After watching Holy Night Demon Hunters, I found myself reflecting on the increasing number of South Korean films tackling the subject of exorcism. Over the past four years, interest in this theme has surged. With titles like Exuma and Dark Nuns (review links), it’s worth considering how they might be thematically connected—and where Holy Night Demon Hunters fits into that larger picture.
Written and directed by Lim Dae-hee, this film marks an ambitious directorial debut and may well be the start of a new franchise. There are elements that work, and a few questions that linger. What I didn’t realize going in is that the movie is based on the web comic Holy Night: The Zero, which helps clarify the backstory for some of the characters—especially Ba-Woo (Ma Dong-seok, who also served as executive producer) and Joseph. Both are orphans, but while Ba-Woo becomes a detective (imagine a mix of Blade and Batman), Joseph enters the priesthood. Although Joseph doesn’t appear in the live-action film, his influence is deeply felt.