Notable Cast: Park Shin-Yang, Lee Min-Ki, Lee Re
Within the last year or two, Korean cinema has seen a small boom of quality horror films, with the likes of Sleep, Metamorphosis, and even this year's standout in genre, Exhuma, all leaping to mind. Needless to say, quality fluctuates for the genre in South Korea, just as it does with any other country, but horror seems to be making a big comeback that we haven't seen from the region since the early 2000s, and I'm here for it. This year alone, I've seen quite a few Korean horror films, and I've enjoyed my time with each, to varying degrees of course, but where does the latest religious based themed horror Devils Stay land? Well, I'd say it is a good time, but certainly has a bit of a bumpy presentation overall, which I hope to express my thoughts on here.
The plot for Devils Stay follows a surgeon, played by Park Shin-yang and his daughter So-mi (Lee Re), who have a very special relationship. They are a very strong father and daughter duo, but So-mi has a failing heart, so her father, Seung-do sets out to find her a new organ. This is sort of the backstory of what is actually going on in the current time setting, but this is all revealed very, very early on. In modern times, however, the daughter has appeared to die after an exorcism has gone terribly wrong, which is carried out by the priest Bae Hae-sin, who is played by Lee Min-ki, an actor I think often gets overlooked in the industry, but I digress. An exorcism, and a failing heart, you say? Yes, and does it seem like that is all revealed rather quickly? Also... yes, and I think if I had to go straight into my main issue with this film it is that everything that happens in its short 90 minute runtime, is both a strength and indeed a weakness. The story is breakneck from beginning to end, and while sure it is entertaining along the way, the story tends to fold in on itself quite often, moving from point to point to point, without actually feeling like much is happening at all, even though there is quite a bit going on. The character development moments are there, they are just so fleeting and brief when you catch hold of one, that it comes and goes just as quickly as any other moment in this almost too fast paced horror.
As mentioned before, I think the biggest strong suit of Devils Stay comes in the acting department. Lee Min-ki is the super badass and relentless priest that will stop at no limits to battle the demonic forces around him. I liked his arc quite well, but again it all seems to happen in the blink of an eye. Lee Re is very good as the daughter, Cha So-mi. She sells that layer of humanity that you need to really be routing for her character to pull through with her dark struggles. She is at once a charming and very smart young character that really vibes with her father, but on the flip side Lee gets to really tap into the possessed character bit quite often and she really showcases a great range on the more horror side of her performance. Rounding up the cast is the leading man, the father Cha Seung-do, who is played by veteran Park Shin-yang, who I hadn't seen in a film since 2013's Man on the Edge, and this guy ruled the big screen in the early to mid-2000s. He is great here, and that comedic side that he exudes in many of his earlier roles is completely gone here. Park leans heavily into his dramatic chops here playing a father who has been pushed far beyond his limits and has become completely broken, but he gives this strength that is needed to help solve this situation that they are in.
Devils Stay features a weird combination of striking and beautifully haunting imagery and also quite a few gimmicky editing tricks and odd effects put onto many shots, using a lot of cheap visual tropes to lean into some rather cheap and unfortunately shallow scares. Again, it is a weird juxtaposition because on the other hand as I said, there are some truly beautiful moments and really strong cinematic shots that are sure to be lingering in my mind for some time to come. I think the scares also suffer from this very same lack of balance. Certain moments burrow there way under your skin and make your whole body crawl with fear, and other moments border on feeling like a first time student film. It's such a baffling combination and makes me wonder how many people were working on this to make the end result feel so lopsided at times. It is equally impressive and frustrating simultaneously and I can't wrap my head around what led to some of the things shown in the final product, for better and for worse.
At the end of the day, I think Devils Stay has a lot going for it, but ends up stumbling around a few too many times. That being said, this one does fly by at such a pace, that you may not have any time to think until after the credits have rolled. I certainly can safely recommend this one to horror fans of many varieties, as the entertainment value is there, I just with the technical side was honed in a bit more and the story had some time to breathe a little and thus be fleshed out better. Still, those great moments are worth the hiccups and with caveats noted, I think Devils Stay gets a certain recommendation from me and makes for a fun way to close out 2024's great year of horror from all over the globe.
