Black Death (film)
Encyclopedia
Black Death is a 2010 historical horror
action
film directed by Christopher Smith
from an original screenplay by Dario Poloni. It stars Sean Bean
, Eddie Redmayne
and Carice van Houten.
England. Osmund (Eddie Redmayne
), a young monk
, has unbeknownst to his brothers fallen in love with Averill (Kimberley Nixon
), a young girl who took sanctuary in the monastery. After the plague befalls his monastery, he believes it is no longer safe and sends her home to the forest. She asks him to join her but he declines on account of his vows, after which she tells him she will wait for him at the edge of the forest by a marker for one week. Soon after, Osmund prays that God will give him a sign, as he wishes to leave to join her. As he is doing so, a group of soldiers enters the Church looking for a guide to a village not far from where Osmund's love Averill was to wait for him. Osmund takes this as a sign and volunteers to lead the knight Ulric (Sean Bean
) and a group of soldiers to a remote marshland village which has remained untouched by the Black Death
. Their quest is to hunt down a necromancer, who is rumoured to be able to bring the dead back to life. Ulric's group consists of the experienced leader Wolfstan (John Lynch
), Wolfstan's longtime friend Griff (Jamie Ballard), torturer Dalywag (Andy Nyman
), the fearless Mold (Johnny Harris
), the mute Ivo (Tygo Gernandt
), and the charismatic Swire (Emun Elliott
).
The journey is beset with harrowing pitfalls, as Griff is killed by Wolfstan after revealing he has been stricken with the plague and Ivo is slain in a battle with bandits. Upon reaching the marshes, Osmund only finds bloodied clothing and believes Averill to be dead. Ulric's envoy finds the village, an eerie utopia led by Hob (Tim McInnerny
) and Langiva (Carice van Houten). Not knowing who is the necromancer, Ulric tells the townsfolk he and his soldiers are simply seeking a place to rest. Seeing the church falling into disrepair from lack of use, Ulric is suspicious, but nonetheless accepts an invitation for he and his soldiers to come to dinner. Before dinner, Langiva shows Osmund Averill's body and tells him the villagers found it in the forest. Averill is pale with a wound to her head and appears to have died several days ago. During the dinner, Osmund is lured away by Langiva into the marshes, where he sees her perform a pagan ritual and Averill is brought back to life. Back at the dinner, Ulric and his men begin fading into sleep as they realize their drinks have been drugged.
Ulric's band and Osmund awake bound and caged in a water-filled pit. Langiva and Hob offer freedom for those who renounce God. None do so and all boldly vie for who will be executed first. Dalywag is led out to an X-shaped cross and crucified, then disemboweled by Hob. Upon seeing this, Swire offers to renounce God and verbally does so at Hob's prompting, after which he is taken away, hooded with a bag and hanged. Langiva then frees Osmund and directs him to the hut where the resurrected Averill resides. Inside, Osmund sees his beloved Averill incoherent and stumbling, apparently mentally traumatized. Seeing what has become of her as an abomination, Osmund tearfully apologises to her and tells her he will see her again in Purgatory. He then plunges a dagger into her and watches her die. Osmund then returns to the cage and lays down the body of Averill. He attacks Langiva by slicing her across her cheek but is struck down and subdued.
Reinvigorated, Ulric goads and jeers her that not one of his men will turn from God. In anger, Langiva has Ulric tied between two horses to be dismembered
unless he renounces God. As the horses strain his limbs, Ulric asks to speak to Osmund and reveals that he is sick with the disease, and thus will deliver the plague to these villagers. In the commotion, Langiva does not notice that the knife Osmund slashed her with had landed near the cage when he was struck down. Riveted by the spectacle of Ulric finally being torn into pieces, the villagers are caught unaware as Wolfstan and Mold cut their ropes, escape the cage, and mercilessly cut down all the villagers in revenge for the brutal murder of Ulric and their comrades. During the fight, Mold is killed by Hob, who is subsequently incapacitated by Wolfstan and placed in the device intended for transporting the necromancer.
Osmund notices Langiva retreating to the swamp, so he grabs a short sword and follows her into the fog of the marsh. There, she claims to Osmund in an omnipresent voice that Averill had not been dead, but that the villagers had found her and Langiva had drugged her to appear dead, then put on the pagan ritual to "raise" her from the dead to convince Osmund of her power. She reveals that she uses this illusion to retain leadership of the village. Osmund returns to the village and Langiva skulks away into the marshes, leaving the viewer unsure whether Langiva was a witch and if her last speech to Osmund was another attempt to make him forsake God. Osmund is then brought home to the monastery by Wolfstan, with Hob to be delivered to the Bishop.
