Priest

"The war is eternal. His mission is just the beginning."

2011 1h 27m EN

😐

5.9

MID

★5.9TMDB · 2,649

ActionFantasyHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In an alternate world, humanity and vampires have warred for centuries. After the last Vampire War, the veteran Warrior Priest lives in obscurity with other humans inside one of the Church's walled cities. When the Priest's niece is kidnapped by vampires, the Priest breaks his vows to hunt them down. He is accompanied by the niece's boyfriend, who is a wasteland sheriff, and a former Warrior Priestess.

“The war is eternal. His mission is just the beginning.”

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Cast

Paul Bettany
Priest
Karl Urban
Black Hat
Lily Collins
Lucy Pace
Maggie Q
Priestess
Stephen Moyer
Owen Pace
Cam Gigandet
Hicks
Mädchen Amick
Shannon Pace
Brad Dourif
Salesman

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Scott Stewart
Writers: Robert Consing, Jeff Errico, Todd Harris
Languages: English, Portuguese, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

87 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 15 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Portuguese, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

365+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Scott Stewart, shot by Don Burgess. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Christopher Young. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Lisa Zeno Churgin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Scott Stewart directs. Don Burgess behind the camera. Christopher Young scores. Lisa Zeno Churgin cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Portuguese, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

187 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
3Released 15 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Portuguese, Spanish.
5365+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
6Directed by Scott Stewart, shot by Don Burgess. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Christopher Young. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Lisa Zeno Churgin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Paul Bettany and Karl Urban and Lily Collins carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "The war is eternal. His mission is just the beginning.".
11IMDB entry: tt0822847 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 13 themes, including "vampire", "dystopia", "post-apocalyptic future", "crucifixion".
13Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Don Burgess
Original score: Christopher Young
Editing: Lisa Zeno Churgin
Production design: Richard Bridgland
Costume design: Ha Nguyen
Makeup / hair: Ve Neill
VFX supervisor: Richard Higham
Sound: Steven Ticknor
Stunt coordinator: Lance Gilbert
Runtime: 87 min · 1h 27m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $60,000,000
Box office: $84,154,026
Return: 140% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Priest (2011)

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Scott Stewart

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Dark Jedi2018-03-10
★ 8/10
A film just in my style. It’s a future/alternate reality kind of apocalyptic action/horror movie. Fairly simple and straightforward plot where the good guys stays pretty much stays as the good guys throughout the move and the hero is really someone that kicks ass throughout the movie. No bloody fussing around with making the hero “human” or some crap like that. The special effects and the apocalyptic sceneries where well done. In general the film was a solid piece of work. The transfer to Blu-ray equally well done. Picture quality was as to be expected and the DTS Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack well balanced with just enough surround effects and LFE to make it very enjoyable. The film get a 5.7 rating at IMDB which in my mind is a bit on the low side but then, it’s not really a film for everyone. The so called “critics” at Rotten Tomatoes gave it 17% which is just pure bullshit but then I have given up on those idiots a long time ago. Most of those “critics” must come from the American bible belt or something 😦
CinemaSerf2025-06-21
★ 6/10
Whatever did happen to Cam Gigandet? Perhaps a career in carpentry? Let’s face it, he was pretty wooden himself and he wasn’t the only one in this lively but predictable fantasy adventure. It’s really all about a highly-trained and lethal priest (Paul Bettany) who is convinced that the status quo between mankind and vampire that has existed for generations is about to be ruptured. He takes his concerns to his boss - the “Monsignor” (Christopher Plummer) who presides over the all-powerful church that protects humanity - but he doesn’t believe him and reminds him of his vow of obedience. Well we wouldn’t have had a film if he’d stuck to them, so off he heads into the desert in search of a kidnapped young girl. That’s where he encounters the enthusiastic but naïve young sheriff (Gigandet) who happens to be her boyfriend and an equally agile priest (Maggie Q). It doesn’t take them (or us) long to discover that they are chasing a special kind of creature who can make short work and an easy dinner from any of the people he meets. What’s their antagonist’s agenda though, and can this trio thwart him and rescue the girl before he carries out his dastardly plan? To be fair, there is loads of action here and though hardly stretched, Bettany is adequate in the title role keeping things moving along. The rest of the acting and the dialogue is all pretty mundane and we get an early indication of just how unremarkable an actor Karl Urban is too. I didn’t hate it, but it’s all a processional exercise that makes you appreciate Kate Beckinsale more.