If you love sparkling vampires that fall in love with humans and watch you while you sleep, then Priest is not for you.
Based off the comic book of the same name, Priest is set in a world where humans and vampires have been warring for centuries. With the human population dwindling quickly, the Church steps up and forms a group of Warrior Priests with the abilities to fight the vampire menace. The Church becomes convinced the vampires are all dead or in the reservations built for them and thus disband the Priests, forcing them to live within the walled cities created by the Church to protect the remaining humans.
The story follows a man named Priest, played by Paul Bettany, who is forced to adapt to living in a society that no longer needs him. Priest is approached by Cam Gigandet’s character, Hicks, who informs Priest that his niece Lucy (played by Lily Collins) was taken by a group of vampires. The Church forbids Priest to go after her, convinced that there are no more vampires, so Priest breaks his vow to help Hicks find Lucy.
Joining the two on their search for Lucy is Priestess, played by Maggie Q, and together the three travel across the desolate wastelands battling bloodsucking fiends, eventually coming face to face with their leader, Black Hat, played by Karl Urban.
Urban’s character is the only “typical” looking vampire in the movie. The rest of them look more like the monster in Alien; with dripping fangs and sharp claws, these vampires are much more frightening than your average Dracula.
Like the creatures in it, Priest is dark and filled with intense action sequences and nail-biting scenes that make for an enjoyable movie. While it is not an Oscar-winning film, I enjoyed watching it.
Scott Charles Stewart, who has worked on such movies as Sin City and Legion, directed the film. Stewart is usually a special effects man and his knack for them showed through in the movie. The fight scenes were entertaining and the parts involving the dreary city and towns really worked to transport the watcher to this post-apocalyptic world.
Though the effects were good, the acting was only subpar. Gigandet is a little stiff in his performance and when Collins is not screaming or crying, her lines are delivered as if she was in a low-budget Lifetime film. Bettany and Urban deliver the best performances. His dialogue might have been a little cliché, but Bettany plays the tortured Priest well. And Urban’s portrayal of the vicious Black Hat is very convincing and probably the best of the film.
Priest is an entertaining film and I was glad to see vampires as terrible creatures again instead of sparkling teenagers. It might not have lived up to my expectations completely, but I definitely did not waste my money. If you are looking for a scary, sci-fi film with action and really freaky looking vampires, Priest is the perfect film to watch.
Grade: B-/C+