In the aftermath, what was left of the villagers are ravaged by the plague; the "witch" had not protected the village, rather, the plague had not yet reached the village due to its remoteness. Wolfstan notes there have been rumors that Osmund became a soldier for God and set about hunting down, torturing, and burning women accused of being witches, in a quest to bring Langiva to justice and assuage his guilt. It is not known whether he ever found the true Langiva again or whether he simply sees Langiva in the faces of the women he executes.
and Robert Bernstein
at London's Ecosse Films
,
with Phil Robertson of Zephyr Films acting as physical producer. A UK-German co-production, the film was financed solely out of Germany
, with Jens Meurer of Egoli Tossell Films acting as German co-producer.
The film was originally due to be directed by Geoffrey Sax
, with Rupert Friend
and Lena Headey
attached to star. Famke Janssen
was later considered for Headey's role.
The film was shot in the German federal state
of Saxony-Anhalt
at Palace Blankenburg in the city of Blankenburg
and Castle Querfurt in Querfurt
and Zehdenick
, Brandenburg
in the first half of 2009. Van Houten's first day on set was 14 May 2009. Technical elements included production design
by John Frankish, a spartan score by composer Christian Henson, and desaturated lensing by director of photography Sebastian Edschmid.
Christopher Smith's work in the horror genre includes 2009's Triangle
, Severance
for Magnolia Pictures
, and Creep
for Lionsgate
.
He explained his approach to the film:
rates the movie Fresh with 73% positive reviews, from a total of 48.
In an advance review, Leslie Felperin of Variety
wrote: "A savvy, stylish horror-actioner that's more than the sum of its genre parts, Black Death manages to deliver enough suspense and bloodletting to appease gore fans... Use of grainy stock and a preference for special effects rather than visual or CGI effects gives it a pleasingly retro feel, as does its willingness to explore uncomfortable moral ambiguities. Tech credits create a strong, fetid atmosphere on what looks like a low budget. German locations in Saxony look appropriately beautiful, sinister and ancient all at the same time."
Alan Jones from Film4
's FrightFest concluded: "Some may find the climax rather disconcerting as Smith pulls the rug from under one’s feet. However, the greater percentage will thrill to the way the eerie and puzzling intensity builds up a compelling head of scream as the stark brand of Witchfinder General shock value rears its head in the most startling of codas. This intelligent original represents a commendable break from the genre norm and is one of the most powerful films made about God, the godless and what the Devil truly represents."
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
action
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
film directed by Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith (director)
Christopher Smith, is a British film director and screenwriter.- Career :His four most prominent pieces of work are Creep, Severance, Triangle and Black Death. Smith was last working on a movie based about the UK children's book series CHERUB...
from an original screenplay by Dario Poloni. It stars Sean Bean
Sean Bean
Shaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...
, Eddie Redmayne
Eddie Redmayne
Edward John David "Eddie" Redmayne is an English actor and model. Redmayne won the 2010 Tony Award as best featured actor in a play for his performance in Red.-Early life:...
and Carice van Houten.
Plot
The film takes place in 1348 in plague-ridden medievalMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
England. Osmund (Eddie Redmayne
Eddie Redmayne
Edward John David "Eddie" Redmayne is an English actor and model. Redmayne won the 2010 Tony Award as best featured actor in a play for his performance in Red.-Early life:...
), a young monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
, has unbeknownst to his brothers fallen in love with Averill (Kimberley Nixon
Kimberley Nixon
Kimberley Nixon is a Welsh actress.-Early and personal life:Born in Bristol, Nixon and her six brothers were brought up in Pontypridd, Wales, where she attended Coedylan Comprehensive School, now known as Pontypridd High School.In October 2011 Nixon was announced by Wales Online as number one in...
), a young girl who took sanctuary in the monastery. After the plague befalls his monastery, he believes it is no longer safe and sends her home to the forest. She asks him to join her but he declines on account of his vows, after which she tells him she will wait for him at the edge of the forest by a marker for one week. Soon after, Osmund prays that God will give him a sign, as he wishes to leave to join her. As he is doing so, a group of soldiers enters the Church looking for a guide to a village not far from where Osmund's love Averill was to wait for him. Osmund takes this as a sign and volunteers to lead the knight Ulric (Sean Bean
Sean Bean
Shaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...
