Season of the Witch

Plot synopsis:
Season of the Witch opens to show an ancient tome being carefully hand-copied in an unknown location.In the Austrian town of Villach, in 1235 AD, at a bridge over the river, a priest (Nicholas Sidi) is presiding over the execution of three women accused of witchcraft-- a young woman, a middle-aged midwife, and an older spinster. All three are shackled at the wrists and feet with heavy iron manacles. As the terrified young woman begs and pleads for mercy, a noose is tightened around her neck and the priest tells all three women that they still have time to confess their sins, and their souls will be saved. In desperation, the young woman confesses to everything the priest demands. The midwife pleads that she only used pig's fat to make an ointment. The spinster, however, lifts her head slowly and tells the father that he will burn in hell. The outraged priest signals to the church soldiers, who grab the spinster and shove her over the bridge, followed by the midwife. The young woman then finds out that the priest promised her SOUL would be saved, but her body must be consigned to God. Her terrified pleas fall on deaf ears as she is pushed over the edge of the bridge and the noose breaks her neck.The soldiers then take the ropes and lower all three bodies down into the river. The priest protests that he must read passages from the Book of Solomon so the bodies do not rise again, but the soldier commander (Rory McCann) says that the three women are both hanged and drowned, and that's dead enough for him.At dusk, the priest pulls the three bodies up by the ropes himself, to get them back onto the bridge. He pulls up the young woman first and reads the ritual from the book. As he does this for the midwife, near the end of the ritual her body begins to convulse and choke, before once again becoming still and silent. As he starts to pull up the body of the spinster, he finds the rope suddenly pulling back. A sharp yank causes the priest to tumble over the bridge onto the river. Floundering in the water, he manages to get to shore when he feels his foot grabbed. Screaming and flailing wildly, he scrambles back to the bridge and rushes back to the book of Solomon, scrambling to turn to a different section. The body of the spinster shoots up out of the water and stands erect before the frightened priest. Her face contorts horribly as she thrusts a hand forward, and the book bursts into flame. The priest is then seen being hanged from the bridge.The camera pans out over a battlefield in the Gulf of Edremit, during the Crusades in 1332 AD. Two knights of the Church, Behmen (Nicolas Cage) and Felson (Ron Perlman), wait to rush into battle, good-naturedly wagering on who can slay more infidels (loser buys drinks at the tavern). The two fight with unmatched zeal on the battlefield against the Turks, and are later shown carousing in the tavern with ale and women. Over the years, the two knights fight in many more battles: at Tripoli in 1334, Imbros in 1337, and Artah in 1339. But as the years and battles pass, both knights start to wonder just how many enemies God must have, and start to question who is truly commanding these wars... God, or their mortal Church superiors.Then, during a siege on the Turk fortress at Smyrna in 1344, Behmen, for once does not look before he strikes... and impaled on his sword is no Turk soldier, but a young Turk peasant woman who was not running into battle, but running for her life. He and Felson both stop and stare in disbelief at the true scope of the casualties. At the end of the siege, Behmen has it out with the Grandmaster (Brían F. O'Byrne) of the Church army over the slaughter of the helpless women and children. Finally disillusioned with everything they'd been fighting for, Behmen and Felson walk away and leave the Church army.A month later, Behmen and Felson are walking along the coast of Styria. While searching for food, they find their way to a farmhouse and hope to barter for a meal there. They find a horrible sight-- the farmer and his wife have died of a horrible illness; their bodies covered with flies. The farm otherwise untenanted, Behmen and Felson are able to fill their stomachs and take two horses for themselves, burning the farmhouse and the bodies so the illness does not spread.They arrive at a town. Felson worries that they will be recognized as Church deserters, but they cannot afford to ride past-- the horses are farm animals and cannot carry them much further. They have to barter the horses for provisions, food and perhaps proper riding horses.But inside the town, they quickly find the hand of death laying heavily upon it. The streets are clogged with the bodies of dead people being lain there as the remaining populace struggles with the task of burying or burning the corpses. A dreadful plague has gripped the village; wiping people out by the dozens. Three and a half years the pestilence has ravaged the countryside.Felson and Behmen are bartering with a stableman for fresh horses. But as a young stable boy picks up Behmen's bundle, Behmen's crusader sword falls out and onto the ground, its crest clearly visible. Behmen quickly grabs the bundle back up, but it is too late-- the stable master has seen the crest. As Behmen and Felson try to hurry out of the town, several soldiers corner them. Behmen and Felson fight, but are too severely outnumbered, and are captured and arrested. But as they are being escorted to the Church dungeon, a priest named Debelzaq (Stephen Campbell Moore) asks to see Behmen's sword. Looking at the crest, he orders that Behmen and Felson follow him.Debelzaq brings the two men into the church temple, where they stand before Cardinal D'Ambroise (Christopher Lee), who is ill with the plague, being tended to by priests. D'Ambroise and Debelzaq say that the plague was brought about by a Black Witch, whose confession was heard by Debelzaq. D'Ambroise says that the witch must be brought to the Abbey of Severac, where the monks possess the last copy of a book of rituals that will destroy the witch's powers and thus end the plague. D'Ambroise wants Behmen and Felson to join Debelzaq and Eckhart (Ulrich