Black Death

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Black Death

R

2011

1h 42m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

72%

Tomatometer

68 Reviews

49%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

During the time of the bubonic plague in 14th-century England, young monk Osmund is recruited by the knight Ulric to lead a group of soldiers through the marshes into a mysterious village, where rumors are spreading that a necromancer is raising plague victims from the dead. Osmund agrees, but he has an ulterior motive—to find Averill, a young woman who has gone missing. Along the way, the group encounters unimagined darkness.

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Critics Consensus

Black Death delivers the fire and brimstone violence its subject matter warrants, while posing some interesting questions of faith and religion.

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

03/25/2011

3/4

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.

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Ian Buckwalter

NPR

03/12/2011

7/10

"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.

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Peter Rainer

Christian Science Monitor

03/11/2011

B

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.

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

09/20/2023

3/5

It brings some fresh ideas and blends together unconventional concepts, yet its pacing fails to get you to engage with the material or leave much of a lasting impressing.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

07/31/2023

3/4

For those willing to stomach harsh realism from a gloomy period in history and confronting notions on religion, Smith has delivered a rewarding film surprisingly bereft of the typical downfalls usually present when mixing horror and history.

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David Harris

Spectrum Culture

11/06/2019

3/5

Black Death's Europe is one of dirt, blood, violence and mist.

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Peadar W

@Pedgekins Feb 11

Very good film, great cast. Best part about it was that it wasn't far fetched or like sci-fi, completely supernatural. It's actually incredibly realistic and completely true to the past. Excellent ending! Sad but completely true to life. Great watch!!!!!!!

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Richard W

Dec 1

Great cast ,awesome settings ,good storyline, i just really loved it ,cant understand the 49% rating ,its at least a 4 star movie

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Farah R

@Farah Nov 27

Surprisingly, not as bad as I expected. Black Death managed to keep me invested in the plot and characters long enough to witness its gruesome ending.

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Jace T

@CineChamber Aug 22

Well I absolutely loved this movie and it deserves more praise than it gets. While there are fantastical elements, the world and story are set in a very grounded reality. I loved the mystery around the plague like disease, and the questioning religious Christian undertones. This is an excellent film that is worth a watch. I know I'll be watching it again.

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acsdoug D

@acsdoug Jul 8

As a history buff I wanted to like this movie. They don't make many movies set in the 14th century and I would like to encourage more. Unfortunately, the story is just not that good.

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Jeff K

May 12

I thought this was a fantastic, simple medieval story that captured the violence, superstition and zealotry of the time.

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Christopher Smith

Director

Sean Bean

Ulric

Eddie Redmayne

Osmund

Carice van Houten

Langiva

Kimberley Nixon

Averill

John Lynch

Wolfstan

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Synopsis

During the time of the bubonic plague in 14th-century England, young monk Osmund is recruited by the knight Ulric to lead a group of soldiers through the marshes into a mysterious village, where rumors are spreading that a necromancer is raising plague victims from the dead. Osmund agrees, but he has an ulterior motive—to find Averill, a young woman who has gone missing. Along the way, the group encounters unimagined darkness.

Director: Christopher Smith
Producer: Jens Meurer, Robert Bernstein, Douglas Rae, Phil Robertson
Screenwriter: Dario Poloni
Distributor: Magnet Releasing
Production Co: Ecosse Films
Rating: R (Strong Brutal Violence|Some Language)
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 11, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 14, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $22.0K
Runtime: 1h 42m

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