Sebastian Edschmid's handheld cinematography offers the film an eerie, dark intimacy as well. Nonetheless, screenwriter Poloni's dexterity in contrasting Christianity against paganism through intense character conflict lends this film a graver, more somber tone. Largely absent is the gruesome irreverence that gave Smith's early films Creep and Severance a slightly whimsical air, though the climax of Black Death does make a point of forcing viewers to reassess the more fantastical aspects of the story à la Triangle. When mysterious village matriarch Langiva ( Carice van Houten) reveals that survival does not come without sacrifice, however, Osmund realizes that his dark journey has only just begun.īlack Death is one of those rare films that proves a director doesn't necessarily have to lose his edge in order to mature. Later, when the seekers finally arrive at their remote destination, they quickly find that the fantastical rumors seem rooted in fact - not a single one of the villagers shows signs of infection, food remains plentiful, and spirits there are high. Under the leadership of the deeply reverent Ulric, the group forges ever deeper into the blighted countryside, encountering madness, unrest, and unspeakable suffering along the way. Rumors persist that within the village is a necromancer with the power to bring the dead back to life their true goal is to take the sorcerer back to the bishop for confession, trial, and execution.
Later, as the group departs, Osmund learns that their mission has much darker implications. Convinced that this may be his one opportunity to reunite with Averill and serve a higher power at the same time, Osmund volunteers. Shortly thereafter, Ulric ( Sean Bean) and his fierce band of Christian crusaders show up seeking a guide to help them locate an isolated village that is said to be untouched by the Black Plague. Neither as fun as Severance nor as mind-bending as Triangle, this serious-minded descent into the darkness of the human soul finds genre vet Christopher Smith forging boldly into grim territory alongside screenwriter Dario Poloni, whose piercing screenplay gradually coaxes religious conflict to the forefront of the story while never offering viewers an easy way out.Īs the Black Death sweeps through Medieval England, young monk Osmund ( Eddie Redmayne) sends his girlfriend, Averill ( Kimberley Nixon), to the safety of the remote forest while he remains at the monastery to serve God. The quest for sanctuary in the time of the Bubonic Plague takes viewers on a particularly bleak voyage in Black Death, an oppressive yet compelling period adventure that uses pestilence as a vehicle to detail the bitter clash between faith and sacrilege.
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