Black Death

Solomon Kane meets The Wicker Man. The film is a thoughtful look at militant faith, fanatical atheism, and man's ability to believe without limits in everything he cannot explain. Sometimes you can't do anything else, but everything has its limits. It’s all set in the dirty Middle Ages where fights with the fist and sword are commonplace, so we see plenty of limbs rolling around in the mud. It's not a horror film in the slightest, but it is thought-provokingly rich. 4 ½. (19/08/2010)

Evil spreads evil. Christopher Smith took a script with bigger balls than you’ll find in any anatomy book and delivered it to a director who has a reputation for not messing around. How do you rate a film whose only negatives can be chalked up to a budget apparently so low that half of it was swallowed up by poster-making? It is true that if the scenes had been split up among more locations (nearly twenty minutes of the second half take place in the same setting) one would not have that "meandering" feeling of a puzzle. Anyway, it's not Smith's fault, the directing is all an honor. He expertly fights against established principles, has ideas and timing (in particular, he knows exactly when to end dialogue and with it the scene for emphasis), and occasionally surprises with a distinctive directorial contribution – for example, the steadycam worn on the body of a character leading to an execution. Speaking of executions, the film certainly relishes violence, but it doesn't revel in it. Rather, it forms a backdrop for the poignancy of the entire period and holds the viewer's attention. There was a pleasantly surprising action scene (I kind of regretted that there weren't more of them) that finally explains what it means to be smacked in the face with a morning star, and I kind of regretted how long it's been since I've seen a proper swordfight in a movie (a LoTR marathon is probably around the corner). Definitely not to be missed. Make movies like this under the threshold of dependency so I don't have time to crave them. (31/10/2011)

So far, Christopher Smith had pleasantly surprised with each of his films (Creep, Severance, Triangle), so I was very much looking forward to Black Death, even if historical horror is not quite my cup of tea. I thought that Smith would conjure a properly dark atmosphere, demonic witches, filthy peasants killed by the plague, a couple of nice scenes in a swamp and a deep forest, and that I would be satisfied. Unfortunately, I’m not. Black Death is a very intimate film shot in a documentary style, which isn’t the most fortunate choice for the theme. Horror set in the middle ages should have slow camera movements, dark filters and weak lightning with candles, and not a frantic cameraman in action mostly in daylight. Moreover, the story is tragically empty, the first half wasn’t fun at all, the second half was a little better, but nothing to write home about. There are about two scenes where the film shows its true potential; unfortunately, it failed to exploit it. Edit after a rewatch due to several reviews that convinced me that I must have missed some sign of “genius”. The result? The mild dissatisfaction remains, but I’m no longer disappointed (i.e. I’m adding one star). The “intellectual message” (yeah, I’m being a little snarky) is nice, but also very plain. I think this is one of those films where the debates around it are more interesting than the film itself. Anyone who wants to love Black Death will love it, anyone who wants to find something groundbreaking in it, will find it, but by their own fault, rather. I still have the impression of a documentary about a LARP game (intentional, to be fair). (04/08/2010)

Creatively distinctive, atypical and exceptionally dark, with its grey tones and unflagging mysterious mood, it strongly evokes Annaud's classic The Name of the Rose. Except Sean Bean and co. swing their swords a bit more and now and then someone loses an arm, a leg or a head. It’s not a wild bestial ride, or horror, it oscillates interestingly in its (anti)religious themes, because each of the main characters expresses a point of view and at the same time all of them are essentially negative. This is a purely individualistic and thematically quite proficient film about Christianity and paganism, where it is impossible to clearly define the winner and the right path. With a more renowned director it might have been even bigger and more impressive, but those ambitions were clearly absent , this was supposed to be a small, intimate film. And it's pretty clear where the casting directors drew inspiration for GoT, Carice van Houten is amazing and Bean, well, he’s as good as always. (10/07/2017)

The atmosphere of those hard and uncompromising times is brilliantly captured and there are moments when the tension can be cut. Sean Bean, as always, is excellent and very convincing in his role, as are the other actors, although most of them have the unquestionable advantage of a completely unusual character who happens to be brandishing a sword. The plot is good, the execution is very rough and raw, relying heavily on the terrifying landscape. Films with a religious premise like this are often a dud, but here the filmmakers handled the story strongly and engagingly enough, so I forgive the few mistakes in the script and stick to praise. (01/09/2011)