Thomsen), who is D'Ambroise's best knight, in escorting the Black Witch to Severac. When Behmen says he swore oath to God, but no longer serves the Church or its soldiers who murder in God's name, D'Ambroise and Debelzaq have them placed in the dungeon to await execution for desertion.In a cell across from Felson and Behmen is the accused Black Witch-- who, as she lifts her head to look at them, seems to Behmen to merely be a frightened young woman (Claire Foy). He brushes off the point that Debelzaq heard the Girl confess by mentioning that the Church can be most persuasive.Later that night, the Girl is seen briefly watching Behmen while he sleeps. Behmen is haunted by his memory of killing a peasant Turk woman at the Battle of Smyrna. Awakening from the dream, he sees the Girl accused of witchcraft sobbing fearfully as she lays in her cell across from him.Moved by compassion, Behmen calls for Debelzaq and tells him he will deliver the Girl to Severac. In return he wants a promise that she will be given a fair trial. Because Behmen is doing this in the interest of true justice, and not as a favor for the Church, they have no choice but to agree to his demand... and to Felson's term that he and Behmen are fully pardoned.Behmen and Felson are taken to the library and shown the travel route to Severac, which is six days' travel distance. The travel route is treacherous, passing across a river gorge, through a forest called Wormwood from which men have never found their way out of, and along a steep mountain pass... and Debelzaq is not familiar with the travel route. Behmen insists that a guide be hired or conscripted; a merchant or tax collector who travels and knows the areas along the route.Debelzaq (reluctantly) brings Behmen and Felson to a man named Hagamar (Stephen Graham), who is locked in a pillory for swindling Church officials; though of course, Hagamar insists he is innocent. Behmen, once again speaking as a knight, tells Hagamar that the bailiff of the town will issue him a full pardon if he guides the party escorting the Girl, to Severac. Behmen warns Hagamar that he will personally slay him if Hagamar tries to flee at any time.The party goes to the dungeon to retrieve the Girl and prepare her for transport. As the cell is unlocked, Debelzaq says that the Girl is unconscious, as the food she was given for her last meal was spiked with a powerful sedative. But as Debelzaq kneels over her and touches her neck, she springs up, seizing the priest by the throat, and shoving him down to the ground. Hearing Eckhart starting to draw his sword, the Girl turns and lunges at him, grabbing him by his own throat and throwing him down to the ground. Behmen manages to grab the Girl, though it takes Felson's aid for him to hold her fast. Hearing Debelzaq's voice, the Girl suddenly stops fighting long enough for Behmen to club her on the back of her head and knock her out.The Girl is placed in a cage built into a wagon which will be driven to the abbey. As the party sets out, townspeople curse at the Girl and throw offal at the cage. Meanwhile, at the Church temple, Cardinal D'Ambroise has died. A young soldier watches sadly as he is prepared for burial.As the escort party rides, Eckhart (who is driving the wagon) asks Debelzaq how he came across the Girl. Debelzaq found her wandering about Marburg, muttering strange and unintelligible words... and the plague came within a fortnight, and then to every village she passed. Eckhart is unconvinced that this makes her a witch, because he never saw the Girl pass by his own village, and yet the plague came just the same.Riding on horseback behind the wagon, Behmen and Felson talk. Though there is little if any other evidence to suggest that the Girl is a witch, Behmen cannot argue Felson's point that when she struggled with them, she displayed far greater physical strength than a girl her size and build should have. Of even greater concern at the moment, however, is that Felson has noted that the party is being followed.They set an ambush and corner the pursuer, ordering him off his horse. Behmen uses his sword to push down the pursuer's hood, revealing the face of the altar boy who was grieving over Cardinal D'Ambroise. The young man says his name is Kay (pronounced 'Kye,' played by Robert Sheehan), the son of a knight named Jurand, who fought at the battle of Imbros. Kay wants to come with the party to Severac, in the hopes that on the party's return, he will have a sponsor toward being knighted himself. Felson laughs mockingly at the request, seeing Kay as only an altar boy. This makes Kay speak defiantly in Felson's face; the argument reaching an impasse that can only be resolved by a duel, although Behmen requests that Felson use his off-hand and pull his blows; Behmen does not want Kay slain, but merely sent on his way.But although Kay is not Felson's equal in either swordplay or brute force, he fights with a valor that impresses Behmen; enough that he agrees to Kay joining the escort party.That night at camp, Behmen tells Kay tales of how he and Felson came to enlist in the Crusades. Later, Behmen goes to the Girl to bring her food and a blanket. Receiving them with gratitude, the Girl confides in Behmen that Debelzaq tortured her unmercifully before she confessed to him. She is frightened of Severac, telling Behmen of how another girl in her village was put on 'trial' for witchcraft: she was tied up, weighted down with stones and cast into a lake; because she did not drown, she was declared guilty and burned at the stake. Trying to comfort the Girl, Behmen promises that she will receive a fair trial. As Behmen returns to camp, Debelzaq tries to warn him that the witch is a deceiver who will turn men against one another.Later that night, Debelzaq's words seem to already begin to ring true. He goes to relieve Eckhart, who was watching over the Girl. As Eckhart watches her sleep, he speaks to Debelzaq about how much the Girl reminds him of his own daughter, Mila, who died from the plague (as he speaks, the Girl briefly opens one eye, showing she is awake and can hear the conversation). He is also concerned about the cardinal's promise to Behmen that the Girl