Slashing The Seats

With Sean “Y’bloody bastards’ Bean in full knight’s regalia and ‘Severance’ man Christopher Smith in the directors chair, you’d be forgiven for expecting a ridiculously gory horror that doesn’t take it’s historical trappings too seriously. Rather than following in the thoroughly ridiculous footsteps of ‘Soloman Kane’ however, Smith seems to have taken a conscious decision to continue the expressive expansion he began in Triangle, resulting in a film that isn’t afraid to play the stupid seriously, and it’s all the better for it.

Bean is Ulric, a knight charged by the church with investigating a remote settlement which seems immune to the ravages of the eponymous plague. Suspecting necromancy, Bean leads a team of sadistic witchunters into a marshland community that’s held under the sway of villainous -sort-of – Pagan Sorceress Langiva ( a compelling and surprisingly weighty Denise Van Houten), dragging us along on a twisting trail that delves into religious intolerance, superstition and mob fear.

Bean is stony-faced throughout, the stoicism that first appeared in LOTR here ramped up as things take a turn into Wicker Man-esque weirdness.

While the film’s long gestation (It originally popped up around Frightfest time last year) means that some of the modern parallels it pokes at are slightly dated (Swine-flu in particular), but it manages to make a convincing and deftly handled argument about the nature of evil, pitting the herd instinct and superstition against the possibility of the supernatural with some very creepy results, while the decision to anchor the often gruesome action around young novice monk Osmund’s ( an affecting and naturalistic Eddie Redmayne) conflicted faith adds an effective human element to proceedings.

Ah yes – the aforementioned grue. Well, this coming from Smith means there’s certainly no shyness when it comes to chopped-off limbs and exploding bubos, but he also manages to utilise camera filters and floats wonderfully, adding a dream-like eeriness that will stick with you long after you’ve finished wincing over disgusting pustules – while his take on a crucifixion is one of the finest single-shot scenes since Goodfellas.

Overall this is violent and gory, but full of excellent, emotionally charged performances and a very British sense of the odd that’s been sorely lacking from horror for many a year. Not afraid to face weighty issues and wear it’s philosophy on it’s sleeve, Black Death is one of the finest horrors released this year and should summon it’s own hefty cult following in years to come.

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