) and a group of soldiers to a remote marshland village which has remained untouched by the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
. Their quest is to hunt down a necromancer, who is rumoured to be able to bring the dead back to life. Ulric's group consists of the experienced leader Wolfstan (John Lynch
John Lynch (actor)
John Lynch is an Irish actor from Northern Ireland.-Biography:John Lynch was born in the United Kingdom and moved to his father's native home in Corrinshego, County Armagh, near Newry, County Down in Northern Ireland as a child. He attended St Colman's College, Newry, a Catholic school...
), Wolfstan's longtime friend Griff (Jamie Ballard), torturer Dalywag (Andy Nyman
Andy Nyman
Andy Nyman is an English actor and magician.Nyman first came to note with his performance as a hard nosed director in Musical! and then as Keith Whitehead in the cult film of the Martin Amis novel, Dead Babies...
), the fearless Mold (Johnny Harris
Johnny Harris (actor)
Johnny Harris is an English actor.Harris was born in Lambeth, London. He left school with no qualifications. He won the Junior ABA National Boxing title aged 16, and lived in Paris, France between the ages of 17 and 20 before returning to London and embarking on an acting career.Upon completion of...
), the mute Ivo (Tygo Gernandt
Tygo Gernandt
Tygo Gernandt is a Dutch television, film and voice actor. He has played in several Dutch movies, among them Van God Los, Eilandgasten, Schnitzelparadijs and De Dominee...
), and the charismatic Swire (Emun Elliott
Emun Elliott
Emun Elliott is a Scottish actor, known for portraying Dr Christian King in Paradox.-Background:Brought up in Portobello, Edinburgh, Elliott attended George Heriot's School before beginning a degree in English Literature and French at the University of Aberdeen...
).
The journey is beset with harrowing pitfalls, as Griff is killed by Wolfstan after revealing he has been stricken with the plague and Ivo is slain in a battle with bandits. Upon reaching the marshes, Osmund only finds bloodied clothing and believes Averill to be dead. Ulric's envoy finds the village, an eerie utopia led by Hob (Tim McInnerny
Tim McInnerny
Tim McInnerny is an English actor. He is known for his role as Percy in Blackadder and Blackadder II, and as Captain Darling in Blackadder Goes Forth...
) and Langiva (Carice van Houten). Not knowing who is the necromancer, Ulric tells the townsfolk he and his soldiers are simply seeking a place to rest. Seeing the church falling into disrepair from lack of use, Ulric is suspicious, but nonetheless accepts an invitation for he and his soldiers to come to dinner. Before dinner, Langiva shows Osmund Averill's body and tells him the villagers found it in the forest. Averill is pale with a wound to her head and appears to have died several days ago. During the dinner, Osmund is lured away by Langiva into the marshes, where he sees her perform a pagan ritual and Averill is brought back to life. Back at the dinner, Ulric and his men begin fading into sleep as they realize their drinks have been drugged.
Ulric's band and Osmund awake bound and caged in a water-filled pit. Langiva and Hob offer freedom for those who renounce God. None do so and all boldly vie for who will be executed first. Dalywag is led out to an X-shaped cross and crucified, then disemboweled by Hob. Upon seeing this, Swire offers to renounce God and verbally does so at Hob's prompting, after which he is taken away, hooded with a bag and hanged. Langiva then frees Osmund and directs him to the hut where the resurrected Averill resides. Inside, Osmund sees his beloved Averill incoherent and stumbling, apparently mentally traumatized. Seeing what has become of her as an abomination, Osmund tearfully apologises to her and tells her he will see her again in Purgatory. He then plunges a dagger into her and watches her die. Osmund then returns to the cage and lays down the body of Averill. He attacks Langiva by slicing her across her cheek but is struck down and subdued.
Reinvigorated, Ulric goads and jeers her that not one of his men will turn from God. In anger, Langiva has Ulric tied between two horses to be dismembered
Dismemberment
Dismemberment is the act of cutting, tearing, pulling, wrenching or otherwise removing, the limbs of a living thing. It may be practiced upon human beings as a form of capital punishment, as a result of a traumatic accident, or in connection with murder, suicide, or cannibalism...
unless he renounces God. As the horses strain his limbs, Ulric asks to speak to Osmund and reveals that he is sick with the disease, and thus will deliver the plague to these villagers. In the commotion, Langiva does not notice that the knife Osmund slashed her with had landed near the cage when he was struck down. Riveted by the spectacle of Ulric finally being torn into pieces, the villagers are caught unaware as Wolfstan and Mold cut their ropes, escape the cage, and mercilessly cut down all the villagers in revenge for the brutal murder of Ulric and their comrades. During the fight, Mold is killed by Hob, who is subsequently incapacitated by Wolfstan and placed in the device intended for transporting the necromancer.
