# Devils Stay (사흘)
**Devils Stay** (사흘) is a 2024 South Korean occult horror-mystery film directed by Hyun Moon-seop, in which a heart surgeon refuses to accept that his daughter died during an exorcism ritual and battles a priest over her fate during her three-day funeral.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/mobile3/films/filmView.jsp?movieCd=20190353) It was released in South Korea on November 14, 2024, produced by iFilm [Corporation](https://www.edgepedia.org/corporation) with Mayday Studio and distributed by Showbox.[2](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=55922)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Korean title / English title | 사흘 / Devils Stay[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/mobile3/films/filmView.jsp?movieCd=20190353) |
| Release | November 14, 2024, South Korea[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/mobile3/films/filmView.jsp?movieCd=20190353) |
| Director | Hyun Moon-seop, his feature debut[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/mobile3/films/filmView.jsp?movieCd=20190353) • [3](https://cityonfire.com/devils-stay-2024-review-korean-film-expert-paul-bramhall-cinema-horror-scary-new-latest/) |
| Running time | 94 minutes (KOBIZ, Cine21); 95 minutes as listed by KBS World and the Japanese distributor[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/mobile3/films/filmView.jsp?movieCd=20190353) • [2](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=55922) • [4](https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?board_seq=454335&id=&lang=c&menu_cate=moviedrama) |
| Main cast | Park Shin-yang (Seung-do), Lee Min-ki (Priest Ban), Lee Re (So-mi)[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/mobile3/films/filmView.jsp?movieCd=20190353) |
| Genre and rating | Horror, mystery; rated 15 and up in South Korea[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/mobile3/films/filmView.jsp?movieCd=20190353) |
| Box office | 200,490 admissions on 836 screens, gross of $1,373,317 (as of September 16, 2026)[5](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20190353) |
| International sales | Sold to 54 countries[6](https://kjhou.com/%EB%B6%80%EC%84%B1%EC%95%A0%EA%B0%80-%EC%95%95%EB%8F%84%ED%95%98%EB%8A%94-%EC%98%A4%EC%BB%AC%ED%8A%B8%EC%98%81%ED%99%94-%EC%82%AC%ED%9D%98/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Seung-do (Park Shin-yang), a cardiothoracic surgeon, and his wife find their daughter So-mi ([Lee Re](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-re)) showing strange, unexplainable symptoms and turn to an exorcism ritual. Priest Ban ([Lee Min-ki](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-min-ki)) is certain a devil is inside her; the ritual appears to drive it out successfully but ends in So-mi's sudden death.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/mobile3/films/filmView.jsp?movieCd=20190353)
As her funeral begins, Seung-do notices strange signs in So-mi's body and becomes convinced she may not be dead yet and that her heart is still beating. No one believes him, and Priest Ban strongly opposes him, insisting the menacing spirit inside her is responsible. Over the three days of the funeral, the two must each uncover the truth and prove who is right to save her.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/mobile3/films/filmView.jsp?movieCd=20190353) The Korean synopsis frames the stakes as a deadline: something awakens from the dead girl's heart, and it must be stopped within the three days of the funeral rites.[2](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=55922)
## The three-day funeral setting
The film takes its Korean title from the traditional three-day funeral (사흘, literally "three days"), which supplies both its structure and its deadline: the horror unfolds within the context of Korea's three-day funeral rituals as the exorcist races to cast the demon out of the teenage girl before the ceremonies conclude.[7](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/films/20241113/south-korean-movie-devils-stay-shows-tepid-exorcism-variation) Director Hyun Moon-seop used the limited space of the funeral home as the main background to maximize the atmosphere, pairing the Samiljang funeral culture with the premise that the "it" in So-mi's heart will revive in three days.[8](https://www.triparoundkorea.com/whats-on/whats-on-k-drama-movie/park-shin-yangs-comeback-k-occult-movie-devils-stay/)
In the view of The Korea Times, the film hews tightly to the traditional exorcism template: a mysterious demon takes over a young girl, and a haunted exorcist battles to rescue her as he wrestles with his own painful history, with the Korean funeral rites serving as what sets the movie apart. It also emphasized the father's refusal to accept his daughter's death and his relentless, almost reckless determination to save her.[7](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/films/20241113/south-korean-movie-devils-stay-shows-tepid-exorcism-variation)
