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Season of the Witch (2010)

Director: Peter Peter, Dominic Sena

Time Out rating

Average user rating

11 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Does the idea of Ron Perlman headbutting Satan appeal to you in any way? If the answer’s no, stop reading now. If it’s yes, you’re in for the first guilty treat of 2011.

Perlman and Nicolas Cage (in curly blond pageboy frightwig, natch) play rambunctious Crusader knights who go Awol and find themselves in a non-specific, plague-stricken East European principality. The Catholic authorities claim that said epidemic is the work of a captive witch (Claire Foy), and waste no time hiring Nic and Ron to chaperone the prisoner through mountain country to have her soul cleansed at a monastery.

No one, least of all Cage or director Dominic Sena, makes any bid for greatness: despite its admirably straight face, ‘Season of the Witch’ is a silly romp through Pythonesque medieval cliché and knockabout Hammer horror with a dash of cut-price Tolkien chucked in to keep things moving. Cage barks, emotes and swears inappropriately, ably backed by Perlman as his burly sidekick, and the cast is padded out with the likes of Christopher Lee as a devious, hideously scarred cardinal.‘Season of the Witch’ is not for everyone: it’s creaky, predictable and frequently idiotic. But for a tipsy Saturday night, this should tick all the right boxes.

Author: Tom Huddleston

Time Out London issue 2107, Jan 6-12 2011

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User reviews of this film

sorrrowful said...

Posted on Aug 14 2011 22:33 not as bad as some say, but not as good either. Empty your head, fill a wine glass or three and sit back and be mildly entertained.

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iLovefilms said...

Posted on Jul 08 2011 01:39 Most people would call "Season Of The Witch" an awful movie. But if like me you enjoy having an easy watch every now & then inbetween your more thoughtful films then this does the job. By no means as well acted or entertaining as the similar "Black Death" or "Solomon Kane" but as a piece of medieval trashy entertainment it works! Ron Perlman is strong as always & Nic Cage (Talking in a full American accent) is his usual self... A good little action flick with swords & witches so if your into this type of film then watch it & judge for yourself. I did see this in the cinema & had a good time watching it; although I felt certain parts could have been better, especially the ending! I also just picked this up on Blu Ray & most people who are intrigued by the front cover should be more than happy with a cheap purchase or a blind buy.

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ed said...

Posted on Apr 14 2011 15:56 Certainly not as woeful as Ghost Rider, Bangkok Dangerous or The Wicker Man Remake...but this is stil below par after Nicolas Cage's partial return to good films last year in Bad Lieutenant 2, Kick Ass and Sorcerer's Apprentice. I'd file this along with Knowing and Drive Angry 3D as kind of in the middle there. There is a fairly scary intro to this film, but from there on in, there are no scares. Fans of Ron Perlman, who is always in this kind of movie, won't be disappointed. Yes, he does headbutt the Devil... I haven't seen such a sorry Euro cast since Prince Valiant or Dungeons & Dragons... A hopeless quest, with ropey morals and even crappier sfx. Nicolas Cage is fairly subdued for once but maybe he was just resting because he has to be the busiest actor around... Role on Ghost Rider 2... Arggghhhh I hear that's got Christopher Lambert in it, not long before you're DTV Nic...

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perplexed filmgoer said...

Posted on Jan 16 2011 03:02 I quite enjoyed this film - up until about fifteen or twenty minutes from the end, when it got pretty stupid, and lost the plot, literally. It really seemed like someone just decided to change the story at the last minute - maybe I'm wrong about this, but that's just how it came across. I'm sure anyone could have come up with a better ending. But there's a lot to like about the film, too - I liked the daft dialogue, the relationship between the two leads, the medieval setting, the ambiguity about some of the other characters... it's just a shame it went pear-shaped! Oh and, why did everyone have an American accent - even the non-Americans? Weird!

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scrumpyjack said...

Posted on Jan 10 2011 21:54 Spot on review - I enjoyed it and don't care who knows! but can I just point out it's not 113 min, but just under 100. 7/10

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Curious said...

Posted on Jan 09 2011 01:19 I have now seen the movie and I think the review is pretty fair. It's not the worst movie I've ever seen, and it even provides some thrills and chills at the end. But I was curious because I thought there might be some interesting story about the way characters interact--and there really isn't. It's pretty predictable. I don't want to offer any spoilers, but I went hoping to be wowed -- as one always hopes with a good story -- and this was not. But probably like me, you'll have to see it for yourself to understand why it's a kinda stupid, flat movie.

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Pringlebacker said...

Posted on Jan 08 2011 20:00 Congrats on giving this film its only positive review in the entire world. (See Rotten Tomatoes for proof.) I'm sure you must be on to something.

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bobbzz said...

Posted on Jan 07 2011 19:25 I think this film looks epic, i'm so glad it has Robert Sheehan in, it wants me want to watch it more!! x

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Will said...

Posted on Jan 07 2011 07:20 You have to be "tipsy" to enjoy the movie???
What a stupid review.

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dayvvidd said...

Posted on Jan 05 2011 20:15 te only nightmare you will be haunted by is that you actually went to see this film

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Curious said...

Posted on Jan 05 2011 19:41 Is this movie at all scary? I tend to avoid the supernatural genre where the devil-will-get-you. This type of thing gives me nightmares. So, is this movie likely to give me nightmares?

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