Osmund notices Langiva retreating to the swamp, so he grabs a short sword and follows her into the fog of the marsh. There, she claims to Osmund in an omnipresent voice that Averill had not been dead, but that the villagers had found her and Langiva had drugged her to appear dead, then put on the pagan ritual to "raise" her from the dead to convince Osmund of her power. She reveals that she uses this illusion to retain leadership of the village. Osmund returns to the village and Langiva skulks away into the marshes, leaving the viewer unsure whether Langiva was a witch and if her last speech to Osmund was another attempt to make him forsake God. Osmund is then brought home to the monastery by Wolfstan, with Hob to be delivered to the Bishop.
In the aftermath, what was left of the villagers are ravaged by the plague; the "witch" had not protected the village, rather, the plague had not yet reached the village due to its remoteness. Wolfstan notes there have been rumors that Osmund became a soldier for God and set about hunting down, torturing, and burning women accused of being witches, in a quest to bring Langiva to justice and assuage his guilt. It is not known whether he ever found the true Langiva again or whether he simply sees Langiva in the faces of the women he executes.
Cast
- Sean BeanSean BeanShaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...
as Ulric - Eddie RedmayneEddie RedmayneEdward John David "Eddie" Redmayne is an English actor and model. Redmayne won the 2010 Tony Award as best featured actor in a play for his performance in Red.-Early life:...
as Osmund - Carice van Houten as Langiva
- John LynchJohn Lynch (actor)John Lynch is an Irish actor from Northern Ireland.-Biography:John Lynch was born in the United Kingdom and moved to his father's native home in Corrinshego, County Armagh, near Newry, County Down in Northern Ireland as a child. He attended St Colman's College, Newry, a Catholic school...
as Wolfstan - Tim McInnernyTim McInnernyTim McInnerny is an English actor. He is known for his role as Percy in Blackadder and Blackadder II, and as Captain Darling in Blackadder Goes Forth...
as Hob - Kimberley NixonKimberley NixonKimberley Nixon is a Welsh actress.-Early and personal life:Born in Bristol, Nixon and her six brothers were brought up in Pontypridd, Wales, where she attended Coedylan Comprehensive School, now known as Pontypridd High School.In October 2011 Nixon was announced by Wales Online as number one in...
as Averill - Andy NymanAndy NymanAndy Nyman is an English actor and magician.Nyman first came to note with his performance as a hard nosed director in Musical! and then as Keith Whitehead in the cult film of the Martin Amis novel, Dead Babies...
as Dalywag - David WarnerDavid Warner (actor)David Warner is an English actor who is known for playing both romantic leads and sinister or villainous characters, both in film and animation...
as The Abbot - Johnny HarrisJohnny Harris (actor)Johnny Harris is an English actor.Harris was born in Lambeth, London. He left school with no qualifications. He won the Junior ABA National Boxing title aged 16, and lived in Paris, France between the ages of 17 and 20 before returning to London and embarking on an acting career.Upon completion of...
as Mold - Emun ElliottEmun ElliottEmun Elliott is a Scottish actor, known for portraying Dr Christian King in Paradox.-Background:Brought up in Portobello, Edinburgh, Elliott attended George Heriot's School before beginning a degree in English Literature and French at the University of Aberdeen...
as Squire - Tygo GernandtTygo GernandtTygo Gernandt is a Dutch television, film and voice actor. He has played in several Dutch movies, among them Van God Los, Eilandgasten, Schnitzelparadijs and De Dominee...
as Ivo - Jamie Ballard as Griff
- Daniel SteinerDaniel SteinerDaniel Steiner is an Austrian actor and film director.- Biography :In the 90s Daniel Steiner visited the University of Leeds, where he finished his Broadcasting study with a Bachelor's degree...
as Monk - Nike Martens as Elena
Production
Black Death was developed and produced by Douglas RaeDouglas Rae
Douglas Rae is a Scottish businessman. At present he is chairman of the Golden Casket confectionery corporation , as well as chairman of Greenock Morton.-References:...
and Robert Bernstein
Robert Bernstein
Robert Bernstein , sometimes credited as R. Berns, was an American comic book writer. He is best known for his work superhero work on DC Comics' Superman, and in establishing the origin and most of the mythos of Aquaman....
at London's Ecosse Films
Ecosse Films
Ecosse Films is a British film and television production company based in London. Ecosse Films is a multi award-winning company, specialising in high-quality drama for film and television, producing 11 films and over 300 hours of network television for BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Showtime, Starz Channel...
,
with Phil Robertson of Zephyr Films acting as physical producer. A UK-German co-production, the film was financed solely out of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, with Jens Meurer of Egoli Tossell Films acting as German co-producer.
