La Deceased Noir

Christopher Smith is a director not content sticking to one particular style. After a relatively straight horror film for his debut, Creep, he moved into comedy territory with the brilliant Severance. Next up was the mind bending Twilight Zone vibe of Triangle and he's followed that up with his latest effort, a trip to the middle ages, for the cheerily titled Black Death. This period movie follows a Monk, Osmund, whose faith is wavering due to his inappropriate relationship with a local girl. When he's unsure whether to be with her or stay with the monastery, Sean "there's some raspberry jam back there" Bean and company arrive seeking a guide who can lead them to a remote village in the marshes which, rumour has it, has escaped the ravages of the plague that's sweeping the land. Osmund sees this as a sign and joins the group, who have been sent by the Church to capture a necromancer.

With Osmund as our eyes into this world, Smith cleverly keeps us guessing as to the intent of Bean's group of Christian mercenaries and the villagers they encounter upon their arrival, amongst them Carice van Houten and Tim McInnerny. I won't reveal where the audiences loyalties finally lie but it's safe to say that it's an exploration of 'intolerance of other people's religious and beliefs'. Or to head further into spoiler territory, a friend has suggested this be renamed "Christian's Are Bastards!" Yep if you live in middle America, you probably won't like what this has to say. And that's ok, because it's probably talking about you. Parallels can be drawn from the plot to periods throughout history from British colonialism to the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Well paced, bleakly shot and well acted this is well worth checking out for it's authentic period recreation, slow burning mystery and non gimicky script.