It is no secret that I am a fan of Nichols Cage. As an actor I think he fits the many parts that he has played throughout the years. Even if the particular film was nothing great; I still enjoy Cage as an actor. With that said (to the dislike of all the crying fan boys). His latest venture; Season of the Witch (Not a remake of the George Romero film or Halloween 3), is a film where Cage fits the part and the story is simple. However as a whole it’s a film that has a lot of ups and downs.
Season of the Witch is about two knights Behmen (Cage) and Felson (Ron Pearlman) during the crusades that are fighting for the church in the name of God. When Behmen accidentally kills an innocent peasant woman during a siege, he turns his back on the church as both he and Behmen agree that killing women and children is not right. Together they journey back home, only fighting for God and not the church. They come upon an abandon farmhouse where they find the residents dead of the black plague, they soon find out that the nearest city is also infected with the plague and the cities Cardinal is also suffering from the plague. Both the Cardinal and the priests are aware of both Behmen and Felson deflection from the church and instead of keeping them as prisoners they are asked to escort a witch they blame for the plague to a remote abbey, where monks will perform a ritual on her in hopes of ending the pestilence. They will also decide her fate. They agree and together their dangerous journey begins where they will find out the truth of the witch and what her intentions really are.
What I liked about Season of the Witch was that the story was simple. It was not trying to be more than just a simple horror adventure film where the plot developed the characters within the first fifteen minutes then the story took hold which was a point A to point B journey film with a lot excitement and tension. We are thrown for a bit of a loop about the witch at first. We are not sure if she is an innocent young lady or an evil being. When we find out the truth however, the plot twist is a bit dull, yet unsuspected. However, in the end we feel cheated by the twist and the lackluster visual effects. The fate of the characters on which the story ends; I felt was on a sour note.
The Blu-ray disc comes with a digital copy of the film and contains a few special features which include Deleted Scenes, The featurettes ‘Becoming the Demon” and “On a Crusade”, and a never before seen alternate ending.
Season of the Witch is not the horrible movie that many made it out to be. It is a simple film where the plot gets a bit messy at the end and you are left feeling cheated after enjoying such a good adventure to get to the last act. It is a fun film to say the least, yet the ending of the film was a big upset and I felt the story could have ended on a better note.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
