‘Priest’ Takes Viewers on a Post-Apocalyptic Spiritual Journey

Coming to theaters May 13, 2011 is Priest, a post-apocalyptic thriller set in an alternate world that has been ravaged by the war between humans and vampires. The only ones strong enough to stop the vampires and save mankind are the Priests and Priestesses, however, they were banished for being too powerful and now spend their time hidden away, shunned by all. But, when one warrior Priest’s niece is abducted by a vicious pack of vampires, he breaks his sacred vows, and with the help of Priestess, sets out on a quest to find the girl.

Priest sounds like a fantastic action-packed horror film, but apparently it’s much more than that. Priest isn’t just another blah vampire movie, according to Maggie Q, who plays Priestess, director Scott Charles Stewart made sure to create an excellent film with a powerful story.

“I know there are vampires in our film, but when I think about Priest, the word vampire was never in my head. It was never about that. There’s a lot of symbolism in this movie and a lot of parallels that we draw, and there are creatures instead of people with teeth, which made it a lot cooler. But, it’s always story first, for me,” said Maggie in an interview promoting the film.

She then added, “Scott is such a great storyteller. He will sell you on visuals, but the visuals were just one of those things. It was after we had talked about what this film meant. That’s where I came from. It was about the relationships and the inter-connectivity of these people, what they’ve sacrificed, how awful that is and, ultimately, what you do in that situation and where you go from there. How do people forgive and forget and move forward, and what’s left for them? That was exciting for me. It’s weird. I only see Priest as what I experienced, and I experienced some really solid storytelling, a great cast, and a director who is incredibly deep and specific and had a vision for every single character, every moment, every breath and every line. That’s my experience. I don’t view this as an action film or a vampire film. I see it as a drama, but then you get all that other stuff too, which is great.”

After reading what Maggie Q had to say about Priest I want to see this film so much more now. While I enjoy vampire films packed full of action, I also love intellectual vampire movies that gives viewers more than a few badass fight scenes.

What do you guys think?

Make sure to check out the official Priest website and the trailer below:

– Moonlight