Priest: happy new year i guess

This movie was selected by our Patreon Supporters over at the Cinematic Doctrine Patreon. Support as little as $3 a month and have your voice heard! 

Shirleon joins Melvin to summarize Priest, a forgotten feature from 2011. Loosely based upon a Manhwa of the same name, the two explore some of the neat ideas stuck beneath this unfocused, Syfy-original-like flick. And yes, it starts with a lore dump because of course it does.

Topics:

• Editor’s Note: No Patreon Exclusive discussion! But, I do intend to trim this episode down from its original 1:22:34 length, so if you want to hear the UNCUT version, tune in on Patreon here!
• Priest feels like it should have come out in the early 2000s.
• Comparing vampire lore.
• Melvin feels Paul Bettany isn’t a leading man, but he has criticisms over the entire casting of Priest.
• Discussing the vampire design.
• Priest can’t go a few minutes without making mistakes.
• It’s infrequent but occasionally the movie has some cool sci-fi visuals.
• Shirleon, “It’s got good bones.”
• Further vampire-lore conversations.
• When an ending promises spectacle but pulls the rug out from under you.

Recommendations:

• The Devouring Light by Kat Ellis (2025) (Book)
• Tech Billionaires Want Us Dead by Taylor Lorenz (YouTube)

Priest is Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, disturbing images and brief strong language. It features Paul Bettany, Cam Gigandet, Maggie Q, Karl Urban, and Lilly Collins. Directed by Scott Stewart. Priest is available here.

Consider supporting Cinematic Doctrine on Patreon! As a bonus, you can gain access to a once-a-month movie poll where you decide a movie we discuss on the podcast, early unedited episodes of the podcast, and merch!!

Melvin Benson is the Founder, Editor-In-Chief, and Lead Host of Cinematic Doctrine. Whether it’s a movie, show, game, comic, or novel, it doesn’t matter. As long as it’s rich, he’s ready and willing to give it a try! His hope is to see King Jesus glorified as far as the east is from the west!

Cinematic Doctrine is available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and other major podcast apps.