Black Death
2011 Directed by Christopher Smith
Synopsis
In an age of darkness one man will face the ultimate battle against evil.
As the plague decimates medieval Europe, rumors circulate of a village immune from the plague. There is talk of a necromancer who leads the village and is able to raise the dead. A fearsome knight joined by a cohort of soldiers and a young monk are charged by the church to investigate. Their journey is filled with danger, but it's upon entering the village that their true horror begins.
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During the outbreak of bubonic plague in England a monk, accompanied by a ragtag group of knights and mercenaries, is tasked with discovering the truth about rumours of necromancy and bringing the dead back to life in a remote village.
This is by far the best film of the recent medieval mini-revival that we have seen in the last few years. That probably doesn't sound much of a compliment when the rest of the films have ranged from bad to woeful but this was surprisingly strong and pleasingly atmospheric. It helps that it has a strong cast of character actors as well as a consistent tone (many of the films in this 'genre' have lurched wildly in tone and ended…
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Very bleak and certainly not a pretty film to look at, but I really liked what is really just a simple road film. During the first major outbreak of the bubonic plague, Sean Bean is on a mission for the church to find a supposed necromancer and bring them to justice. He recruits a young monk to help navigate the rout, who ends up having his faith tested along the way.
It gets a bit too odd near the very end, but there is some great blood and guts and the mix of unusual characters is very cool. I'm probably making it sound more fun than it actually it, but heck, I really enjoyed it.
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First half = meh.
Second half = awesome. -
Half 70s folk horror, half obscure bloody German style Euro pudding of the 70s, this medieval chiller is a very interesting grimy and earthy watch and far more satisfying and assured than the director's previous effort; Severance.
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The Middle Ages have become a familiar setting for TV, with programmes such as Merlin proving popular, and so I came into this film concerned that it may feel too televisual. With a host of character actors more known for their TV work than anything else I grew increasingly worried that 'Black Death' would fall into this trap, but some interesting camerawork and an intriguing, unpredictable plot elevated this from feeling like a feature-length TV programme to something slightly more substantial.
Significantly, 'Black Death' is a primarily German creation. Shot entirely in Germany and with a mixture of English and German filmmakers involved in production, this film sees this period of history differently than most other depictions do.
The cast…
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In the midst of the bubonic plague stories are told about a village who seems to be untouched by the black death. Stories are being told that a necromancer rules that little village and is able to bring the death back to life.
A rag tag band of knights and fighters is charged to investigate the village and if possible to capture the necromancer and bring it to justice.This movie succeeds very well to bring to live the dirt and the superstitiousness of the people at that time who were clueless what caused the black death.
The first part of the movie focused on the living conditions as were common during that time combined with the sort of quest…
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Black Death is an example of one of those movies that could have done with a tad more money, although it's of little consequence to the film ultimately. Its budget frequently shows itself, though not in the expected ways. The camera has a distinctly video quality to it rather than film, and the lack of significant camera equipment is evident. Much of the camera work is infuriatingly hand-held. Dialogue scenes simply shouldn't be as jolty as some of them are here. That being said, production value is shocking. The weapons and armor of the medieval setting rarely look particularly cheap. Costumes are mostly solid enough to blend into the setting, and the village that half the film takes place in…
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In the midst of the bubonic plague stories are told about a village who seems to be untouched by the black death. Stories are being told that a necromancer rules that little village and is able to bring the death back to life.
A rag tag band of knights and fighters is charged to investigate the village and if possible to capture the necromancer and bring it to justice.This movie succeeds very well to bring to live the dirt and the superstitiousness of the people at that time who were clueless what caused the black death.
The first part of the movie focused on the living conditions as were common during that time combined with the sort of quest…
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While not the best story, definitely wins points for originality.
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Although my opinion of this film has changed little since I last saw it two weeks ago, I do now feel slightly harsh in giving it 3/5, as it was just as entertaining on a second viewing and the visual appeal was a lot more apparent. The shaky-cam distracted me a lot less, with some less traditionally used techniques being used to great success, particularly some fantastic fish-eye shots.
I really don't have anything else new to add, so read my original review here if you want to read more.
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This is a pretty good film. Great locations help the so-so narrative that keeps the action and the scary stuff moving along.
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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Clearly influenced by Witchfinder General, but sadly Sean Bean is no Vincent Price. The basic character setup is very good with Newman , Redmayne and an mute Aguirre looking guy.
Unfortunately, the story really loses it way and the traffic –lighted conclusion was disappointing. I still enjoyed it -
This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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The Middle Ages have become a familiar setting for TV, with programmes such as Merlin proving popular, and so I came into this film concerned that it may feel too televisual. With a host of character actors more known for their TV work than anything else I grew increasingly worried that 'Black Death' would fall into this trap, but some interesting camerawork and an intriguing, unpredictable plot elevated this from feeling like a feature-length TV programme to something slightly more substantial.
Significantly, 'Black Death' is a primarily German creation. Shot entirely in Germany and with a mixture of English and German filmmakers involved in production, this film sees this period of history differently than most other depictions do.
The cast…