would receive a fair trial: D'Ambroise also vowed to end the plague, and the town, so badly decimated by the pestilence and desperate for someone to blame, would riot if the Girl were to be found innocent. He is sure that the monks at Severac would decide based on what was best for the Church, instead of in the interest of justice, and Eckhart wants no further part of it.As Eckhart begins to return the camp, the Girl fearfully begs him not to leave her alone with Debelzaq. Quickly Eckhart notes that she is terrified of the priest and starts to approach her cage. But he gets too close and the Girl seizes him, pulling him against the bars of the cage. Without thinking, Debelzaq rushes to Eckhart's aid, but with cat-quick reflexes, the Girl releases Eckhart and grabs Debelzaq, grabbing a key to the cage from off of him and driving his cloak's pin clean through his hand. The rest of the party hears Debelzaq's screams and rushes out to recapture the Girl.The party tracks the Girl to a village decimated by the plague, and splits up to find her. As Kay and Eckhart pause at the site of a mass grave, Eckhart suddenly begins to hear his daughter Mila calling out to him and runs about in a desperate attempt to find her. Seeing Mila in front of him, Eckhart rushes toward her-- but it is in fact not Mila there, but a surprised Kay, who turned around just in time for Eckhart to impale himself on Kay's sword. Even as he dies, Eckhart thinks he sees Mila in front of him.As Behmen and Felson converge, they hear the Girl beginning to cry. Felson finds her, and she wrestles him to the ground. Behmen throws her off of him and she huddles against a wall, sobbing tearfully as she begs Behmen not to let Debelzaq touch her again.After giving Eckhart a Church burial, Debelzaq warns Behmen about the Girl, believing she killed Eckhart. He points out that she overheard Eckhart telling him about Mila, and that Kay noted that Eckhart's mind was not his own when he died. Debelzaq is most wary of any others in the party telling the Girl anything about themselves... for she will see the weaknesses in all of their hearts, and use these weaknesses against them. As they turn to look at the Girl, she glances at them curiously... but after Behmen turns to mount his horse, her expression toward Debelzaq changes to a thin, sly smile.The party rides along a mountainside road. The Girl speaks to Behmen as he rides behind the wagon, thanking him for his bravery and demeanor toward her. Her tone of voice with Behmen has changed from timid and wary to one of casual familiarity. When Behmen tells her that Debelzaq feels she killed Eckhart, she protests that Eckhart always treated her kindly, while Debelzaq has been anything but kind. Saying that she feels the pain in Behmen's heart over Eckhart's death, she stretches a hand out, offering to ease his pain. Behmen's face turns distrustful and she backs off and lays down.Meanwhile, Debelzaq is trying to soothe Kay's guilt, but the young soldier cannot be comforted. He holds himself responsible.The party arrives at a bridge they must cross; finding it dilapidated and rickety; unlike the last time Hagamar remembered crossing it-- eight or nine years ago. As Felson starts to question Hagamar's ability as a guide, Behmen starts to lead his horse across the bridge; testing its ability to bear both his and the horse's weight. The bridge sways, creaks and groans, but Behmen makes it across. He instructs the rest of the party to completely unload the wagon (except of course, for the Girl), and to bring the horses across first, one by one.Kay and Behmen begin pulling the wagon across, while Felson, Debelzaq and Hagamar hold a rope fastened to the rear of the wagon, gradually letting it out. Behmen and Kay are barely halfway across when the rough hemp rope abrades Delbezaq's hands until they are bloody and he is unable to hold on. Without his added pull and weight against the rope, Felson and Hagamar cannot hold on, causing the wagon to lurch uncontrollably across the bridge. Kay loses his balance and tumbles over the side of the bridge... but before he can fall, the Girl thrusts her hand through the bars of her cage and grasps his wrist, pulling Kay to safety-- with only one hand. The party hitches a rope from the horses to the wagon so they can pull it the rest of the way across; the party members pushing from behind. The bridge finally gives way under the stress, the party barely making it safely across with the wagon. As they pause to rest and bandage Debelzaq's hands, Hagamar notes that they are at the entrance to Wormwood Forest.As the party rides on, fog lays heavily upon the ground and Hagamar cannot see where they are going. Felson and Hagamar start to argue again when Behmen suggests they camp on the road until the fog passes. As camp is set up, Behmen goes to confront the Girl. Though she has displayed no other powers, Kay is now living proof of her incredible strength.The Girl's tone and face as she looks at Behmen have changed again, and she addresses him almost as if he were a friend, saying that people will believe what they want to believe. Addressing Behmen by name this time, she asks him if he believes she is a witch. As she speaks, the torch in Behmen's hands seems to abruptly go out, and then continue burning. In the brief second that his eyes were off the Girl, she has leaned against the bars, offering an amused smile as she asks if Behmen is afraid of her. Behmen pulls a tarp over her cage so they cannot see her, and she cannot look into their eyes. While asleep, Behmen has another dream of killing the peasant woman at Smyrna... but this time, as he remembers impaling her on his sword, he dreams that, instead of falling dead, she touches her fingers to her wound and tastes her blood, smiling pleasurably.Waking from the dream, Behmen finds Hagamar loading a crossbow; he is preparing to kill the Girl then and there, planning to deliver a cover story that she escaped from the cage and tried to attack them, and they had to kill her in self-defense. Behmen and Felson stop him, saying that even if nobody else could discern the deception of the story, Behmen and Felson themselves-- along