Review of A Field in England (2013) by Johannes J — 22 Jan 2015

I loved this film - three deserters from a battle in the English civil war escape across a field and are taken prisoner by a nobleman attempting to find treasure by divination. It's funny (there's some comedy pedigree in the small cast), grisly, and disturbing, and had me completely absorbed until the credits.

The film is frequently reminiscent of The Seventh Seal, with characters wandering a familiar yet sinister landscape and a pervading sense of doom. It also owes much to classic British horror cinema like Witchfinder General and The Devils.

There are some genuinely unsettling sequences, and what's going on is never spelled out. The ending is mysterious but feels inevitable, leaving you wondering if the field is somewhere other than England entirely, a darker place from which there is no return.