Back in high school, there was this one teacher who had a habit of giving pop quizzes that weren’t just difficult, they were downright unfair. One day, a friend of mine (who will remain nameless) — who was barely passing — looked like he was on the verge of breaking down over yet another impossible quiz. I knew he had studied all night and when he shot me a desperate glance, I made a split-second decision, tilting my paper just enough for him to see. Was it wrong? Absolutely. But I couldn’t sit there and watch him fail over a test that had nothing to do with understanding history — just memorizing footnotes.
That moment reminds me of a classic moral dilemma in horror movies. So often, characters are forced to do something “wrong” because it’s the only way to survive or protect others. In horror, doing the “right thing” often means breaking laws, violating moral codes or outright lying because the alternative is worse. Just like I knew my friend didn’t deserve to fail, horror protagonists sometimes realize that survival means crossing lines — stealing, lying or even killing — to fight against an unfair, impossible system, whether it’s a malevolent force, a corrupt authority or just fate itself.
Those scenarios bring us to this week’s movie: Dark Nuns, directed by Hyeok-jae Kwon, is a spin-off of the 2015 film, The Priests. The story follows Sister Junia (Song Hye-kyo) and Sister Michaela (Jeon Yeo-been), two nuns faced with a chilling case: a young boy named Hee-joon (Moon Woo-jin) is possessed by an evil spirit. While Sister Junia, guided by her unwavering faith, is determined to save him, Sister Michaela approaches the situation with skepticism.
As their investigation unfolds, they are drawn into a series of terrifying events, uncovering a secret buried within their convent’s walls. With their faith and courage tested, the nuns must confront their deepest fears to protect Hee-joon and preserve the sanctity of their order.
The first half of Dark Nuns revolves around Sister Junia and Sister Michaela defying church doctrine by performing an “illegal exorcism.” According to their faith, only men are permitted to conduct the ritual, but when the priest fails to arrive in time, the nuns take matters into their own hands. Their decision to break the rules isn’t driven by rebellion, but by necessity — if they wait, the child may not survive.
This moral dilemma mirrors my own high-school moment, where I knowingly broke a rule to help a friend who was struggling against an unfair system. Just as the nuns put compassion over rigid tradition, I chose to value fairness over academic rules. The film’s first half not only establishes the characters and their personal struggles but also explores the weight of their decision, setting the stage for the second act.
However, the second act is where Dark Nuns begins to lose its momentum. While the climactic battle between good and evil should be gripping, it ultimately falls flat. Director Hyeok-jae Kwon avoids traditional jump scares and overused horror tropes, instead relying heavily on imagery and dialogue to build tension — a choice that likely resonates with the film’s intended Korean audience. However, when translated through subtitles, much of the emotional weight and nuance behind the words gets lost.
Without the actors’ vocal inflections carrying the intensity, the scenes lack impact, making the latter half of the film feel drawn out and sluggish rather than suspenseful.
The true standout of Dark Nuns is Moon Woo-jin, whose performance as the possessed Hee-joon is nothing short of chilling. This young actor delivers a portrayal that rivals Linda Blair’s legendary turn in The Exorcist, capturing both the vulnerability of a terrified child and the sheer menace of an entity far beyond his years. His dialogue, paired with his unnerving physical contortions, makes the horror feel disturbingly real. Without his commitment to the role, the film’s central conflict would crumble; the audience needs to both sympathize with Hee-joon’s suffering and recoil in fear at his monstrous transformations.
Moon’s ability to balance these extremes elevates Dark Nuns beyond standard possession fare, proving that a truly great horror film hinges not just on atmosphere or scares, but on the strength of its performances.
I’m giving Dark Nuns three out of five stars — worth watching, but not quite a divine revelation. This is a film that, much like my high-school dilemma, grapples with the idea of breaking the rules for the greater good. Sister Junia and Sister Michaela’s decision to defy church law mirrors the moral complexity of choosing what’s right over what’s allowed — whether it’s helping a friend on an unfair test or saving a child from demonic possession.
The film excels in its performances, especially Moon Woo-jin’s haunting portrayal of Hee-joon, and its commitment to a dialogue-driven approach to horror is admirable. However, the second act’s slow pacing and the loss of emotional weight in translation dull its impact. While Dark Nuns offers a fresh take on the exorcism genre, it stumbles in execution, making it a solid but flawed experience.