with Debelzaq-- would always know and remember it.Abruptly a piercing ululation, sounding as if the Girl were howling, interrupts the argument. A more lupine howl comes from the forest, followed by another, and then more. The party knows that a pack of wolves is converging on them. Quickly they mobilize and stand in a formation that will let them cover each other's backs. The pack comes charging into the camp, but the party members defend themselves and each other, slaying the wolves.Then another chorus of howls comes from the forest and the party sees that the wolves are going to make another go for the camp, in even greater numbers. Behmen jumps to take the reins of the wagon while everyone else rides behind him. Chasing the party with determination, the pack of wolves succeeds in pulling down Hagamar's horse. As they surround Hagamar, their eyes and muzzles contort until they look horrific. Behmen and Felson start to ready their weapons, but the savage beasts are devouring Hagamar and they cannot save him. Taking back to flight again, they escape.The next day the party is riding again, when suddenly Behmen stops the wagon and grabs the crossbow. He has decided to kill the Girl himself and put an end to the party members dying. But of all the people to come to try and stop him, Debelzaq pleads with Behmen to stay his hand. Behind Debelzaq, the Girl smiles with seeming delight as she listens to Behmen rage at Debelzaq about how much more blood he's spilled in God's name, than he now believes God would ask him to do. Behman shoves Debelzaq aside, but now it is Felson standing before the cage. Felson gestures to one side, showing Behmen that they are at the edge of Wormwood Forest, and just before them is the mountain pass... and their destination, the Abbey of Severac, is in sight.Riding up to the abbey, Behmen knocks on the door for the outer gate. When nobody answers, Kay finally climbs through a window to open it from the inside. They ride through the outer cloister and Debelzaq says that judging by the time of day, they should find the monks in the chapel; they would be in vespers now.But on arrival, Debelzaq, Behmen, Felson and Kay find only death. The monks there are all dead from the plague. Debelzaq is distraught, as there is nowhere else to go. He drops to his knees and fervently begins to recite the Lord's prayer, when suddenly they hear a strained voice softly speak the last sentence. They find one monk on the floor, barely clinging to life. Debelzaq starts to give the dying monk last rites, when the monk shakily points to where Behmen sees the Book of Solomon resting on an altar. Debelzaq feels new hope as he skims through the pages.The party returns to the wagon, which they have left just outside the chapel gates; Debelzaq holding the Book of Solomon. At this point, all traces of timidity are gone from the Girl's voice and face, and she faces them with increasing boldness as she asks if this is the fair trial she was promised. Debelzaq sprinkles holy water at her, which makes her recoil, and begins the ritual. Smiling as she says she's deceived Debelzaq, the Girl then lashes out hatefully and begins to castigate the whole party on the Church's own sins and all the people it has hanged, burned and crucified.The Girl pauses to shoot a glance over her shoulder at the wagon's horses, who immediately respond with great agitation. She resumes her vitriol before Behmen tells Debelzaq to continue the ritual. As he begins reading, the girl briefly closes her eyes and mouths words. Debelzaq's injured hands begin to bleed and throb with pain. Behmen draws his sword and starts to advance on the Girl, who lashes out at his trying to help her only as a means of easing his own guilt. Behmen stops short on seeing she knew about his slaying the peasant Turk woman. The Girl's smile turns completely savage as she declares Behmen's own sins to be Legion in number; the countless souls that fell beneath his blade.Suddenly the Girl stands as erect as the cage will permit her and begins to bark the words of the Crusader Grandmaster during the battle of Smyrna-- her voice now mimicking that of the Grandmaster perfectly. Behmen and Felson stare in astonishment. Even without her voice having perfectly copied that of the Crusader Grandmaster, how she was able to know the exact words of his monologue should be impossible.Debelzaq's face turns in horror and he softly says that the Girl is in fact, no witch... he knows that she is something far more terrible. He hurriedly turns the pages of the Book of Solomon to one with a demonic image and the Latin word for exorcisms.As Debelzaq reads, the Girl turns, shrieking at him not to speak the words. Debelzaq starts to read the ritual more loudly, more strongly, and the Girl starts to scream and scramble about her cage. Winds begin to pick up; dark clouds blot out the sun. Slowly the Girl's face and body begin to change; revealing the demon that has possesed her. The demon grips the bars of the cage and they begin to melt, along with the roof and floor of the cage. Now free, the demon makes a beeline for Debelzaq; striking both Behmen and Felson aside like swatting at bugs. In desperation, Debelzaq grabs the goblet of holy water and hurls it at the demon, and it emits a horrible scream of agony. Kay rushes forward, sword at the ready, but the demon takes to the air and flees into the monastery.The party holes up in the abbey and gathers more holy water. Behmen tells Kay that his journey is ending here; the battle that must be undertaken now is beyond him. But Kay insists that his honor cannot be upheld unless he completes his vow to them, even if they try to release him from it... and even if it means his own death. Moved by Kay's valor and sense of duty, Behmen draws his sword, asks Kay to kneel and speak the vows of knighthood after him; upon which Behmen gives the accolade, using his authority as a knight to bestow knighthood on Kay.As the party goes through the abbey to confront the demon, they all reflect and think about their journey. The demon could have escaped at any time, but didn't. Kay realizes that escape was never the demon's plan. The party remembers that