Ten years separate The Priests and The Priests 2: Dark Nuns, an in-name-only successor that, apart from the satanic heave-ho, a pair of holy-rolling role reversals, and an eleventh hour cameo by Gang Dong-won, barely qualifies as a sequel. Director Hyeok-jae Kwon’s idea of establishing a character’s insubordinate streak involves Sister Junia (Song Hye-kyo) taking a drag off a butt before slipping into her habit. Along with Sister Michaela (Jeon Yeo-been), the two nuns join forces to trick a demon trapped inside a young boy into revealing his identity. An unordained nun performing an exorcism on a child is hardly a unique concept - Prey for the Devil (2022) comes to mind. But the script deftly smuggles in scads of contemporary talking points, among them a pro-choice view that equates ignoring a possessed child with murder and men of science who scoff at the thought of demonic possession. An off-kilter sense of humor prevails: our eponymous duo cart around 5 gallon polyethylene jugs of holy water. When asked why she doesn't quit smoking, Sister Junia reassigns guilt with, “Secondhand smoke is worse.” Once the casting out begins, claustrophobia sets in; the demons are free to leave the room, but not the audience. (2025) — Scott Marks