Black Death Reviews

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C.H. Newell
Father Son Holy Gore
May 7, 2019
A savage, genuine reflection of the Middle Ages, allowing for maximum nastiness and a few excitingly bloody moments.
Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5
Abbie Bernstein
Assignment X
February 16, 2019
Black Death has all the makings of a cult film -- if it gets an enduring following, it will be well-earned.
Full Review | Original Score: B+
Anne Billson
The Arts Desk
November 27, 2017
I'll wager grown-ups will be duly horrified by it. Not because of the gore -- although it does have a fair amount of that -- but because it takes you on a real journey into the heart of darkness, and you might not like what you find there.
Full Review
Abby Olcese
Scene-Stealers.com
June 24, 2017
Black Death definitely isn't a rollicking, bloody good time, but it is a haunting study in the capacity for cruelty in people when they're scared, and the lingering effects that cruelty can have.
Full Review
Matt Joseph
We Got This Covered
July 24, 2013
In Black Death, Christopher Smith effectively creates a creepy and unsettling atmosphere with great production values. He shows lots of potential as a director and I'm looking forward to seeing what he does next.
Full Review | Original Score: 8/10
Jay Antani
Cinema Writer
January 27, 2012
Bean owns this movie.
Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4
Gabe Leibowitz
Film and Felt
January 2, 2012
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.
Full Review | Original Score: 60/100
Michael Nordine
Reverse Shot
October 25, 2011
Smith isn't presenting a peace offering so much as a reminder of the ease with which we slip into violence.
Full Review
James Luxford
The National (UAE)
August 30, 2011
Smith's excellent, tension-building style is complemented by powerful performances from broadsword specialist Bean and Redmayne
Full Review | Original Score: 3/5
Brandon Fibbs
BrandonFibbs.com
June 21, 2011
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.
Full Review | Original Score: 6.5/10
Dave White
Movies.com
April 4, 2011
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.
Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5
Sean Gandert
Paste Magazine
March 29, 2011
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?
Full Review | Original Score: 7.8/10
Sara Michelle Fetters
MovieFreak.com
March 25, 2011
By not rushing things, by keeping things moving at their own measured pace, Smith gives Poloni's screenplay a chance to breathe and evolve in a way it might not have been able to otherwise.
Full Review | Original Score: 3/4
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central
March 15, 2011
Built on the fascinating premise that God is actually kind of an asshole
Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
March 15, 2011
A tedious road trip movie early on turns into a more interesting battle of wills in the second half. Worth a viewing.
Top Critic
Ian Buckwalter
NPR
March 12, 2011
"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.
Full Review | Original Score: 7/10
Rob Vaux
Mania.com
March 11, 2011
It derives horrified fascination from its audience without ever smirking or looking down on us.
Full Review | Original Score: B+
Top Critic
Peter Rainer
Christian Science Monitor
March 11, 2011
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.
Full Review | Original Score: B
Top Critic
Jeannette Catsoulis
New York Times
March 11, 2011
Slams Christians against pagans with little love for either.
Original Score: 3/5
Top Critic
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
March 11, 2011
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.
Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4
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