copyright © Jedo Dre 2011

…...............I don’t get it.


The premise is simple. An inquisition group is headed for a village that has it a little too good during the plague because...wait no, you see, there is trouble in finishing that sentence. The motivation of the main group of protagonists is a bit vague beyond "we are going to kill the whole village because they have it better than others so they must be up to no good". There is a number of times during the film when it is not clear why a certain character says or does something, unless you see it as a tool that helps to explain the plot to the viewer, which, ladies and gentlemen, is lame Hollywood movie making. At other times, it is hard to tell why certain scenes play out at all. Why is so much emphasis put on whether or not a character renounces his faith? Why should someone care? Is it about a power struggle? Can someone please tell me what this movie is about, because after watching it I am still not sure? Wait, I have more questions. Are there good and bad guys here? If so, even at the end of the movie I was still rooting for the team that I think was marked as the baddies. Is black magic actually involved or does the movie leave that question open? After the credits rolled, I was left with a general sense of confusion and wonder.


The film does an effort not to be another conveyor product. The mood is grim and desaturated, with a lot of accent laid on individual acting, which by the way is quite good. The action and gore are rather limited (I saw somewhere that this is supposed to be a horror movie...ehm, a rather soft one if you ask me). Watching it is like reading a story written by someone from the 13th century. It is a nice change of pace from what we are usually fed without getting too ridiculous.


At the end of the day, however, the film is not particularly remarkable. Surprisingly little was done with the premise and credit should be given to the actors considering how much emotion they placed in such shallow waters.

Black Death