Eckhart died only after he began to express severe doubt over the Girl's guilt as a witch, and whether they truly needed to bring her to the abbey. Hagamar was killed by the wolves only after he wanted to kill the Girl immediately at the camp site in Wormwood. And reflecting further, they remember that when she struggled with them in her cell before the start of the journey, she suddenly stopped fighting, allowing them to render her unconscious when Debelzaq shouted that the sooner they got her to Severac, the better. Throughout the journey, she actually helped them-- even going so far as saving Kay's life. Putting these details together, the party realizes that the demon WANTED the party to deliver it to the abbey, even aiding them in reaching the destination safely.Making their way to the library, the party finds more bodies of monks that have succumbed to the plague. Behmen is puzzled to find that one monk, before dying, bound himself to the chair his corpse still sits in. More dead monks are found, similarly bound to their chairs in front of their desks. On the desks themselves are sheets of parchments containing passages from the Book of Solomon. Behmen and Debelzaq realize that the monks were making copies of the book, to arm the rest of Europe against evil, heresy and witchcraft. This gives them the answer as to why the demon wanted to come here to the abbey: it knew that a suspected witch would be brought here, where the last copy of the Book of Solomon was kept. The demon's goal, all along, has been to destroy the last copy of the book before more copies were finished. It would have free, unopposed reign over all of Europe, and usher in an age of darkness.The demon (now voiced by Kevin Killebrew) speaks directly to them then, dryly thanking them for bringing it to the abbey and the book before it. They see the demon in its true form perched on the domed ceiling of the abbey library.Abruptly the papers on all the desks burst into flame and begin to burn. The increased illumination from these small fires allows Felson to note something terribly disturbing... all the bodies of the dead monks are now gone.Debelzaq starts to continue reading the ritual. The demon growls and causes a stone banister above them to crumble and crash down on their heads. Then, the party notes, the dead bodies of the monks are now animated, under the demon's command. The dead monks quickly scuttle along the walls and ceiling of the library, dropping down on them to kill them.Fighting to destroy these animated corpses, and to defend Debelzaq as he continues the exorcism ritual, the party finds that cutting the heads off of the corpses causes them to dissipate. But the last body drops from the ceiling right on Felson's back, driving a knife into it. Felson destroys the last dead monk, but is grievously wounded.Suddenly the demon itself descends from the chapel dome. In the fighting, Debelzaq was now unguarded. Seizing Debelzaq from above and behind, the demon snaps his neck and kills him. It tries to grab the book to destroy it, but the holy writing on the pages burns its hand. Behmen rushes at the demon, but it grabs Behmen by the throat and pins him against the wall, hissing how the book has tormented it over centuries as it worked tirelessly to destroy all the copies, and this was the last one. The demon throttles Behmen harder, about to finish him, when suddenly Felson grabs the demon from behind, saying to Behmen, 'you'll be buying tonight, my friend.'Felson drags the demon away from Behmen, but he is no match for the demon's physical strength or unholy powers. Enveloping Felson in its wings, the demon burns Felson alive, turning his body into ash.The demon's head whirls around at the sound of Latin incantations; Kay has picked up the book and has picked up the ritual where Debelazaq left off. Enraged, it turns to face the young knight, when Behmen charges at the demon, shoving it against the wall, driving two daggers through the demon's wings to pin it. Struggling with all his strength, Behmen shouts for Kay to finish the ritual. As the young knight recites with renewed conviction, the demon begins to shriek loudly and fight with maniacal fury. Arcing one wing around, the demon uses a barb along the wing's edge, stabbing Behmen in the back. It drives the barb into Behmen's back again and again, ripping Behmen apart from the inside out. Finally Behmen is mortally wounded, and the demon bats him aside and pulls the knives out of its wings, turning to face its last opponent... but Kay has finished reading the exorcism ritual with a loud, forceful Amen. The demon is halted in its tracks; the holy power invoked wracking the demon with great pain, finally destroying it; the horrific unholy creature's body becoming a ball of energy that dissipates through the domed ceiling. Quickly the sky begins to clear.The battle won, Kay slumps in a daze against a wall while the Girl lays naked and barely conscious nearby. Kay crosses to Behmen. With his dying breath, Behmen asks Kay to watch over and protect the Girl.Kay provides proper Church burial for his fallen compatriots, building stone barrows into which are set Felson and Behmen's swords and a wooden cross as grave markers. The Girl stands beside him, musing how she owes so much to those that she never truly knew, and she doesn't know what to say. Kay suggests she say what is in her heart.The Girl tells the slain knights that her name is Anna, and she will never forget everything they did for her; how they gave their lives on her behalf. She asks Kay to tell her everything he knows about Behmen, Felson and Debelzaq, as she and Kay mount horses for the journey home. We see the Book of Solomon in Kay's saddle bag; he is now the keeper of the words of Solomon. The camera begins to pan out as Kay and Anna ride back to civilization.Anna closes the movie with a voiceover in which she recounts that the plague lifted from the land like the passing of a fever, and she promises to devote her life to telling her story, that the horrors faced and the lives lost will always be remembered and that people will be reminded that they, and the darkness that almost was, were all very real.

