Season of the Witch

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

This film never got a theatrical release in Perth, I can't vouch for the rest of Australia, but Perth usually draws the short straw in regards to limited releasing. It's a shame because I would have totally seen this at theatre AND enjoyed it. Alas, straight to DVD.

This film harkens back to those classic Roger Corman Hammer horror films starring Vincent Price or Christopher Lee. Hell, Christopher Lee even makes a cameo in this one. It's a very fun medieval men on a mission quest, that has some really great images and sequences for such a modest budget.

The opening of the film is probably my favourite part. It sets the tone well, with the hanging of 3 women accused of witchcraft. After that we are introduced to Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman battling it up in the Crusades. It's actually rather hilarious how that's done, it's a montages of a whole bunch of different battles and by the last one they have long hair and beards. This is some of the area the effects don't hold up so well, but creating 6 large scale battle sequences with thousands of digital men can't be that simple, and it's good enough to go along with. Besides it's just the set up for the characters, the real story doesn't begin until after they leave.

A few other times the small budget shows through, but for the most part the effects are impressive and the film works. What doesn't really work is Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman, as cool as they are, speaking in an idiosyncratic American accent. They appear to be using their natural accents and it's more than a little odd given the context. Robert Sheehan, who is so great in that British TV series Misfits, shows up here as the eager young lad looking for adventure, but he doesn't get to do that much except be a stand in for the damsel in distress, as the only female is supposedly a witch locked in a cage for the majority of the film.

For the rest of the film, scenes take place in cold damp weather or at night. The location scenery is greatly appreciated and really helps open the film out. And the darker lighting helps blend the effects better too.

Overall I found this to be a really enjoyable film, it's nothing spectacular but there's a lot to like, despite it's problems. I wish I could have seen it at a cinema.