Xathrodox86 reviews: "Season of the Witch"

Everyone loves Nic Cage. The man's an absolute legend and he automatically makes every film in which he stars 100 times better. He single-handedly saved the "Wicker Man" remake!

When I saw the poster for "Season of the Witch", directed by Dominic Sena, I knew that I'm in for a ride. Nicolas Cage fighting witches, while having a budding romance with Ron Perlman? Count me in! The poster says it all. It has hellish flames, fantastic font and Nic Cage with long, greasy hair, holding a longsword. Seriously, you can't go wrong with stuff like that! And the names... Just look at them! Behmen von Bleibruck, Felson, Kay von Wollenbarth and Johann Eckhardt. These are some of the most 'Hammer names of all time. Oh yeah, "Season of the Witch" is one of my quintessential Warhammer movies, right there with "Solomon Kane" and "Black Death"!

Just look at that poster. I must have it!

Anyway, the movie is about two blokes - Behmen von Belibruck, played by Nicolas Cage, and Felson, played by the man himself - Ron Perlman. They are ex-crusaders, fed up and disgusted by the cruelty of their leaders, and have decided to return to Austria, their homeland. Unfortunately, it seems that all of the Europe is in the throes of Black Death, and people are dying left, right and centre. Our two reluctant anti-heroes are arrested for dessertion (how exactly would the authorities in Austria knew about that is anyone's guess) and given a simple choice - escort a suspected witch to a remote monastery to face trial, for a pardon, or die. They are joined by a colorful cast of support characters, including a young cleric, a life-weary knight and a swindler. Like I've said - it's your typical WFRP party, albeit one with a bit more punch to it, than the usual chimney sweeper/charcoal burner/servant combo.

The accused girl, Anna, is also pretty interesting. At the first glance she looks like the typical church victim, accused by the high and mighty of bringing the plague on the whole of Europe. That said, there is something... unsettling about her. Thanks to a very solid performance by Claire Foy, Anna became one of my favorite characters in the entire movie.

"Season of the Witch" presents a nice mix of real life-style history and a solid dose of supernatural horror. CGI is sometimes a bit lacking, but most of the actions scenes are pretty dark, so it's not a big deal. The fight choreography is damn solid, especially in the opening crusade-era action scenes. I can't talk about too many combat encounters, since I don't want to spoil the movie too much, but the overall feeling of swords clashing and claws slashing (see what I did there?) was more than satisfying. The music and sound design were top notch, and really fit the movie's dark and gritty theme. I am using the "Season of the Witch's" OST during my Warhammer games to this day, so yeah - it's good. It's damn good.

As for the acting... Well... it sucks. Mostly. But it's fun, damn fun. The dialogue is lousy, the presentation medicore, and a few of the actors look like they're either going to explode from the ammount of pathos. On the other hand, a few of them, Nic Cage included, acting almost universally letargic and apathetic. However this does not harm the movie in any way. I can't really explain that, but "Season of the Witch" is this kind of a crappy, B-move in which all of the pieces fit together perfectly. I honestly like this movie so much, because of the horrible acting and bad CGI. It's a positively crappy experience, and I never get tired from experiencing it time and time again.

Do yourselves a favor and watch "Season of the Witch". It's not Coppola, but it's fun and entertaining, and in the end, that's all that matters. Plus it can be a great inspiration for a grim & dark Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay adventure! I've used parts of this movie, including dialogue, in many a game of WFRP, and they've always worked really, really well. I mean, how can you not love lines like this one: "When this is over, we will sit in the halls that my fathers sat in and drink ale and tell tales few men have lived to tell!".

That's just too Warhammer.

Here's a man who failed one too many Will Power checks...

Until next time!

Xathrodox86