Review of Black Death (2010) by Skyler I — 12 Aug 2011

What I really liked about this film was how it presented a very interesting and complicated moral conundrum: Who will you side with? The films protagonists are a group of death dealing mercenaries on a mission from God.

The antagonists are a village full of hypocritcal devil worshipers who seek to destroy anyone who doesn't share their faith. These are two extremes, and it's very difficult to know how to feel when you're watching this film.

It doesn't go out of its way to make you feel comfortable, and that's something that I thought was very, very bold, and something to be admired. The acting, writing and pacing are all top notch, but the film does suffer a little bit when it suddenly gets very depressing and aggravating for about fifteen straight minutes.

I also wish that it had more of a real ending to it, because I thought that the credits rolled about five minutes too soon. However, Christopher Smith proves himself to be a competent director, and screenwriter Dario Poloni has crafted an intriguing story, but unfortunately there aren't many characters that are as interesting as the story.

Overall though, this was one of the better made plague stories that I've seen in recent years. If you're pressed to choose between this film and Season of the Witch, please, please, choose Black Death.

It's so much better in every single way.