Season of the Witch Review

Rating:

2 out of 5

Screen Rant’s Paul Young reviews Season of the Witch

Traditionally January is set aside as the month studios release movies for which they have low expectations of success. Every once in a while a rare gem will emerge from the dross that is usually offered at this time of year – unfortunately or maybe unsurprisingly, Season of the Witch isn’t that rare gem.

However, that’s not to say that the film was a total letdown. Even though Season of the Witch is wrought full of problems ranging from weak dialog via poorly delivered, uninspired one-liners – to under developed characters and CG effects reminiscent of a Saturday night SyFy channel original film… I managed to walk out of the theater pleasantly surprised at how much I actually enjoyed it.

Season of the Witch stars Nicolas Cage as Behmen, a knight in the time of the 14th century Crusades, who along with his best friend and battle partner Felson (Ron Perlman) grow tired of killing sinners and unbelievers in the name of God for the Church of England. After 12 years of fighting side-by-side they decide it’s time to break their vow by leaving “God’s” army and are branded as deserters.

Soon after, their travels bring them to a village which is besieged by a mysterious plague which the local monks are certain was brought about by the appearance of a girl whom they accuse of being a witch. After Behmen and Felson are revealed as traitors to the Church, they strike a bargain with the Cardinal D’Ambroise – a virtually unrecognizable Christopher Lee. In exchange for their freedom, the knights agree to escort a monk named Debelzaq (Stephen Moore) and a local man named Eckhart (Ulrich Thomsen) to a monastery which is four days away.

Before they leave they pick up a guide named Hagamar (Stephen Graham) and an altar boy named Kay (Robert Sheehan). Along the way the witch, Anna (Claire Foy), gets into their heads and uses their weaknesses against them in an attempt to escape. Ultimately Behmen, Felson and Kay have a final showdown with Anna as they realize there is more to her evil ways than they first suspected.

Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman prepare to battle evil in a scene from 'Season of the Witch'

Season of the Witch should have been a better film because the story had good potential. Writer Bragi Schut does a decent job of keeping the story moving along without letting it get bogged down in one place for too long – unfortunately, the dialog for the film comes across as very heavy – every word seems to trip and bumble off of  the actors lips. Director Dominic Sena (Whiteout) doesn’t seem to help much; it feels like he told the actors to OVER. EMPHASIZE. EVERY. WORD. THEY. SAY as if each line was a witch they should be stabbing with a sword.

Even though Cage and Perlman’s characters are supposed to be long time friends there is very little chemistry between them and most of the “buddy” style banter – “You’re buying the drinks tonight” or “She stole a year’s worth of your salary” – feels forced and doesn’t come across with any emotion at all. I know I’m supposed to care about the relationship between these two long time warriors but at the end of the day I just don’t.

On a positive note, despite of all the above mentioned flaws there was something about Season of the Witch I found to be entertaining in a Beastmaster or 13th Warrior sort of way – when all is said and done, isn’t a film supposed to entertain?

A lot of other critics and reviewers – OK almost all of them – are giving this movie a very, very low score. It’s currently sitting at a 3% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6.2 on IMDb but the film opened in third place on Friday while only showing on half the number of screens as True Grit and Little Fockers. Once again it turns out that while it might be fun to totally trash a film during a review, it doesn’t always mean the critic or reviewer has their finger on the pulse of what audiences are interested in seeing.

Season of the Witch may not be worth seeing for full price at an evening show, but if you’ve already watched everything else available in theaters right now and you happen to catch the midday matinee, then you should have a pleasant enough time.

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‘Season of the Witch’ & ‘The Rite’ TV Spots

Witches, demons, Nicolas Cage, oh my! Horror is the name of the game this week as Mr. Cage’s long-delayed Season of the Witch finally hits theaters. Anthony Hopkins will round out the month’s collection of horror (and horrible) movies by appearing in the exorcism tale, The Rite.

Several TV spots have been released for both films, which feature (among other things) milky-eyed monsters and humans, rat-eating corpses, women who spit out nails, and men looking on in concern at this highly unorthodox behavior.

