Season of the Witch

Review by Bob Ignizio

Although it jettisons the sex and sadism that made hits out of such early seventies witch hunter movies as BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW, CRY OF THE BANSHEE, and the undisputed masterpiece of the nasty little subgenre, THE WITCHFYNDER GENERAL (released in the U.S. as The Conqueror Worm), SEASON OF THE WITCH is nonetheless a kindred spirit. The medieval setting gives the film's supernatural elements a matter of fact believability not always easy to achieve in films with more contemporary settings. The distance of time also buys the film a little more leeway in its criticisms of organized religion as a force for violence and oppression. Of course, like most of those similarly themed films from the seventies, SEASON OF THE WITCH tries to have it both ways, positing religion as both problem and solution. Such a portrayal requires more nuance than this film possesses to truly work. Here, it just feels like the Church is absolved for its sins because, in the end, they really are all that stands between man and annihilation by CGI demons and zombie monks.

Helping to make this hokum palatable are Nicholas Cage, in a rare subdued performance, and Ron Perlman as a pair of crusaders who have lost faith in their cause and deserted. The two actors play off of each other well, and who better to take up what might have been the Vincent Price role than Cage?  Relative newcomer Clair Foy does a good job keeping us guessing about her true nature, and there's a decent supporting cast, too, including Robert Sheehan (BJ in the RED RIDING TRILOGY), and horror icon Christopher Lee in a bit part underneath some pretty disturbing make-up. Director Dominic Sena handles the film's horror and suspense elements well, but falters in the CGI heavy climax. A less over the top conclusion would have been more in keeping with the tone set by the rest of the film. The segment at the beginning in which we see Cage and Perlman battle in the crusades feels similarly out of place, and one gets the sense these scenes were inserted or at least tweaked at the request of some nervous studio executive worried that the movie didn't have enough action. Fans of horror and medieval adventure might find this an agreeable enough time waster, but it's not likely to cast its spell on anyone else. 2 out of 4 stars.