Song Hye-kyo and Jeon Yeo-been to Perform Exorcisms in ‘Dark Nuns’

Song Hye-kyo (left) and Jeon Yeo-been (right). Photos: Courtesy of Netflix

Stellar portrayals from experts in one potent opus are what I foresee in Dark Nuns, starring Song Hye-kyo, Jeon Yeo-been, and perhaps Lee Jin-wook reportedly joining the action.

Dark Nuns is inspired by Jang Jae-hyun’s acclaimed blockbuster 2015 Korean supernatural mystery horror thriller film The Priests, drawing on his distinguished short film 12th Assistant Deacon.

The Priests, an enviable fiction with Kim Yoon-seok, Gang Dong-won, and Park So-dam in the lead roles, follows two priests (Kim and Gang) who must seek an answer for the fate of a young girl (Park) shortly after it turns out that diabolical beings conceal themselves inside her body.

Dark Nuns, directed by Kwon Hyeok-jae, is a female variation of The Priests, with Song and Jeon as the eponymous nuns who execute exorcisms. Following the critically acclaimed Korean drama film My Brilliant Life in 2014, Song will make a big-screen comeback in Dark Nuns, her first in nearly a decade.

My Brilliant Life is a tragic story about love, life, and loss. It has some very strong performances. Song, who begins as a cacophonous girl before evolving into a bereaved mother through a trying moment, never fails to make a mark thanks to her detailed and sensitive candor.

One of the top Hallyu superstars, the stunning South Korean actress has built a solid reputation. The TV dramas Autumn in My Heart (2000), All In (2003), Full House (2004), That Winter, The Wind Blows (2013), Descendants of the Sun (2016), Encounter (2018), Now, We Are Breaking Up (2021), and The Glory Parts 1 and 2 (2022–2023) are among her breakthrough roles. She has also starred in films, including Hwang Jin Yi (2007), The Grandmaster (2013), and My Brilliant Life (2014).

Throughout her extensive acting career, Song has shared the stage with the biggest names in Korean entertainment, each time taking on a distinct type of charm—as a blind socialite, an astute cardiothoracic surgeon, an opulent fashion designer, or, an enigmatic schoolteacher pursuing a vendetta. As she takes on a new role in a sinister occult narrative with Jeon Yeo-been, I’m eager for how her brand of magic unfolds.

Jeon career took a turn for the better with the 2017 indie mystery drama film After My Death, which was the first to spotlight her acting skills. It won her the Best New Actress at the 56th Grand Bell Awards, Actress of the Year Award at the 22nd Busan International Film Festival, and the Independent Star Award at the 2017 Seoul Independent Film Festival. 

Due in part to the roles she has chosen, her career has gotten impressive since then. One standout character in the megahit black comedy criminal drama series Vicenzo (2021) is Hong Cha-young, a dynamic lawyer who teams up with Vincenzo Cassano (Song Joong-ki) in his suit against the massive megacorp, Babel Group. Jeon had a comeback with this role, revealing her unique gift for capturing the essence of a powerful female character—a quality I imagine will also be present in her portrayal of Dark Nuns.