Season of the Witch stars Cage as Behmen, a Crusader who must transport a mysterious girl (Claire Foy) to a monastery where she will have her supposed sorceress powers removed -- assuming that she is a witch and not something far more dangerous (*dramatic clap of thunder*). Those who have already watched either the most recent trailer and/or clips from Season of the Witch likely understand why this cheesy supernatural thriller is being sprung on moviegoers at the beginning of January.

Cage is generally entertaining to watch, even when he’s not wearing a floppy wig while doing battle with winged creatures and girls seemingly possessed by dark, sinister forces. Season of the Witch looks pretty silly, what with its fake-looking CGI wolves and standard slo-mo battle sequences, but it could make for a fun if fleeting few hours at the cinema this weekend.

Check out the Season of the Witch TV spots below and see what you think (kudos if you don’t tire of hearing Ron Pearlman ask “What madness is this?” by the end):

Colin O’Donaghue stars as seminary student Michael Kovak in 1408 director Mikael Hafstrom’s upcoming exorcism thriller, The Rite. Kovak is a skeptic forced to attend exorcism school at the Vatican, where he encounters the eccentric Father Lucas (Anthony Hopkins), a man perhaps a bit too well versed in waging battle with the devil’s minions.

Neither the first theatrical preview or the second trailer for The Rite made it look like anything but a run of the mill exorcism story, complete with clichés that include seemingly possessed young women, a priest literally battling for his soul, and dramatic cuts/flashes of people with unnatural eye colors. The film itself might offer something more, but we have strong doubts about that.

Watch TV spots for The Rite below:

Season of the Witch arrives in theaters this Friday, January 7th.

The Rite hits theaters in the U.S. on January 28th, 2011.

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‘True Blood’ Season 4 Casting Update: A Witch, Cage Fighter, & Shapeshifter

With one week before production begins on True Blood season 4, actresses Janina Gavankar, Alexandra Breckenridge and Vedette Lim have joined the familiar Bon Temps family.

Additionally, Jessica Tuck, who plays American Vampire League spokeswoman Nans Flanagan, has been bumped up to a series regular for this season. Although, no information has been provided as to what Tuck’s newly boosted role will entail.

Kicking off the flurry of new casting for the HBO hit series is former star of The L Word Janina Gavankar. Gavankar will play Luna, an extremely attractive school teacher who also happens to be a shapeshifter. The character of Luna will first maker her appearance at an informal gathering of shapeshifters. No word yet on whether or not Sam will also be in attendance. Although, after where we left him in the season 3 finale, I wouldn’t be surprised.

Alexandra Breckenridge, who is best known for her roles on FX’s Dirt and the struggling CW series Life Unexpected, will play the character of Daisy. While not much is revealed about her character, we know that she will be an integral member of a Wicca group that was founded by Marnie. As we previously reported, Marnie will be played by Harry Potter alum Fiona Shaw and is described as a depressed and incompetent local medium/palm reader who becomes possessed by the spirit of a powerful witch.

Rounding out the new character additions is former As The World Turns actress Vedette Lim, who will play the fierce cage fighter Naomi. Like Sam’s younger brother Tommy, Naomi participates in underground fights for money. Although, unlike Tommy, she won’t have to turn into a dog before each match.

While the addition of new cast members to a series can provide some refreshing stories and intriguing character interactions, one has to worry when it comes to True Blood. Out of all three seasons, last year’s was easily the worst. Something that many chalk up to having too many story-arcs occurring simultaneously, which resulted in many characters and story lines having to share the same 52 minute episode.

On top of that, one can’t forget the conclusion-less season 3 finale. When True Blood returns for season 4, they’ll not only have to somehow wrap up all the lingering storylines, but also introduce these new characters. Unfortunately, many have felt that True Blood is barely keeping its proverbial head above the water as it is – in terms of delivering a satisfying story with fully realized characters.

If the past has shown us anything, it’s that Alan Ball and company already had a hard enough time juggling the large cast that they put together for season 3. Could the addition of these three characters (on top of the four already announced) serve to overwhelm the already struggling storylines and inevitably sink this juggernaut series?

If it does, there’s always the True Blood movie to look forward to.

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True Blood season 4 will premiere June, 2011, on HBO

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Source: Deadline

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