Priest has been out for a while, since 2011 in fact, but it has aged well enough and we haven’t reviewed it before. It’s also available on Netflix.
I haven’t read the original comic, so I can’t say in how far it’s an faithful adaptation. The movie, however, combines the vampire genre, Weird West and post-apocalyptic, giving it a unique take on what we’re used from either of those three.
Even though there is a small intro at the beginning, it does leave the viewer with some questions.
If you can get past those, fair enough, but if not, prepare to spend some time wondering.
Visually, the movie is exactly what you would expect from a civilisation on the brink. Both the, mostly lawless, wastelands and the church-dominated cities are depicted as places where humanity is struggling past an extinction-level event, or something close to it. Visually, it’s the perfect mix between Mad Max and the Wild West, combined with some horror to top it all off.
Some things are left unexplained, but there are no obvious plot holes and at the end of the day this is a vampire-hunting action film and we shouldn’t expect some grand saga. The movie gives you enough information to be able to follow the main storyline and understand the characters’ motivations. If you like any of the three genres in the mix, give it a watch.
