Every now and then a film comes out that is a lot more interesting than it first seems. Black Death is very much that type of film for me. What would seem to be an old fashioned medieval actioner turns out to be an intense and often disturbing look at faith and the position of the church. Throw in an accomplished cast along with a perfectly grim atmosphere and there is something truly gripping already. The plot is also one of the more interesting in recent times and as it goes along it continually asks question that draw a great deal of thought.
The story is set in 1348 during the peak of the Black Death that swept across England. It concerns a monk named Osmund who volunteers to guide the religious knight Ulric and his group of mercenaries to a village that is said to have been untouched by the pestilence. The set-up is really excellent, it already has you asking questions and wondering why this place has been left alone. By the time the group gets to the village it is pretty clear that all is not what it seems and the gradually building tension always keeps you on edge. I think in its purest terms that this is a really fascinating story and it's crafted with a smart balance of intensity and mystery.
As mentioned the cast is really good and all of the actors keep it nicely grounded. Eddie Redmayne as the young monk is superb in what is the standout performance. His pain and anguish at what is taking place pours through the screen, he uses facial expressions really well and at times that is how we guess what he feels. Sean Bean is excellent as usual as he gives Ulric a real sense of purpose and integrity. He slips into these parts with ease and his presence is always a powerful force.
John Lynch delivers a sympathetic and weary performance that really strikes a chord in such a vicious time. Andy Nyman who gets the funniest lines and Johnny Harris in a more brutal approach are both enjoyable. Carice van Houten was a little too strange, which let you know she had bad intentions, but she did a decent enough job. Tim McInnerny was very impressive in a role much more sinister than his usual work.
I think the films best aspect is the atmosphere that it create. There is a very bleak tone carried throughout which you would expect given the time period. The journey to the village is filled with an underlying intensity and there is a constant feeling of danger that the film manages to keep flowing terrifically. By the time we reach the village the tone becomes even more eerie and at times is very reminiscent of 'The Wicker Man' as others have mentioned. Shots of mist filled forests and creepy looking scarecrows quietly add more uneasiness to proceedings.
Black Death is a really well shot film as well. The atmosphere is made more effective thanks to some really great shots of landscapes and of areas ravaged by the plague. Christopher Smith clearly has a good eye for capturing images that stick with you and it's never clearer than the shots presented. The shaky cam might come out a little too much, especially in the fight scenes, but it doesn't distract too much and is actually used with reason unlike in many other films. The cinematography is truly brilliant throughout as the colours are muted which gives it a dirty look and make everything look a lot more unwelcoming.
The score by Christian Henson is quite low-key and very much play a background role. It is mainly used to craft some interesting dark sounds and when it does pop up it fits in effectively. The action sequences are very brutal and have plenty of gore without shying away. The main fight scene midway through that has all the mutilation and heads being lobbed off that an action fan could wish for. Surprisingly there isn't a great deal of violence throughout, but when it does appear it is all the more gritty and vicious.
The script is another positive. The majority of lines sound like something that would actually be said and not just something wrote because it sounds stylish. It is even more pleasing that the lines don't sound boring as a result, they are given plenty of weight. There are a lot of thought-provoking questions based around faith and God that add to this.
Any issues are mostly minor. I would have liked to have spent more time journeying to the village, mainly because the sense of dread was presented flawlessly and the building tension worked so well. We don't spend too much time on the supporting characters, but that can be forgiven as it's not really their film. Plus it was a little too obvious that something wasn't right with the villagers, a little more mystery added would have made things even better.
Black Death is a great example of don't judge a film by its cover. What we get is a very dark and very bleak story about how strong belief is. The story gripped from the get go and I would have gladly had the film go on longer if it wished to. Eddie Redmayne gives a standout performance, the support is solid, the action is accurately brutal and as said the ominous atmosphere created pushes things to another level. There's a really good balance of action, horror, thriller and mystery placed in here which gives it a nice bit of variation depending on what you enjoy the most. It's a shame that the film has gathered more attention because it offers a very interesting story with many interesting elements.
The story is set in 1348 during the peak of the Black Death that swept across England. It concerns a monk named Osmund who volunteers to guide the religious knight Ulric and his group of mercenaries to a village that is said to have been untouched by the pestilence. The set-up is really excellent, it already has you asking questions and wondering why this place has been left alone. By the time the group gets to the village it is pretty clear that all is not what it seems and the gradually building tension always keeps you on edge. I think in its purest terms that this is a really fascinating story and it's crafted with a smart balance of intensity and mystery.
As mentioned the cast is really good and all of the actors keep it nicely grounded. Eddie Redmayne as the young monk is superb in what is the standout performance. His pain and anguish at what is taking place pours through the screen, he uses facial expressions really well and at times that is how we guess what he feels. Sean Bean is excellent as usual as he gives Ulric a real sense of purpose and integrity. He slips into these parts with ease and his presence is always a powerful force.
John Lynch delivers a sympathetic and weary performance that really strikes a chord in such a vicious time. Andy Nyman who gets the funniest lines and Johnny Harris in a more brutal approach are both enjoyable. Carice van Houten was a little too strange, which let you know she had bad intentions, but she did a decent enough job. Tim McInnerny was very impressive in a role much more sinister than his usual work.
I think the films best aspect is the atmosphere that it create. There is a very bleak tone carried throughout which you would expect given the time period. The journey to the village is filled with an underlying intensity and there is a constant feeling of danger that the film manages to keep flowing terrifically. By the time we reach the village the tone becomes even more eerie and at times is very reminiscent of 'The Wicker Man' as others have mentioned. Shots of mist filled forests and creepy looking scarecrows quietly add more uneasiness to proceedings.
Black Death is a really well shot film as well. The atmosphere is made more effective thanks to some really great shots of landscapes and of areas ravaged by the plague. Christopher Smith clearly has a good eye for capturing images that stick with you and it's never clearer than the shots presented. The shaky cam might come out a little too much, especially in the fight scenes, but it doesn't distract too much and is actually used with reason unlike in many other films. The cinematography is truly brilliant throughout as the colours are muted which gives it a dirty look and make everything look a lot more unwelcoming.
The score by Christian Henson is quite low-key and very much play a background role. It is mainly used to craft some interesting dark sounds and when it does pop up it fits in effectively. The action sequences are very brutal and have plenty of gore without shying away. The main fight scene midway through that has all the mutilation and heads being lobbed off that an action fan could wish for. Surprisingly there isn't a great deal of violence throughout, but when it does appear it is all the more gritty and vicious.
The script is another positive. The majority of lines sound like something that would actually be said and not just something wrote because it sounds stylish. It is even more pleasing that the lines don't sound boring as a result, they are given plenty of weight. There are a lot of thought-provoking questions based around faith and God that add to this.
Any issues are mostly minor. I would have liked to have spent more time journeying to the village, mainly because the sense of dread was presented flawlessly and the building tension worked so well. We don't spend too much time on the supporting characters, but that can be forgiven as it's not really their film. Plus it was a little too obvious that something wasn't right with the villagers, a little more mystery added would have made things even better.
Black Death is a great example of don't judge a film by its cover. What we get is a very dark and very bleak story about how strong belief is. The story gripped from the get go and I would have gladly had the film go on longer if it wished to. Eddie Redmayne gives a standout performance, the support is solid, the action is accurately brutal and as said the ominous atmosphere created pushes things to another level. There's a really good balance of action, horror, thriller and mystery placed in here which gives it a nice bit of variation depending on what you enjoy the most. It's a shame that the film has gathered more attention because it offers a very interesting story with many interesting elements.