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BLACK DEATHDirector: Christopher SmithCast: Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne, Carice van HoutenRelease Year: 2010

I � rst became a fan of UK director Christopher Smith with his 2006 horror/comedy Severance, and a� er enjoying his subsequent � lm Triangle as well as his debut � lm Creep, I must say that this guy is one of horror’s best modern day directors. Sadly, I must also say that because of the lack of popularity of his � lms, he is also horror’s most underrated modern day director. When I learned of his newest � lm, Black Death, I was immediately intrigued by the � lm’s awesome plot, which I knew would come coupled with Smith’s great direction. Well, I can honestly say that the � lm’s awesome plot de� nitely delivers, and to no surprise Smith’s direction was great, and made this a very enjoyable watch in the end.

� e � lm takes place in 14th century England during the early days of infection result-ing from the bubonic plague. Sean Bean(� e Lord of the Rings trilogy, Silent Hill) stars as Ulric, a devout Catholic soldier sent on a mission from the high bishop to investigate a secluded colony of pagans who he believes are using black magic to keep the plague away as well as raise the dead. Ulric then enlists the help of a young monk, Osmund(Eddie Red-mayne), to guide them and alert them of whatever presence of evil is residing within the colony. When they arrive at the colony they are greeted by odd yet gracious hosts, but soon enough the true evil within the colony rises, and the soldiers and monk are forced to an ultimatum that they never saw coming. I normally try not to go into a � lm with high expectations, but I could not help expecting to enjoy this � lm, and I am glad that Black Death met my high expectations. England’s dark days of the bubonic plague have always interested me, so it was nice to see this huge historical element put into a horror � lm. I am also a fan of religious horror, especially involving Catholicism, so that was a nice by product thrown into the � lm that only further grasped my interest.

� e Wicker Man remains one of my favorite horror � lms of all time, so the idea of our protagonists going to a secluded island-esque colony of pagans was an awesome idea that made this plot one of the cooler ones I have seen in recent years. We get many awesome characters thrown in, especially Ulric and Osmund, which turns this � ick into a character � lm as much as it is a horror � lm. Because of this the experience does move slowly at times, but we are given great direction and awesome developments that keep you from losing interest in what is going on. I really loved to see just how devoted these men were to their cause, which is something that I can always admire regardless of what it is. In the case of

Black Death it is servitude to God, and this � lm was so well wri� en that it should appeal too all who respect good writing. To aid further enjoyment of the storyline is the fact that our protagonists are tempted in multiple fashions to leave their cause, with some of those scenarios guaranteeing certain death if they do not renounce their faith, and delivering some darn good con� ict as a result. We also get some well-wri� en antagonists as well, and they do a fantastic job of bringing some good tension on their behalf. Most lesser-� lms deliver some useless characters that provide nothing to the plot, but that never happens in this watch, and I commend writer Dario Poloni(Wilderness) for delivering a fantastic story and screenplay. At the climax of this � lm I asked myself “How the hell does Christopher Smith constantly deliver good � lms?”, and while I do not have a fully detailed answer I can at least tell you one big reason why he has accomplished so much in so li� le time…he is damn good at what he does. He has given us four � lms since 2004(Creep, Severance, Triangle, Black Death), and every one of them has not only delivered great horror but each has centered on a di� erent sub-genre of horror as well. As in each of his � lms he once again employs great sets and awesome camera work, and actually throws in a fair amount of action in this � ick in comparison to his other � lms. Most of the action comes in the form of some good medieval � ghting between the soldiers, looters, and pagans, and we also get a decent amount of gore thrown into the mix to add to the carnage. Smith’s execution of his actors is top-notch, and it plays very well coupled with the awesome dialogue wri� en by Dario Poloni. I mentioned earlier that the � lm does move a bit slow, but the great execution of both writing and direction kept me from ever losing interest in what was going on.

Speaking of great writing and direction, the third act of the � lm was highly engaging and was de� nitely the focal point of Black Death. We get nothing but downright awesomeness coming from great con� ict and tension, mixed in with some sweet kills and a satisfying bi� ersweet climax to one of England’s darkest chapters in its history.

Overall, Black Death is a solid and well executed � lm that delivers an awesome story with great direction. � e con� ict and tension are high, and the � lm moves gracefully thanks to good performances from all and fantastic execution of every element involved. I recommend this � lm to anyone looking for a unique horror � lm involving the bubonic plague, or to those of you who want to see what all my fuss over Christopher Smith is about.

Rating: 7/10

BLACK DEATH

John of The DeadFILM

Director – Christopher Smith

Cast – Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne, David Warner, Carice van Houten, Kimberly Nixon, DavidMasterson, Tim McInnerny, John Lynch, Johnny Harris, Andy Nyman, Emun Elliott, Tygo Gernandt

Release Year – 2010

www.johnofthedead.com

I first became a fan of UK director Christopher Smith with his 2006 horror/comedy Severance, andafter enjoying his subsequent film Triangle as well as his debut film Creep, I must say that this guy isone of horror’s best modern day directors. Sadly, I must also say that because of the lack of popularityof his films…he is also horror’s most underrated modern day director. When I learned of his newestfilm, Black Death, I was immediately intrigued by the film’s awesome plot, which I knew would comecoupled with Smith’s great direction. Well, I can honestly say that the film’s awesome plot definitelydelivers, and to no surprise Smith’s direction was great, and made this a very enjoyable watch in theend.

The film takes place in 14th century England during the early days of infection resulting from thebubonic plague. Sean Bean(The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Silent Hill) stars as Ulric, a devout Catholicsoldier sent on a mission from the high bishop to investigate a secluded colony of pagans who hebelieves are using black magic to keep the plague away as well as raise the dead. Ulric then enlists thehelp of a young monk, Osmund(Eddie Redmayne), to guide them and alert them of whatever presenceof evil is residing within the colony. When they arrive at the colony they are greeted by odd yetgracious hosts, but soon enough the true evil within the colony rises, and the soldiers and monk areforced to an ultimatum that they never saw coming.

www.johnofthedead.com