'Dr. Cheon and Lost Talisman,' starring Gang Dong-won, to hit theaters in September

A poster for the film "Dr. Cheon and Lost Talisman" / Courtesy of CJ ENM

By Kwak Yeon-soo

“Dr. Cheon and Lost Talisman,” a mystery thriller starring actor Gang Dong-won, will hit local theaters in September, the film's distributor CJ ENM said Tuesday.

Based on Hooressha's webtoon “Possessed,” the film revolves around a fake exorcist who ends up facing a real case of demonic possession. He travels around the country with his assistant to perform fake exorcisms until they get involved in a case of a girl possessed by an evil spirit and are faced with the challenge of saving her.

Gang portrays fake exorcist, Dr. Cheon, while Huh Joon-ho plays the role of an evil spirit hunter. Actress Esom will play Yoo-kyung, who seeks the help of Dr. Cheon to save her sister who is possessed by a mysterious demonic entity. Actors Lee Dong-hwi and Kim Jong-soo will appear as Dr. Cheon's assistant and business partner, respectively.

The film is the directorial feature debut of Kim Seong-sik, an assistant director to Bong Jong-ho on “Parasite” (2019) and Park Chan-wook on “Decision to Leave” (2022). It is produced by Filmmaker R&K, which was behind “Veteran” (2015), “Exit” (2019) and “Escape from Mogadishu” (2022).

Gang, a model-turned-actor, rose to fame after taking leading roles in a number of hit films and TV series, including the period action film “Kundo: Age of the Rampant” (2014), zombie thriller “Peninsula” (2020) and drama film “Broker” (2022). He will next star in Netflix's series “War and Revolt.”