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Review | The Divine Fury film review: The Exorcist meets mixed martial arts in limp Korean thriller

  • Director Kim Joo-hwan doesn’t seem to know what kind of film he wants The Divine Fury to be, and result is a mishmash of genres that’s sluggish and pedestrian
  • It fails to deliver the scares or excitement that exorcisms and gore should provide

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Park Seo-joon in a scene from The Divine Fury (category: IIB, Korean), co-starring Ahn Jung-ki. Kim Joo-hwan directs.

2/5 stars

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Anyone bemoaning the lack of mixed martial arts in William Friedkin’s horror classic The Exorcist may very well rejoice at the prospect of director Kim Joo-hwan’s The Divine Fury, a high-concept horror-action hybrid that will answer their prayers.

Seemingly determined to combine the sensibilities of Keanu Reeves’ John Wick films and Constantine in an all-kicking, all-punching battle between Good and Evil, grieving MMA champion Yong-hoo (Park Seo-joon) teams up with a world-weary exorcist to rid Seoul of Satan’s demons. But the pairing fails here, in contrast to Kim’s previous film, the excellent Midnight Runners.  

Since losing both his parents at a young age, Yong-hoo has harboured a vengeful hatred of The Almighty, which he has channelled into a successful fighting career. But when he inexplicably develops a stigmata-like wound, Yong-hoo reluctantly seeks pastoral advice.

Father Ahn (Ahn Sung-ki), a Vatican emissary sent to Korea to monitor rising demonic activity, sees potential in Yong-hoo, and when his wound successfully defeats an attacking demon, the pair form an unlikely partnership.

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