Day 18 - Season of the Witch (2011)

This is a bit later than I hoped it would be, but after this weekend I've needed some time to recuperate.

I'm still not entirely sure whether or not I would even call this a horror movie, much the way I wouldn't consider Van Helsing or Hellboy horror movies so much as action movies with horror elements. But then, I've been struggling with where to draw the line on this blog. I said at the start that there would be no restrictions, no limitations, but now I'm not so sure. Oh well, I watched it, now I'm going to review it.

Season of the Witch tells the story of two knights (Nicholas Cage and Ron Perlman) who have abandoned the crusades to return home after coming to a disagreement with the Roman Catholic Church. On their way back however, they come across a city overrun by plague, and after being recognized as deserters find themselves once again enlisted by the church. Now they must transport a young woman who is being blamed for the plague, to a remote monastery to be judged as a witch. It isn't long before mysterious circumstances begin to reduce the numbers of the traveling party and suspicion and tempers flare. Is the girl a witch? An innocent? Or something else entirely?

Since his bankruptcy it seems Mr. Cage will do just about any film that comes his way. At least Season of the Witch isn’t the worst choice he’s made. This movie is really just pretty mediocre in all aspects. The acting isn’t bad; a bit on and off but not bad. The story seems to be unsure of itself, balancing imperfectly between genres. And I’ve seen better effects in SyFy channel TV shows.

It’s getting a bit old saying this, but, this is one of those movies that isn’t bad so long as you don’t overthink it. This seems to have become the overall trend in horror today; movies that just “aren’t bad” so long as you don’t use your brain at all while watching it. For instance, I was half asleep while watching Season of the Witch and came out at the end thinking, well that was fun. It wasn’t until I sat down to write this and actually put a bit of thought into what I had seen that I realized its mediocrity. So if you just want a movie to throw on while you’re doing something else, something you can enjoy without really paying any attention to it, then Season of the Witch is just the thing.

For Day 19 I will be viewing YellowBrickRoad (2010).