[6.00/10] Black Death (2010)

Black Death (2010)

Set during the time of the first outbreak of bubonic plague in England, "Black Death" tells the story of a young monk, tasked with learning the truth about reports of people being brought back to life, a mission that pulls him toward a village ruler who has made a dark pact with evil forces. Christopher Smith is the British director behind the underrated horror flicks "Creep" and "Triangle". His latest "Black Death" is beautifully-shot and cleverly-edited period horror, that relies more on visual storytelling, rather than on the quality of writing. The almost monochrome visuals of the movie and grim scenery of medieval England, create a dark atmosphere and feeling of dead, fear and mysticism. The characters of "Black Death" actually feel very realistic and quite complex. Eddie Redmayne gives an emotional and incredibly strong performance as the monk, Osmund. Sean Bean who turns a decent role as the enigmatic Ulrich. Dutch actress, Carice van Houten, delivers yet another good performances, this time as the beautiful, yet cruel witch Langiva. The gore and violence in this film is rare, but rather effective and the torture scene are brutal and very graphic. However, "Black Death" is neither thrilling or scary enough to call itself a horror film, neither very exciting in terms of action, so those looking for exciting big battles and cheap boo scares might be very disappointed. "Black Death" is a subtle, clever and nicely-shot medieval horror, filled with mystery, but completely lacking in chills and thrills.

• My Rating: 6.00/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 72% (6.3/10)
• IMDb: 7.3/10