Mania Grade: C+
3 Comments | Add
Rate & Share:
Related Links:
Info:
- Blu-ray: Black Death
- Rating: R
- Starring: Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne, Carice Van Houten
- Written By: Dario Poloni
- Directed By: Christopher Smith
- Distributor: Magnet Pictures
- Original Year of Release: 2011
- Extras: See Below
- Series:
Black Death Blu-Ray Review
Uneven but atmospheric historical horror By
Tim Janson
May 25, 2011
Sean Bean in Black Death(2011).
© Magnet Pictures
Black Death is a medieval horror/thriller set against the horrific time of the Black Plague in 1348 England. Ulric (Sean Bean) a knight and envoy of a bishop arrives at a monastery with a band of mercenaries. He’s seeking a guide to lead his party to a mysterious village in the remote marshes that has escaped the plague. The village is rumored to be home to a necromancer who can bring the dead to life. A young monk named Osmun (Eddie Redmayne) is selected to guide the mercenaries to the village.
Ulric’s band is a mixed bag of pious warriors and cut-throat assassins creating an interesting dynamic, especially for Osmun who accepted the mission with his own secret goals in mind. The group traverses harsh lands and attacks by bandits to finally locate the village, hidden deep in a treacherous marsh. The people eye the mercenaries with caution, obviously unused to strangers until the men are welcomed by Hob, the village spokesman.
It’s quickly apparent that this is no simple village. The small church has obviously not been used in many years and Ulric believes the entire village may be under the spell of the necromancer. He instructs his men to be on guard so they can try to discover the identity of the evil magician. Meanwhile, the beautiful village healer Langiva begins to show interest in the young monk after she treats a wound he received in battle. What connection does she have to the necromancer?
I don’t think that we who live in modern times could ever comprehend the horror of living through the Black Plague. Today they shut down entire schools if someone has the swine flu. Imagine a disease that virtually wiped out half of Europe . Half your family and friends would be gone. The streets would be choked with corpses and it had to seem to those like God had passed judgment and the end of the world was coming. We see this horror early on in the film. Bodies dragged out of homes and dumped into streets to be collected. We witness the paranoia of the monks as they imprison one of their own for a common cough for fear he has the plague. This imagery and palpable sense of dread are the strongest aspects of Black Death.
Sadly this aspect is touched on only in passing. Director Christopher Smith soon has the mercenaries charging off in search of the village and battling against bandits in the wilderness. The action sequences seemed placed only to give the film some meat between leaving the monastery and arriving at the village in the marsh. While the cast of mercenaries is colorful they are never fleshed out beyond typical stereotypes. Why would a knight like Ulric take on the company of assassins and torturers for such a “holy” mission?
The only character who gets any definition is Osmun. Redmayne (who you will recognize from Pillars of the Earth) does a splendid job of portraying a young monk torn between his duty to God and to his secret love to a woman. He is the lynchpin that holds the film together. Sean Bean is always fun to watch, even if he is largely channeling his Boromir character from Lord of the Rings, but even he is little more than a cardboard cutout. David Warner has a bit role as the Abbot in charge of the monastery.
Smith seemed confused over which direction to take the film. It begins as a horror film with supernatural hints, and then turns to straight action to keep your attention, then finishes as a treatise on religious faith. It’s an uneven mix that makes for an uneven film. Grade C
Blu-Ray Extras
Bringing Black Death to Life (11:00) – Mainly an interview with Christopher Smith and some of the cast members discussing their work in the film and heaping praise on Sean Bean with whom they all enjoyed working.
Deleted Scenes – Four short scenes, none of which provides any additional insight to the film so we were missing nothing with them being cut out
Interviews with Cast and Crew (30:00) – This is a collection of some two dozen very short interview clips with the Director, producers, and several cast members. Some of these are less than a minute in length but it does have a “play all” feature
Behind-the-Scenes Footage (10:30) – The behind-the-scenes footage gives you a chance to see the actors having fun and rehearsing the roles and fight sequences but it features no narration so its somewhat slow.
Theatrical Trailer
LOGIN
REGISTER
RSS
HOME
I just watched this a week ago. I'd definitely give it a B -. Not as much action as I anticipated, but it did have some interesting twists. Some of the scenes dragged on a bit and you would think the seasoned mercenaries would be a bit smarter. However, overall, I found it quite enjoyable.