Photo courtesy of Action Xtreme
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Some unfortunate folks are about to discover that a local priest is hiding a deep, dark secret in a new action-thriller called The Priest. Starring Craig Russell (Protein, Queen Cleopatra), the film tells the story of a man of faith whose former life as a man with a particular skill set is about to resurface when his past catches up to him. Filmmaker Chee Keong Cheung (Redcon-1, Son of the Soil), who is no stranger to delivering high-octane entertainment, produces via his Action Xtreme production banner.
In The Priest, “Russell plays a parish priest whose buried past resurfaces when a woman from his old life arrives at his confessional. As a local crime lord tightens his hold on the town, the priest is drawn back into the violence he thought he had escaped. Luca Matteo Zizarri (“Rogue Heroes,” “Peaky Blinders”), repped by Twenty-Nine Five Group, plays Vale, the crime boss controlling the town. Imogen Mackenzie plays Holly, whose return sets the story in motion; Sally Nash plays her younger colleague Angie, who gets caught up in the fallout. Munday takes on the role of Detective Emma Carter, a cop whose missing-persons case brings her into direct conflict with Vale’s operation and the priest’s hidden history.” (Per Variety)
The film was written by Maisie Davies, Sonny Barton, Zuzu Hanley and Jamie Moody. Will Saunders marks his directorial debut with the project.
“‘The Priest’ began with a tension that I found impossible to ignore: a holy man who has turned the page on a life of violence, and the question of what happens when the past refuses to stay buried,” Saunders said. “For me, the film is about the distance between who we have been and who we want to become, and about the cost of trying to build a new self on unstable ground.”
Along with producing, Chee Keong Cheung’s Action Xtreme stunt team is also serving up the action sequences with action and stunt coordinator Ermar Alexander in charge of the action design. Alexander’s credits include Bad Day at the Office, Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw and Marvels. Giedre Jackyte (Star Wars: The Acolyte, Slow Horses) and armorer Ty Hopkins (Bad Day at the Office, Fast X) also are involved. Noel Goodwin, Martin McQuillan and Kingsley Marshall are all producers on the film.
Mysterious men with dark and deadly pasts are nothing new in action cinema and the action trope has been done to death but The Priest serves as an intriguing idea and even makes me think of the Mark Dacascos led indie actioner The Sanctuary (1998) where he also played a former killer now serving as a man of God who polishes off his lethal skill set when former comrades come back into his life with nefarious purpose. That film was more of a dramatic slow burn, but it was punctuated with extreme beats of action showcasing Dacascos’ talents. I’m not very familiar with star Craig Russell but he does also have a role in the upcoming Scott Adkins led sequel One Last Shot, so it’ll be cool to see what he offers in the action cinema department and how he handles the physical stunts.
Lock “N” Load and stay tuned for more to come with The Priest as we are the ultimate destination for your action fix!
Source: Variety