Tags: paranormal, suspenseful, gothic

Review:
This is one of those sword and sandal fantasy films that tread the middle ground, having an interesting premise set up in a fantasy fellowship quest, only for the execution to be hovering around mediocre standards following a rote formula of introducing the problem, gathering the players, and have them encounter sequence after sequence of battle obstacles on the way to their objective.Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman play buddies Behman and Felson respectively, knights of the Crusade who make a reputation of being fearsome warriors fighting for a higher cause, only to desert their army and turning their backs from continuing onto Jerusalem after realizing that they are nothing but fighting pawns for the whims of man.
Their services get called for by a town inflicted by a plague because of a curse by a girl (Claire Foy) whom they deem a witch, and the agreement forged was for them to escort her to a monastery for a group of monks to decide on the authenticity of the claim, and if so, decide and inflict punishment.Gathering Priest Debelzag (Stephen Campbell Moore), guide Hegamar (Stephen Graham), one of the remaining fighting fit soldiers of the town with Eckhart (Ulrich Thomsen) and a priest in training Kay (Robert Sheehan) whom the party picked up early in their journey, the group has to band together if they are to get to their destination in one piece, with the accused girl being locked up in a cage but always seem to be drawing undue attention to herself, raising questions about her innocence as we get to see her demonstrate abilities and superhuman strength even, while putting on a saccharine sweet face.
There's an awfully long and painfully executed crossing of a creaky bridge that doesn't seem to want to end, but otherwise passable CG was employed in an attack of wolves, and the money shot in the final battle where all hell breaks loose in the monastery with grotesque looking winged beasts and the expected big boss to fight in an all out melee done arcade style.Some will probably find the themes here quite objectionable, especially since it sets its sights squarely on how religion gets manipulated by the few, and made suggestive queries what if the Crusade wasn't a calling made by god as claimed by the messengers, but of more negative forces since it involves the killing of innocents.
A beleaguered church ruled by Cardinal D'Ambrosio (Christopher Lee), deeming sorcery the culprit of the plague, commands the two knights named Beheman (Nicolas Cage) and Felson (Ron Perlman) to transport an accused witch (Claire Fay) to a remote abbey, where monks will perform a ritual in hopes of ending the pestilence.
An embarrassingly bad, schlocky swords and sorcery movie starring Nicolas Cage (Leaving Las Vegas, National Treasure, Adaptation) as a heroic crusader tasked with transporting a witch to a remote monastery in central Europe during the time of the Black Death.
Accompanied by his fellow crusader (Ron Perlman -- Hellboy I and II, City of Lost Children) and a young priest (Stephen Campbell Moore -- Bright Young Things, Amazing Grace), the "witch" soon proves to be not-what-she seems and before anybody knows it -- all hell breaks loose.This is a film that is rather stupid when it begins ...
and it becomes a bit stupider and than more stupider and even more stoopiderer as it goes along (I groan each time I type that).It could be entertaining enough for others but I just had too many problems with dialogue (references to things not in existence in the Dark Ages) and bad jokes and Nicolas Cage's irritating performance (this guy is an Oscar-winner and he can be excellent; but these paycheck films always elicit terrible performances out of him).There is enough action and some special effects that could impress ...
While the latter was a by-numbers Disney effort (plenty of effects, a general lack of heart), Sena's latest work manages to also be quite a bit boring and occasionally ludicrous.This time, Cage doesn't play a magician, but a crusader who, having witnessed too much bloodshed, runs off to Europe with his fellow soldier and best friend (Ron Perlman).
Assisted by a loyal knight (Ulrich Thomsen) and an eager youngster (Robert Sheehan), they begin a perilous journey that will test their faith in every possible way.The storyline certainly had enough spark to produce an interesting movie, but Sena messes with the final product by not knowing what to aim for: depending on the section, Season of the Witch is a historical drama, a thriller with hints of the supernatural or, at worst, a clumsy meld of horror and fantasy (then again, what should we expect from a film that shares its title with the third Halloween flick?).
