Priest is a 2011 American action horror film directed by Scott Stewart, written by Cory Goodman, and starring Paul Bettany as the title character.

[2][3] It is loosely based on the Korean comic of the same name by Hyung Min-woo, in turn inspired by the computer game Blood by Monolith Productions.

The film earned over $78 million at the box office against a $60 million production budget, but it was panned by critics, who praised the film's visual style and art direction while criticizing the movie's use of genre clichés, writing, acting, editing, and action scenes.

Despite vampires' vulnerability to sunlight, their strength and speed make them impossible to defeat until humanity shelters in walled cities and trains elite warriors, the Priests, who turn the tide.

Priest asks the Clergy to reinstate his authority, but leader Monsignor Orelas disbelieves the vampire story and refuses.

Priest and Hicks arrive at Nightshade Reservation where Familiars, humans infected with a pathogen making them subservient to vampires, live alongside their masters.

There, Priestess decides to join them, having fought alongside Priest during the war and feeling a closer allegiance to him than The Church.

Hicks believes the cities are likewise protected by the sun, but Priest explains that their clouds of smoke and ash permanently deprive them of sunlight.

While Priestess rushes ahead to plant a bomb on the railroad tracks, Priest and Hicks board the train to rescue Lucy.

The subsequent derailment kills the vampires and Black Hat while Hicks, Priest, Priestess, and Lucy escape.

Priest returns to the city and confronts Orelas during Mass, telling him of the burnt train containing the vampires' bodies, but not the Queen's.

[7] In June 2006, actor Gerard Butler entered negotiations to star as the title character, and filming was scheduled to start in Mexico on October 1, 2006.

Tokyopop flew Min-Woo Hyung to where production was taking place so the comics' creator could visit the art department and discuss the film with Stewart.

The film diverges from the comics in following a different timeline of events and adding elements of the sci-fi western, cyberpunk and post-apocalyptic science-fiction genres.

[19] It was originally scheduled for October 1, 2010,[13] but it moved earlier to August 27, 2010, to fill a weekend slot when another Screen Gems film, Resident Evil: Afterlife, was postponed.

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 15% based on reviews from 101 critics and reports a rating average of 4.00 out of 10 with a consensus that "Priest is admittedly sleek and stylish, but those qualities are wasted on a dull, derivative blend of sci-fi, action, and horror clichés".