Song Hye-kyo Battles Demons in ‘The Priests 2: Dark Nuns’

Song Hye-kyo returns to movies with The Priests 2: Dark Nuns, releasing on Jan. 24, 2025. Co-starring Jeon Yeo-been, Lee Jin-wook, Moon Woo-jin, and Heo Joon-ho, Dark Nuns is a follow-up to The Priests, the popular horror thriller film from 2015 starring Kim Yoon-seok, Gang Dong-won, and Park So-dam.

In Dark Nuns, Nun Yunia (Song Hye-kyo) and Nun Mikaela (Jeon Yeo-been) resort to a tabooed practice to exorcise a demon-possessed Hee-joon (Moon Woo-jin), following in the footsteps of The Priests, where Father Kim (Kim Yoo-seok) and seminarian Choi (Gang Dong-won) must cure a possessed Young-shin (Park So-dam).

Dark Nuns explores the strength of humanity through a fray of horror and challenges. When an evil spirit is pushing Hee-joon’s life into a maelstrom, Nun Yunia, and Nun Mikaela enter with an undying conviction to not abandon him to his grim fate. Caught in the crossfire, Priest Paul (Lee Jin-wook) trusts medical care, while Priest Andrew (Heo Joon-ho) employs exorcism to save the boy.

Song Hye-kyo said at the film’s recent press conference, “I received so much love from The Glory that choosing the next project felt a bit difficult.” She stated that following her appearance in The Glory, she was looking for new roles. “When analyzing a script or narrative, I suppose I gravitate toward genre works. That’s how I found The Priests 2: Dark Nuns, and I had a hunch that it would help me discover a new side of myself.”

Speaking more about her experiences playing her character in the film, she explained that it was a demanding process for which she had been preparing extensively. Nun Yunia is fighting the devil, so her staunch determination to get past an intimidating challenge like that requires intense expressions and gestures to bring out the portrayal’s realism. She therefore paid much attention to the subtleties of the role, notably rehearsing her dialogues.

The aspect of battling a demon added to the role’s complexity. According to Song, every new role is a new challenge for her, but this one proved more challenging than usual. She revealed having trouble sleeping during the process. Besides, given that scenes of exorcism are so crucial, stressful, and exhausting, she was anxious about how her emotions translated on screen.

Dark Nuns—directed by Kwon Hyeok-jae—follows The Priests, written and directed by Jang Jae-hyun, and is based on Jang’s short film 12th Assistant Deacon. Dark Nuns delves into exorcism, explores the complex dynamics between the religious and the demonic, and throws belief, knowledge, and the human spirit against each other for the greater good.

Director Kwon aims to give an original take on the narrative through the nuns’ experiences—their faith, their confrontation with the paranormal, and those dilemmas that arise when mandates are violated, in addition to showcasing the appealing elements of the previous film. A major point of interest in Dark Nuns, according to him, is that the nuns, who are forbidden from performing exorcism, will engage in it to save the victim.