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The Divine Fury

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The Divine Fury
Promotional poster
Hangul
Hanja
Literal meaningEmissary
Revised RomanizationSaja
Directed byKim Joo-hwan
Written byKim Joo-hwan
Starring
Music byKoo Ja-wan
Production
companies
Distributed byLotte Entertainment
Release date
  • 31 July 2019 (2019-07-31)
Running time
129 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Budget₩14.7 billion[1]
Box officeUS$11.8 million[2][3]

The Divine Fury (Korean: 사자; Hanja: 使者; RR: Saja; lit. emissary, with connotations of the underworld) is a 2019 South Korean action horror thriller film written and directed by Kim Joo-hwan. It stars Park Seo-joon, Ahn Sung-ki and Woo Do-hwan. The film was released on July 31, 2019.[4]

Plot

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The film tells the story of Yong-hoo (Park Seo-joon), a martial arts champion who gains divine powers to fight a powerful evil force. After a tragic childhood in which both of his parents died, Yong-hoo harbors deep resentment toward the Almighty.[5] He channels his anger to become a successful MMA fighter.[6] After a bout in the United States, he develops a stigmata, which forces him to seek the help of Father Ahn (Ahn Sung-ki).[7] The priest, who is an exorcist, sees potential in Yong-hoo after his wound defeats a demon.[5] The two partner up to battle demonic activity in Korea and run up against the disciple of evil, Ji-shin.

Cast

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Special appearance

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Production

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The film began production on August 14, 2018. It reunites director Jason Kim and actor Park Seo-joon, after Midnight Runners.[8][9]

Release

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The film was released in cinemas in Australia and New Zealand on August 8, 2019, licensed by Purple Plan and distributed by Magnum Films,[10] and in the United States and Canada on August 16, 2019, distributed by Well Go USA Entertainment.[11]

Reception

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The film was released on 1405 screens on July 31, 2019. It opened at second place with 380,092 admissions.[2] With a total production cost of ₩14.7 billion, it required at least 3 million (South Korean) admissions to cross the break-even point. The film was produced with a sequel in mind, but the successor is unclear due to the film's box office failure.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "영화 '사자' 박서준, 2년 전 흥행 어게인? 글쎄…". Sports Donga. 12 August 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "The Divine Fury (2019)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Korean Film Box Office (Yearly)". Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  4. ^ 박서준의 '사자', 7월 개봉 확정…강렬한 기운 담긴 포스터 공개[공식]. entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Marsh, James (2019-08-14). "The Divine Fury: The Exorcist meets MMA in Limp Korean Thriller". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2019-08-22.
  6. ^ Harvey, Dennis (2019-08-16). "Film Review: 'The Divine Fury'". Variety. Retrieved 2019-08-22.
  7. ^ DeFore, John (August 15, 2019). "'The Divine Fury': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2019-08-22.
  8. ^ "MIDNIGHT RUNNERS Duo Step into the Ring for THE DIVINE FURY". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  9. ^ "박서준·우도환, '사자'로 뭉친다…'청년경찰' 감독 신작". Naver. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  10. ^ "Magnum Films". Dream Movie Australia. Retrieved 1 September 2019. In cinemas 8 August/Magnum Films/Lotte Entertainment/Purple Plan
  11. ^ "THE DIVINE FURY (2019) - Official Movie Site – Coming Soon". Well Go USA Entertainment. Retrieved 1 September 2019. UNITED STATES: August 16, 2019/CANADA: August 16, 2019
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