Setting aside factual inaccuracies, namely the fact that the Crusades, witch hunts and black plague didn't occur simultaneously (and what's with Cage's sudden bout of modern cursing in a Medieval setting?), the uneven tone kicks in after a moderately promising first half, leaving room for basic plotting that culminates in a ghastly genre switch and a most annoying "twist".The acting is a similar mixed bag: Cage does his usual generic blockbuster shtick, which jars considerably with the gravitas coming from Thomsen and, to a lesser extent, Sheehan, both of whom are taking the film far more seriously than required.
A cameo by Christopher Lee - who actually looks more like Max von Sydow - livens things up despite its brevity (even Tim Burton has given him more screen time), and the joy of seeing him and Perlman - lovable as always - in the same movie could make up for the rest if the second half of the picture wasn't so shoddy.
I was wrong, though not in the same league as the last two, Season of the Witch continues the chain of a great year of films for 2011.Season of the Witch obviously wasn't highly publicised as much as other Hollywood films and most critics I have read in newspapers and quite a few people on here have lambasted this movie for being terrible, which is fair enough as everyone is entitled to their own opinion and even I thought I wouldn't give this higher than a five or six out of ten on here, but I really enjoyed this.Basically set during the ages of the Crusades in the 14th century we are introduced to two of the main characters Behmen (Nicolas Cage) and Felson (Ron Perlman) who are knights and part of the Crusade fighting in wars for God and the Church, but during one battle Behmen kills an innocent woman and realising what he's done, he and Felson abandon the Crusades and become deserters.
Other great things about this movie is the action, which was choreographed well and entertaining with suspense and tension, particularly the moment where the characters have to cross a deteriorated wooden bridge, the cinematography was lovely with some gorgeous scenery and the special effects were superb.
The characters don't have much time to develop, and the paper-thin plot, with its many clichés, just makes everything feel rushed.Making things worse is the fact that Cage and Perlman are forced to utter some of the most forced-Shakesperean dialogue ever put to film.
The supporting cast do a much better job than the two leads, especially Clare Foy who plays the witch.Strictly for Cage fans, or people who don't have very high expectations from a Nic Cage film..
Now someone had the idea to shoot a movie that rises some doubts about the complete moral failure of Christianity in this matter, and two big numbers from the Hollywood's actor's scene agreed to participate.Maybe Nicholas Cage and Ron Pearlman read only their remuneration proposals, not the script.
And, for the record, the Black plague is still active today.Second, when it comes to the crusades, the two heroes in this twisted holy buddy movie turn their backs on their unholy duty only when they kill some European looking females, and the countless other murders they committed are somewhere rightful, because they were misled by the catholic church, poor soldiers with bloody swords but well-hearted to the core.The movie, with those two hypocrisies in mind, is something that should not happen and should not be shown and should not be watched, as it is far away from any truth but claims to have some.
As far as we know, most of US history productions are far from history, and people do not care and watch those abominations like the Germans watched propaganda movies during the NS regime.You can call it merely moronic and enjoy some medieval atmosphere and the professional but not really participating acting of two big names, along with some CGI at SyFy level and a tiny adventurous plot.
Season of the Witch is a small addition to this trend.Behmen (Nicolas Cage) and Felson (Ron Perlman) are two 14th Century knights fighting in the Crusades.
Cage just gave a lazy, phoned-in performance and many of the actors of seemed like they did not care (whoever thought he could play a Medieval knight should reevaluate their career in the film industry).
In "Season of the Witch", Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman play a couple of 14th century Crusaders who were asked to lead a band of men to escort a girl accused of being a witch to an abbey where monks can exorcise her demons.
(most likely the backside of the seemingly illiterate script writer so far as I can make out).Seriously....don't watch this movie unless you have NOTHING to do and NO other options (may I recommend "Birdemic - Shock and Terror" if you'd like something with a little more originality and acting substance....) I started watching this movie for fun as I actually enjoy awful movies (especially Cage at his wooden best) but this just made me furious at the thought of how much money had been poured into this urinal of a film.This is merely a review of my thoughts on the movie as I don't see the point in putting spoilers in a review.
In whole it seems like they took several movies and stitched them together to put out some medieval-action-mystery-horror-flick, using low-budget style fx, bad cgi and a rather clumsy story, topped by some nasty goofs and plot holes so big you can drive the Nimitz through.Want an example?
OTOH, The Wicker Man, Ghost Rider, Knowing, say no more.So it's kind of a crapshoot attending a movie whose advertising comprises essentially "Nic Cage is in it.".Regrettably, you can chalk Season of the Witch up on the "What was he thinking?" side of the ledger.
I presume the primary purpose of this sequence is to demonstrate the "damned if you do, damned if you don't" attitude of the Catholic Church, since once you were accused of witchcraft, there was essentially nothing you could do to demonstrate your innocence.Next we jump ahead a century to a montage of battle scenes from the Crusades, spanning the years 1332 to 1344, as valiant knights Behmen (a slightly chubby Cage) and Felson (Ron Perlman) slauter their way across what was then called the Near East.
