Black Death (2010)

All Critics (56) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (38) | Rotten (18) | DVD (2)

"Going medieval" on your enemies isn't just a figure of speech in Christopher Smith's stylish spatter-horror exercise, which uses desperation-fueled religious fervor to interrogate the intersection of fear and faith.

March 12, 2011 Full Review | Comments (2)

Ian Buckwalter

NPR

Top Critic

There's something here for just about everyone, or at least for everyone who looks back fondly on the similarly themed Wicker Man from 1973.

March 11, 2011 Full Review | Comment (1)

Peter Rainer

Christian Science Monitor

Top Critic

Slams Christians against pagans with little love for either.

March 11, 2011 Full Review | Comment (1)

Jeannette Catsoulis

New York Times

Top Critic

Though deadly serious, Christopher Smith's European-made bubonic- plague melodrama provides good value with lots of blood and guts, as well as a solid cast.

March 11, 2011 Full Review | Comment (1)

Lou Lumenick

New York Post

Top Critic

Early on "Black Death" falls victim to its own sluggish sickness, its narrative drive proving no match for the aggressively rotted pallor, dour acting and tiresomely handheld you-are-there aesthetics.

March 10, 2011 Full Review | Comments (2)

Robert Abele

Los Angeles Times

Top Critic

Smith keeps the fog, mist and rain machines working overtime, but to such little purpose that Black Death often looks like outtakes from Fiddler on the Roof.

March 9, 2011 Full Review

Rex Reed

New York Observer

Top Critic

It shows the worst things that people do to each other in the name of religion. This could have been more of a thought-provoking film, but it turns into a gore porn display.

February 2, 2012 Full Review

Robert Roten

Laramie Movie Scope

Bean owns this movie.

January 27, 2012 Full Review

Jay Antani

Cinema Writer

An entertaining, if by-the-numbers, entry to the sword-and-shield genre, Black Death features lots of blood, disease, and the seemingly requisite Sean Bean.

January 2, 2012 Full Review

Gabe Leibowitz

Film and Felt

A film without the ideas or guts to bring hell to life onscreen.

December 18, 2011 Full Review

Matthew Sorrento

IdentityTheory

What could be more cheerful than a graphic bubonic plague picture?

November 18, 2011 Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Smith's excellent, tension-building style is complemented by powerful performances from broadsword specialist Bean and Redmayne

August 30, 2011 Full Review

James Luxford

The National

Black Death is the feel bad movie of the year, a film with an unrelentingly bleak view of humankind's barbaric nature and the notion that, no matter what your creed, violence only ever begets more violence.

June 21, 2011 Full Review

Brandon Fibbs

BrandonFibbs.com

This movie had a lot of potential, but missed the mark for me, which is almost worse than a film being a complete waste of time.

April 29, 2011 Full Review

Grae Drake

Movies.com

This film bathes in bloody, brutal ambiguity, intelligently casting both Christians and pagans as murderous creeps in a way that looks back objectively at 14th century ignorance while shining an ugly, knowing light on contemporary religious arrogance, too.

April 4, 2011 Full Review | Comment (1)

Dave White

Movies.com

There are bright spots in this dark-ages movie

March 31, 2011 Full Review

Marty Mapes

Movie Habit

There's no glory for Black Death's mercenaries at the end of their journey, but for the audience there's a fascinating take on religion and morality that also features some pretty decent swordplay-and really, how much more can a movie offer?

March 29, 2011 Full Review

Sean Gandert

Paste Magazine

Sean Bean completists and fans of neck-beards will no doubt enjoy, but overall Black Death an atmospheric but ultimately unaffecting exercise in medieval misery.

March 18, 2011 Full Review

Brian Juergens

CampBlood.org

Built on the fascinating premise that God is actually kind of an asshole

March 15, 2011 Full Review

Walter Chaw

Film Freak Central

A tedious road trip movie early on turns into a more interesting battle of wills in the second half. Worth a viewing.

March 15, 2011 Full Review

Garth Franklin

Dark Horizons

Atmospheric and initially intriguing, but often meandering and ultimately forgettable. It's deficient in enough scares, thrills and palpable tension to keep you thoroughly captivated.

March 12, 2011 Full Review

Avi Offer

NYC Movie Guru

It derives horrified fascination from its audience without ever smirking or looking down on us.

March 11, 2011 Full Review

Rob Vaux

Mania.com

Commendable in not going overboard in facile plague SFX for its first half. However, the end is rushed and mortally deadened by badly written dialogue.

March 11, 2011 Full Review

Donald J. Levit

ReelTalk Movie Reviews

• 1. Hob: She was beautiful...and real.
  2. Wolfstan: *fastening torture restraints* THIS is real.
  – Submitted by Artem L (11 months ago)
• 1. Ulric: God's fury rains down on you! God is restored.
  – Submitted by Nick W (18 months ago)
• 1. Ulric: I am death. Vengeance is mine!
  – Submitted by Nick W (18 months ago)
• 1. Ulric: I am death. Vengeance is mine!
  – Submitted by rob g (2 years ago)
• 1. Mold: I am ugly and I am Christian, and that's not a good combination in here...piss off.
  – Submitted by Joe G (2 years ago)

There are no discussion threads for Black Death yet.