Season of the Witch Should Sell Itself: Nicolas Cage in the Middle Ages
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Season of the Witch is another attempt to give the Black Plague a supernatural cause. Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman will save Europe!
Written by James “Crypticpsych” Lasome
August 23, 2011
Movie Trailer
Image Gallery
Release: January 7, 2011 (USA), June 28, 2011 (US DVD)
Directed by: Domenic Sena
Written by: Bragi F. Schut
Starring:
Nicolas Cage as Behmen
Ron Perlman as Felson
Stephen Campbell Moore as Debelzaq
Claire Foy as The Girl
Christopher Lee as Cardinal D’Ambroise
Once upon a time in 14th Century Europe a band of Catholic Crusaders went on a mission to find a cure for the plague ravaging the continent. Wait, I’m sorry, I’m plot synopsizing that other similarly plotted 2011 medieval plague release Black Death. I’ll start over.
Once upon a time in 14th Century Europe, two deserters from the Crusades, Behmen and Felson (Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman), are forced back into service for the Church. The Church seems to believe that a girl (Claire Foy) they have captured is a witch who has brought the plague upon them. The Cardinal (Christopher Lee) requests that the duo agree to bring her on a dangerous journey to a monastery called Severak where a band of monks will judge her guilt or innocence in an effort to stop the continuing sickness. The group heads out only to find that the journey will be far more difficult than they thought as their cargo doesn’t seem to want to go quietly.
To be fair, Season of the Witch is not the complete cinematic abomination that most critics seem to paint it as. It features a great performance from Claire Foy who manages to play both innocent and evil excellently as the movie intentionally plants seeds of doubt about her nature. Granted, she’s not exactly subtle, but still fun to watch. Also, the gore and grue that make up the plague’s effects are handled practically and are suitably grotesque and disgusting. Finally, it features some passable and entertaining action scenes in its beginning and end.
Unfortunately, Season of the Witch is deeply hurt by its
pacing, tone, and awkward performances from the other leads. In terms
of plot, the movie takes a third of its roughly 90 minute runtime to
start the quest. The action montage early on is fun, but it begins to
drag after our deserting duo is found. Once the quest starts, the movie
grinds to a 
slow, plodding pace. It’s stated
that the journey takes six
days, and it sure feels like it. There is some good atmosphere here as
the movie takes a turn for the more serious and creepy, but the action
scenes here just don’t seem to have enough impact. Finally, in its
final third, the movie drops a strange twist into the mix and kicks up
the action again. This time, though, the action involves a glut of CGI
that, while entertaining, doesn’t seem to fit the rest of the film. All
in all, Season of the Witch just feels like an inconsistent,
mediocre mess.
Season of the Witch also doesn’t feel “real” either. For comparison’s sake, Black Death’s setting and cinematography is natural and gritty, accurately conveying what one would think 14th Century Europe might look like. Season of the Witch, on the other hand, feels too slick and polished. For instance, the early battle montage seems entertaining and fun… but not very stylish or interesting. Similarly, the ending battle, while epic, is made to feel less organic by the tons of CGI. There are a few creepy highlights, like fog-filled Wormwood Forest and some of the night scenes, however while this was filmed in Austria, Hungary, and Croatia, it has an odd, almost big budget Syfy-channel movie feel that is unwelcome.
Besides Foy, the performances of the other two leads don’t help. While the rest of the group is passable to decent, Perlman and Cage slip up for very different reasons. Ron Perlman gives a good, hammy performance… that belongs in a different movie. He spouts continuous one-liners for much of the film that, while amusing, fall flat since just about everything and everyone else is serious. The only person who isn’t completely serious is Nicolas Cage. Unfortunately, with a few exceptions, this is not the “manic, crazy” Cage that is so entertaining for all the wrong reasons in other movies. No, this time we have wooden, mostly-serious Cage. This is not the kind of role Nicolas Cage is supposed to be cast in. There are a few quick glimpses of what might have made this movie a bit better, like some interactions with and about Felson or moments later on where he gets angrier and more erratic. However, mostly, he’s just dull… something that a good Nicolas Cage performance should NEVER be.
Overall, Season of the Witch is mildly entertaining action-horror fluff bogged down by inconsistency in pacing, tone, setting, and performances. It’s worth a rental to see Claire Foy’s role and some decent practical plague effects. However, if you want the total medieval plague horror package, Black Death will provide more enjoyment.
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