Yeah, right.There are adventures along the way, and a couple of surprises await at the end of the journey.The one good thing about the movie is that it shows all the ugliness of the religious fanaticism involved as the Crusades spilled over into the Inquisition.
But, when it comes to Claire Foy, she did a remarkable performance, every scene she did was a exceptional one from my point of view, remember that Claire wasn't famous then or nominated to any award, the sound track was very good, the locations, cgi were not that good,directing isn't that great however I believe he tried and any idiot will figure out that the budget wasn't helpful, anyways the movie is pop corn movie, don't expect Got, or LOT, I could tell why the movie didn't get fair rating or critics, lot of people can't accept the truth of the church and the power of pope then and now lol
I went into this movie with somewhat high hopes, seeing as I am a fan of Nicolas Cage and usually end up enjoying most of his films, even the ones like The Sorcer's Apprentice that are just mindless entertainment.
For the first half of the movie, things are not too bad- the buddy relationship with Cage and costar Ron Perlman works and is entertaining, and there are some very ominous and downright creepy scenes to keep us on edge.
I used to not like Nicolas Cage acting from his period movies, but this film he get a scores from me.
Kudos also to Claire Foy who was the most convincing witch I ever saw on screen.I also loved Ron Pearlman's performance which I found a very powerful, who also had great chemistry with Nicolas Cage.Overall, Season of the Witch is a very good story - very well told set in a very vivid and beautifully created historical landscape of the period of the crusades..
Take your hats off to Nicholas Cage,he must be the busiest actor in Hollywood at the moment,not confined to being seen in one new movie release a year,at the moment you will usually see him in two sometimes three new releases a year and I am so happy he chose to take on this role as did Ron Pearlman in this adventure.This is what going to the movies is all about,big names,big story and great effects that up until the end of the story never overshadow the story itself,and the ending of the movie is certainly worth the wait as the filmmakers throw everything they can at you while at the same time making the entire movie a beautifully filmed piece of story telling.
Followed by his best pal, another knight (Ron Perlman), an altar boy (Robert Sheehan) who wants to be a knight just like them, an con man (Stephen Graham) who will serve as a guide to the difficult journey through the woods, and two representants from the Church, Cage's task will prove to be one of the worst he'll ever have, happening right before his wish to become an deserter, abandoning the knighthood after an tragic incident.A little bit hard to swallow seeing Nic Cage playing such character (and that wig!), or believing in many of the things presented here, but it's not that difficult if you have in mind that this film is made to entertain.
Forget about the countless problems this film has, and forget about possible inaccuracies or anything related to the era pictured here; this is a fun movie with lots of action, good fight scenes (sometimes bad captured due to weak editing), plenty of adventurous and hilarious moments (intentional and unintentional funny parts, the latter being every time they mention the word 'witch', it just sounds funny).It's a great for you to sit down, relax and enjoy this film in the best possible way.
If you want to see a movie totally none believable and with such bad acting and still love Ron Perlman and Nicolage Cage for the things they did right.....So Bad don't even try....
Nicolas Cage and Ron Pearlman do a great job in this one, the mood and the atmosfere of the movie is very dark some times ( specially at the end) and that is a good thing.
I'm a fan of Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman, and i have to first say that their acting was the only thing that kept me watching this absolute joke of a film.It would be enough to say that this is just comfort food for the weak minded, If it didn't use magic in its plot to excuse some of the most horrific deeds in human history.With one sweep of the brush it rewrites our history to justify the execution and torture of innocent women.
"Season of the Witch" (2011) Directed by Dominic Sena Starring Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman Running Time 95 Minutes, Rated PG-13 1.5 Mitch's out of 5 Mitch Hansch/ movieswithmitch.comIn true dubious first film of the new year fashion, I give you the colossal suck-fest that is "Season of the Witch".
All of this is complimented by some lovely cinematography of the vast landscapes of the hills and the forests around which the film makes it's way.Performances wise, Cage and Perlman make a convincing double act as two tough, courageous warriors with a strict code of honour and loyalty, with a support cast including the likes of Stephen Graham and Ulrich Thomsen which keep the aspidistra flying.
Really good casting, fairly interesting story, CGI not over done, beautiful costuming and sets and a small but important role for Christopher Lee.If you like medieval themes, knights/crusaders and witches then give Season of the Witch a whirl.
The movie is about the journey of two knights ( Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman ) who were to transport a witch to monks where some rituals could be performed on it.
I'm glad to say that I was not disappointed and would have happily sat through an extra half an hour (the film only runs for 95 minutes).Although it is far from being a classic, "Season of the Witch" fares better than most with good performances from three of the lead actors, Nic Cage, Ron Perlman and Claire Foy. Furthermore, the action is paced nicely throughout the story, keeping the tension levels and the viewer's interest high from start to finish.The scenery is also used to excellent effect, helping to evoke the danger and despair of the period.
Yes reviews are good/bad/awful....me i loved it..lifes to darn serious at times so such a joy to engage in a fun action/fantasy movie like this.
I go into a movie called Season Of the Witch looking for two things: Medieval action and a Halloween-like atmosphere.