Black Death

Given the fondness that today’s audiences seem to have for apocalyptic scenarios and flesh-eating gore, it’s perhaps surprising that the bubonic plague has not prompted more cinematic plotlines. When it swept across Europe in the mid-14^th century, it resulted in religious paranoia, murderous fear and the death of millions. Seeking to redress this omission comes the simply titled Black Death.

A young monk, Osmund (Eddie Redmayne) has fallen in love with a local girl and is divided over whether he should stay within his religious order or run away with her. The dilemma is answered when a knight, Ulric (Sean Bean) and his band of bloodthirsty mercenaries recruit the youngster to act as their guide. They’ve heard reports of a distant, marshland village were the locals have given up worshipping God and a village elder – possibly in league with the devil – is re-awakening people from their graves. It’s Ulric’s task to investigate and bring the blasphemous to justice. It’s also the perfect opportunity for Osmund to hook up with his love-interest away from the confining walls of the monastery.

The inexperienced monk joins the battle-scarred band of men and they set off across the plague-ravaged land. When they eventually reach the village, they discover a strange community apparently untouched by disease, presided over by the enigmatic herbalist Langvia (Carice Van Houten), whose initial welcome of the visitors turns decidedly frosty.

Following the success of previous thriller Severance and last year’s imaginative horror Triangle, Brit director Christopher Smith’s star was very much in the ascent, but with Black Death he may have bitten off more than he can chew. Thematically, there are obvious comparisons with the The Wicker Man(a God-fearing believer sent to investigate a strange and isolated community amidst rumours of strange goings-on), but where that film offered genuine creepiness and a growing sense of foreboding, Black Death offers an overdose of boils, pustules and witch-driven hysteria. It’s The Magnificent Seven with a cast of Baldricks.

Redmayne and Bean turn in game performances, while Van Houten camps it up like a modern-day Fenella Fielding as the siren-like Langvia. They make the best of some questionable dialogue; was “Piss off!” truly a common rebuttal in the mid-1300s?

The suspense momentarily kicks in around the halfway mark, when the renegades first discover the village, but elsewhere the pace plods – despite plenty of sword action. There’s also an unnecessary epilogue that adds nothing to what has gone before.

The Medieval period rarely makes it on to the big screen except when there are dragons and damsels in distress involved, so it’s a shame that Black Death should falter at so many levels. You might well find a History Channel documentary about the plague a more gripping proposition than this cinematic cadaver.

Last edited: 13th June 2010

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