## Cast and production
**Lead roles.** Park Shin-yang plays Seung-do, the father who tries to save his dead daughter; Lee Min-ki plays the exorcist priest Ban (Haeshin); and Lee Re plays So-mi, the daughter eroded by a mysterious existence.[8](https://www.triparoundkorea.com/whats-on/whats-on-k-drama-movie/park-shin-yangs-comeback-k-occult-movie-devils-stay/) For Park, the film marked a return to the screen after 11 years, since *Man on the Edge* (2013), and his first occult performance.[8](https://www.triparoundkorea.com/whats-on/whats-on-k-drama-movie/park-shin-yangs-comeback-k-occult-movie-devils-stay/) The supporting cast includes Kim Se-jung, Choi Mi-ra, and Kim Geun-yeong.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/mobile3/films/filmView.jsp?movieCd=20190353)
**Production.** The film was produced by iFilm Corporation in association with Mayday Studio, with Showbox as distributor and presenter.[2](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=55922) • [9](https://sszeemedia.com/2024/10/21/showbox-reveals-trailer-for-new-horror-mystery-devils-stay/) Cho Si-young produced and Lee Suk-joon served as executive producer.[5](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20190353) It was one of the Korean films whose release was pushed back during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is Hyun Moon-seop's feature debut after the 2016 web-drama *Nightmare Teacher*.[3](https://cityonfire.com/devils-stay-2024-review-korean-film-expert-paul-bramhall-cinema-horror-scary-new-latest/)
## Release and box office
Showbox released the official trailer in October 2024 and announced the November 14, 2024 release date.[9](https://sszeemedia.com/2024/10/21/showbox-reveals-trailer-for-new-horror-mystery-devils-stay/) In South Korea the film drew 200,490 admissions on 836 screens, for a total gross of $1,373,317 as of September 16, 2026, according to the Korean Film Council's database; Cine21 lists 200,494 admissions.[5](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20190353) • [2](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=55922)
**International sales.** The film was sold to 54 countries, including the United States, Canada, Thailand, Japan, and Indonesia. The Korean Journal Houston noted this exceeded the 50 countries for *The Wailing* (랑종) and 47 for *Gonjiam* (곤지암) at their releases.[6](https://kjhou.com/%EB%B6%80%EC%84%B1%EC%95%A0%EA%B0%80-%EC%95%95%EB%8F%84%ED%95%98%EB%8A%94-%EC%98%A4%EC%BB%AC%ED%8A%B8%EC%98%81%ED%99%94-%EC%82%AC%ED%9D%98/) In Japan it opened on July 25, 2025 under the title 三日葬／サミルチャン (*Samiruchan*), distributed by Klockworx, with a Japanese DVD release scheduled for 2026.[10](https://klockworx.com/movies/devilsstay/) Rakuten Viki streams it with English, Spanish, and French subtitles under a PG-13 rating.[11](https://www.viki.com/movies/40961c-devils-stay?locale=ko)
## Reception
Cine21's expert score averaged 3.00 out of 5 from two critics, whose individual scores diverged: Park Pyeong-sik gave 4 and Lee Yong-cheol gave 2. The audience score on the site was 2.50.[2](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=55922) The Korea Times review called the film a tepid variation on the exorcism formula while crediting the three-day funeral setting as a distinctively Korean backdrop.[7](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/films/20241113/south-korean-movie-devils-stay-shows-tepid-exorcism-variation) A City on Fire review described it as a serviceable but average slice of exorcism horror.[3](https://cityonfire.com/devils-stay-2024-review-korean-film-expert-paul-bramhall-cinema-horror-scary-new-latest/) On Rakuten Viki it holds a user rating of 8.8.[11](https://www.viki.com/movies/40961c-devils-stay?locale=ko)
The film sits in the lineage of recent Korean occult horror that includes *The Priests* (2015), *The Wailing* (2016), and *Exhuma* (2024), the last of them also a Showbox release.[10](https://klockworx.com/movies/devilsstay/) • [9](https://sszeemedia.com/2024/10/21/showbox-reveals-trailer-for-new-horror-mystery-devils-stay/)
## References
1. [Devils Stay, KOBIZ (Korean Film Council)](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/mobile3/films/filmView.jsp?movieCd=20190353)
2. [사흘 (Devils Stay) 상세정보, Cine21](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=55922)
3. [Devils Stay (2024) Review, City on Fire](https://cityonfire.com/devils-stay-2024-review-korean-film-expert-paul-bramhall-cinema-horror-scary-new-latest/)
4. [三天 (사흘), KBS World](https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?board_seq=454335&id=&lang=c&menu_cate=moviedrama)
5. [Devils Stay (2024), KOBIZ English database with box office](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20190353)
6. [부성애가 압도하는 오컬트…영화 '사흘', Korean Journal Houston](https://kjhou.com/%EB%B6%80%EC%84%B1%EC%95%A0%EA%B0%80-%EC%95%95%EB%8F%84%ED%95%98%EB%8A%94-%EC%98%A4%EC%BB%AC%ED%8A%B8%EC%98%81%ED%99%94-%EC%82%AC%ED%9D%98/)
7. ['Devils Stay': Tepid exorcism variation, The Korea Times](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/films/20241113/south-korean-movie-devils-stay-shows-tepid-exorcism-variation)
8. [Park Shin-yang's Comeback, K-Occult movie "Devils stay", Trip Around Korea](https://www.triparoundkorea.com/whats-on/whats-on-k-drama-movie/park-shin-yangs-comeback-k-occult-movie-devils-stay/)
9. [Showbox reveals trailer for new horror mystery "Devils Stay", SSZee Media](https://sszeemedia.com/2024/10/21/showbox-reveals-trailer-for-new-horror-mystery-devils-stay/)
10. [三日葬／サミルチャン, Klockworx](https://klockworx.com/movies/devilsstay/)
11. [사흘, Rakuten Viki](https://www.viki.com/movies/40961c-devils-stay?locale=ko)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Horror films (individual works) › Religious and demonic horror films*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license