ON THE SILVER SCREEN: "BLACK DEATH" A THRILLING WAY TO SPEND MIDNIGHT AT THE KEN CINEMA

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By Brian Lafferty

 

Black Death is playing only at midnight tonight at the Ken Cinema.

 

March 26, 2011 (San Diego) – Black Death is one of the fresher horror films I’ve seen in recent years. It has a structure loosely reminiscent of Psycho: I expected the movie to be about one thing but then the film unexpectedly switches gears halfway and becomes about something different. Both convey different types of horror (all of which is not your typical kind of horror) in their own respective ways.

 

The movie takes place in 1348 Medieval Europe. History buffs might note the significance of that date: it was around that time when the Black Plague began to spread through and devastate Europe. In the middle of it all is Osmund (Eddie Redmayne), a young novice monk. He accompanies a band of knights led by Ulric (Sean Bean) to investigate a remote village reported to have the ability to bring the dead back to life. When they get to the village, everything looks utopian but nothing is as it seems.

 

I expected the first three-quarters of the film to be the journey but to my surprise it was only half the film. The second half takes place in the idyllic, yet ultimately sinister village.

 

Like the less-than-hygienic time period, grunginess and grime saturates the image and the sets. The movie’s “diseased” look coupled with the constant sight of plague-ravaged corpses creates realistic horror. The wet and cold marshes through which the characters traverse make the journey harrowing.

 

Contrasting with the dark, gritty photography of the first half is the clean, ultra-white cinematography of the village. This look works on several levels: it makes the village believably utopian. At the same time it creates an ironic sense of foreboding. In the end it makes the seemingly good-natured people even more sinister than I imagined they would be.

 

Another surprise (and there are many in this movie) is the intelligent script by writer Dario Poloni. He injects a treatise of religion. Religion is a major theme of the movie and he doesn’t skimp on it. A lot of the discussions are thoughtful and intelligent. In the end, he and director Christopher Smith have something to say about it. What it is I will not reveal.

 

My only complaint about the movie, and it is a big one, pertains to the inconsistent camerawork. Much of the film is shot handheld. This hurts the film in several ways. The first is that it doesn’t add anything. For some films this method works but for some reason it’s out of place in this one. Secondly, there is a haphazardness to it. Some shots have it, some don’t. It becomes distracting when this inconsistency occurs within the same scene.

 

Fortunately for Black Death, everything else works on such large levels that I eventually forgot about it. The intelligent script, powerful performances (particularly by newcomer Carice van Houten as the supposed necromancer), and realistic horror combine to alleviate this problem. It is also for those reasons why it is worth spending Midnight at the Ken.

 

A Magnolia Pictures and Magnet Releasing release. Directed by Christopher Smith. Written by Dario Poloni. Cinematography by Sebastian Edschmid. Originall music by Christian Henson. With Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne, David Warner, and Carice van Houten. Rated R.

 


Brian can be reached at Brian@eastcountymagazine.org. You can follow him on Twitter: @BrianLaff.

 


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