The film was originally due to be directed by Geoffrey Sax
Geoffrey Sax
Geoffrey Sax is a British film and television director, who has worked on a variety of critically acclaimed and popular drama productions in both the UK and the United States....
, with Rupert Friend
Rupert Friend
Rupert Friend is an English film actor, who is best known for his roles as Mr. Wickham in the 2005 film Pride and Prejudice, Lieutenant Kurt Kotler in the 2008 film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and Prince Albert in the 2009 film The Young Victoria.-Career:He made his debut in the film The...
and Lena Headey
Lena Headey
Lena Headey is an English actress. Headey's performance in a one-off show when she was 17 caught the attention of a casting agent, who took a photo and asked her to audition and eventually she got a supporting role alongside Jeremy Irons and Ethan Hawke in the 1992 British drama film Waterland and...
attached to star. Famke Janssen
Famke Janssen
Famke Beumer Janssen is a Dutch actress and former fashion model. She is known for playing the villainous Bond girl Xenia Onatopp in GoldenEye and Jean Grey/Phoenix in the X-Men film series .- Early life and education :...
was later considered for Headey's role.
The film was shot in the German federal state
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...
at Palace Blankenburg in the city of Blankenburg
Blankenburg
Blankenburg may refer to:* Blankenburg am Harz, a German town in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt* Blankenburg Castle , the castle in Blankenburg am Harz * Bad Blankenburg, a German town in the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district of Thuringia...
and Castle Querfurt in Querfurt
Querfurt
Querfurt a town in Saalekreis district in the south of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, situated in a fertile area on the Querne, west from Merseburg, on a branch line from Oberroblingen. Pop. 12,935 .-History:...
and Zehdenick
Zehdenick
Zehdenick is a town in the Oberhavel district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the river Havel, 26 km southeast of Fürstenberg/Havel, and 51 km north of Berlin .-Subdivision:Zehdenick includes the following villages:...
, Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
in the first half of 2009. Van Houten's first day on set was 14 May 2009. Technical elements included production design
Production designer
In film and television, a production designer is the person responsible for the overall look of a filmed event such as films, TV programs, music videos or adverts. Production designers have one of the key creative roles in the creation of motion pictures and television. Working directly with the...
by John Frankish, a spartan score by composer Christian Henson, and desaturated lensing by director of photography Sebastian Edschmid.
Christopher Smith's work in the horror genre includes 2009's Triangle
Triangle (2009 film)
Triangle is a 2009 British-Australian psychological horror film, directed by Christopher Smith, and starring Melissa George, Rachael Carpani and Liam Hemsworth. It is set in the Bermuda Triangle. The film was released in the UK on 16 October 2009....
, Severance
Severance (film)
Severance is a British comedy horror film, written by James Moran, directed by Christopher Smith, and starring Danny Dyer and Laura Harris. In 2009, media interest in the film was revived following the alleged copycat murder of a UK teenager.-Plot:...
for Magnolia Pictures
Magnolia Pictures
Magnolia Pictures is an American film distributor, and is a holding of 2929 Entertainment, owned by Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban. Magnolia was formed in 2001 by Bill Banowsky and Eamonn Bowles, and specializes in both foreign and independent films....
, and Creep
Creep (film)
Creep is a 2004 British horror film about a woman locked in overnight on the London Underground who finds herself being stalked by a hideously deformed killer living in the sewers below...
for Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is a North American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California...
.
He explained his approach to the film:
Reception
Review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
rates the movie Fresh with 73% positive reviews, from a total of 48.
In an advance review, Leslie Felperin of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
wrote: "A savvy, stylish horror-actioner that's more than the sum of its genre parts, Black Death manages to deliver enough suspense and bloodletting to appease gore fans... Use of grainy stock and a preference for special effects rather than visual or CGI effects gives it a pleasingly retro feel, as does its willingness to explore uncomfortable moral ambiguities. Tech credits create a strong, fetid atmosphere on what looks like a low budget. German locations in Saxony look appropriately beautiful, sinister and ancient all at the same time."
Alan Jones from Film4
Film4
Film4 is a free digital television channel available in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, owned and operated by Channel 4, that screens films.-Programming:...
's FrightFest concluded: "Some may find the climax rather disconcerting as Smith pulls the rug from under one’s feet. However, the greater percentage will thrill to the way the eerie and puzzling intensity builds up a compelling head of scream as the stark brand of Witchfinder General shock value rears its head in the most startling of codas. This intelligent original represents a commendable break from the genre norm and is one of the most powerful films made about God, the godless and what the Devil truly represents."