Overview of The Black Nuns
The film The Priests had already raised the audience’s expectations. If The Black Nuns had been released first, it might have had an advantage at the box office.
Table of Contents
- Exorcism
- Father Agato
- Lower box office performance than The Priests
Exorcism
Actress Song Hye-kyo plays Sister Junia, Jeon Yeo-been plays Sister Michaela, and Lee Jin-wook plays Father Paolo.
There is a possessed person—His name is Hee-jun. Father Paolo insists on medical treatment, while Sister Junia argues for an exorcism. Junia and Michaela take Hee-jun, who is hospitalized, to see Hyo-won Bosal and then return. After that, Junia receives permission to perform an unofficial exorcism on Hee-jun. However, Father Paolo must be present as a condition.
On the day of the exorcism, Father Paolo leaves the scene, and Sister Junia and Sister Michaela begin the ritual. Ae-dong assists them from outside the building.
Father Agato
And the ending? It’s different from the film The Priests (Dark Priests). A familiar face appears—Father Agato, a character from The Priests. Since this is after the exorcism has already taken place, we do not get to see Father Agato performing an exorcism. His appearance raises expectations for a follow-up film. Of course, the title would not be Dark Nuns 2, but something else.
As in The Priests, Father Agato is played by actor Kang Dong-won.
Post-credit scene?
There are no post-credit scenes in either The Priests or Dark Nuns.
Lower box office performance than The Priests
Having enjoyed The Priests, which was released on November 5, 2015, I did not find Dark Nuns to be more entertaining. Dark Nuns was released on January 24, 2025, and I watched it on January 30 at Lotte Cinema Superplex. Both films contain many dark scenes.
Dark Nuns introduces a new element by including a shaman, but the execution feels insufficient. The Priests attracted 5.44 million viewers, while Dark Nuns drew 1.67 million, showing a significant gap. Dark Nuns barely surpassed its break-even point of 1.6 million admissions. The lower audience numbers are likely also influenced by the ongoing decline in theater attendance that began during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The original Korean version of this blog post is available at the link below.
검은 수녀들 – 아가토 신부가 다시 등장 : 영화 후기 (Original Korean Blog Post)