DEVILS STAY is a new exorcism horror-thriller from South Korea. While I usually love Korean movies, this one was just okay. It’s still worth watching but it didn’t have the edge I’ve come to love (and expect). Read our full Devils Stay movie review here!
DEVILS STAY is a new South Korean Exorcism Horror-Thriller. I think maybe I expected too much because it’s worth watching, but I kept waiting for that extra twist. Admittedly, I love a good character-driven movie and don’t mind a slow burn. This one took a different direction.
It’s not bad in any way, and I’m sure other horror fans might prefer this to other South Korean movies. For me, that edge I’ve come to love (and expect) just wasn’t in this one, so it didn’t work for me. Then again, with a runtime of just 95 minutes, it needs to have this faster pace.
Continue reading our Devils Stay movie review below. Find it In Theaters from December 6, 2024.
A solid beginning to a horror story
Devils Stay has a pretty good beginning. For me, it just felt too long and repetitive in the end. Also, it isn’t slow but we keep getting flashbacks when I wanted it to move forward. Especially as it isn’t character-driven in the way we usually see with these South Korean genre movies.
But I’m getting ahead of myself, so let’s get started with the actual plot of this exorcism story,
It all begins after a heart specialist experiences a very sudden and tragic loss of his daughter following an exorcism. As a renowned heart surgeon, he should know better than to question life and death. Then again, it’s hardly a new notion that some doctors feel they are practically God.
In any case, he refuses the fact that his beloved daughter has died. Never mind the official declarations of medical examiners or even the priest. Once the funeral rites begin – a process that takes days – changes to the girl’s body are obvious to everyone.
Could this tragedy be playing tricks on everyone’s mind? Or is something sinister and more ancient than Catholicism itself trying to worm its way into our world?!
A cast with a few familiar faces
With South Korean horror or thriller productions, we tend to see at least a few familiar faces. Devils Stay is no exception as the cast includes Lee Re from the Netflix series Hellbound and the Train to Busan sequel Peninsula.
Also in this new exorcism horror-thriller from South Korea are Park Shin-yang (Miss Conspirator, The Big Swindle), Lee Min-ki (Tidal Wave), and Won Mi-won (Hellbound, Voice, and Park Chan-wook‘s Lady Vengeance).
Watch Devils Stay in theaters!
Directed by Hyun Moon-seop (Nightmare Teacher), this isn’t a new favorite of mine. It’s not a movie I expect to ever watch again either, but it’s still intriguing and even features a few good scares. Also, I expect fans of movies with a dark personal tragedy as the plot driver will probably enjoy it.
A FAN OF EXORCISM AND DEMON MOVIES?
I don’t like saying that a movie is “just okay” but I can’t really do much better than that. Again, I may have just been expecting something different, so if you enjoy exorcism movies, you should definitely check it out.
Devils Stay premieres In Theaters Only on December 6, 2024.
Details
Director: Hyun Moon-Seop
Cast: Park Shin-Yang, Lee Min-Ki, Lee Re
Plot
After the sudden tragic loss of his daughter following an exorcism, a renowned heart surgeon refuses to face the reality that his child has died, despite declarations from medical examiners and even the priest who performed the expulsion. But as the funeral rites begin, mourners start witnessing unnerving changes to the girl’s body, leaving the priest to wonder whether something much more sinister—an evil more ancient than Catholicism itself—may once again be looming over them all.
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