although most Korean films of this genre take on traditional Korean beliefs such as ghosts, folklore, and more, this film has a more Christian slant to it. With a different concept, it adds something new to Korean cinema, as well as represents some of the beliefs of the large portion of Catholics that live in Korea.
”The Divine Fury” is more of an action movie and has enough fun horror to show off Park Seo Joon’s cool dynamic fight scenes.
Ahn Sung Ki, who is one of the highly respected actors in the field, delivers his lines in a warm and chilling tone which steals the spotlight from others.
In addition, a major portion of the film focuses on the relationship of Father Ahn and Yong Hoo as they tackled their differing opinions of faith.
”The Divine Fury” may be an attempt to make an action film out of a Catholic theme, but compared to other South Korean exorcism films like ”The Priest,” the film didn’t quite manage the intensity of other flicks, although it manage to pull off a tense film that movie fans will enjoy.
As a fan of the horror genre, I expected a sense of suspense and thrill with more gore, blood, a possessed figure still smiling while being exorcised, red pupils, and screaming demons. However, this film is more in favor of fight scenes.
There is one line that caught my attention, however, which Father Ahn said to Yong Hoo, ”You hate God very much, but people can’t hate without truly loving.”
I wish that there had been more focus on each character to better understand their part in the film but the director’s chose to dwell more on the one protagonist’s side
The 129-minute running time may not be perfect, but this film is still fun to watch and is entertaining as an action film. However, fans of the horror genre should go in knowing that it doesn’t have the jump scare of other Korean thrill films such as ”The Wailing” and ”Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum.” Instead of a horror film, it is more of an action-packed thriller where religious themes play an important role.
The film also appears to be open ended for a sequel that will likely follow Father Choi, played by Choi Woo Shik.
”The Divine Fury” premiered in South Korea last in July, but was just released in August across the globe.
Have you seen this film? What did you think?
For those interested in watching it, check out the trailer below!
ging1030 is a multi-fandom fan of Kpop since 2010. She enjoys watching Asian dramas and variety shows like “Running Man”. She is an avid fan of Song triplets and Song Joong Ki. For her, Kdrama is life. They are her inspirations in life so she can live on and do what her heart desires!
MEDIA: Lotte Entertainment