Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray from writer/director Moon-Sub Hyun and Well Go USA is a story of a father dealing with grief in DEVILS STAY.

Dr. Cha (Park Shin-yang) is grieving the death of his young daughter So-mi (Lee Re). Believing she was on the road to recovery after heart surgery, something obviously went wrong. That is the talk around the hospital as the family comes together for the funeral.

In the local parish, the young priest Father Ban (Lee Min-ki) is watching videos of his family visits to So-mi trying to understand what happened to her. As So-mi’s funeral begins with family and friends, strange occurrences begin happening. Dr. Cha can not explain what is driving his obsession not accepting his daughter has passed other than his grief.

As chaos breaks out at So-mi’s funeral, Father Ban is drawn to intervene. The priest cannot seem to reach Dr. Cha as he sets out to discover who the donor was of his daughter’s heart. His journey leads him to the dark Russian underworld. There he finds the answers with the help of the unrelenting Father Ban who has a few surprises of his own, yet both must continue the fight for good against evil.  

A grieving father and a priest who carries his own sorrows must come together to find a way to save a young girls soul!

Shin-yang as Dr. Cha is a grief-stricken father who cannot believe that his daughter is gone. The struggle begins with knowing how she died but not understanding why she died. When strange things begin to happen, it is Dr. Cha who refuses to let go as easily as the rest of the family. His anger toward the whole situation is not understood by anyone other than the priest. Shin-yang gives a stellar performance bringing in every range of emotion one would expect from a father – and a father with a secret.

Min-ki as Father Ban a young priest who believes he can help Dr. Cha and his family. He has his own deep past that pushes him to help even when Dr. Cha makes it clear that his help isn’t wanted. Knowing that it is grief coming from the good doctor, Min-k makes it his goal to stay close and jump in when needed. There is an added surprises that Min-ki bring to his character and, of course, I’m not going to say what it is but when it happens, I’m sure everyone will have the same reaction of ‘oh whaaaaat?’ as I did.   

Re as the young So-mi is absolutely charming and for such a young actress in this role, I’m seriously applauding her performance. She is sweet and then things go crazy. This young actress takes us on a huge thrill ride and brings more than a few jaw dropping moments. Well done young lady, extremely well done.

Well Go USA Entertainment is a theatrical and home entertainment company specializing in bringing the best Action, Genre and Independent films from around the world to North American markets. As a leader in independent film distribution, Well Go USA Entertainment’s titles can be seen across a variety of platforms including theatrical, digital, subscription and cable VOD, packaged media and broadcast television. Well Go USA Entertainment currently releases three to five films per month. To see more please visit www.wellgousa.com.

DEVILS STAY is the genre of thriller film from Korea that is visually stunning, a story that is captivating, a cast that embraces their characters taking us on a thrill ride until the very end. Of course, there have been films similar in storyline to this but the direction Moon-Sub Hyun takes I am here for. Following Dr. Cha’s story and Father Ban’s part in the story had me at go immediately.

The grief of Dr. Cha and the determination of Father Ban truly makes the story one to watch. Possession is the theme of the film but it is the two male characters that bring the full-on drama to this ninety-five-minute running film. There truly isn’t anything about this film that I do not absolutely love. The cinematography is also brilliant and is another quiet layer to the story that is truly well done.

DEVILS STAY is a film that needs to have the lights off, the sound bar up and cuddles under thick protective blankets. Well, that’s how I watched it anyway so grab a tub of popcorn and do your best not to jaw drop because this film will definitely make that happen.

In the end – they must believe!

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