By Brent Snyder (2/28/2022)
In the Dark Ages, just trying to survive day to day must have been like living in a horror movie.
The Middle Ages were a time of superstition, starvation, sickness, violence and widespread belief in the supernatural - a perfect setting for horror films. And featuring a roster of folklore frights likes trolls, goblins, vampires, werewolves, giants, dragons and witches, the Dark Ages provide fertile ground to mine for horror stories. Consider that the classic tale of Beowulf and Grendel is at it's core about battling a monster.
From the classic fan favorite "Army of Darkness" (original working title "Medieval Dead") to more recent productions like "The Head Hunter," medieval horror films range from psychological thrillers and supernatural fantasy flicks to action-packed monster mashes. My favorites in the genre include:
"Army of Darkness" (1992) - Hail to the King, baby. Any discussion of Medieval horror has to feature Sam Raimi's genre-bending third film in the "Evil Dead" franchise. Transported to 1300 England, Ash the Deadite slayer must find the Necronomicon to save King Arthur's country from the undead - and find his way back to the future. With his trusty boomstick, chainsaw and groovy new mechanical hand, Ash wisecracks his way through a slapstick quest to battle deadites, tiny versions of himself, a full-size evil version of himself - and a literal army of the dead.
"Season of the Witch" (2011) - Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman star as knights in 14th century Germany tasked with escorting a girl (Claire Foy) accused of witchcraft to a remote monastery. This entertaining supernatural action flick has it all - the Black Death, demonic possessions, sword fights, wolf attacks, ghostly visions, exorcism, and an appearance by Christopher Lee! Though the violence and gore is kept to a minimum in order to appeal to a broader audience, it's a fun romp and Cage and Perlman shine.
"The Head Hunter" (2018) - Christopher Rygh stars as the Head Hunter of the title, a lone Viking making his living as a monster hunter while he searches for the creature that killed his daughter years ago. Written, produced and directed by Jordan Downey ("ThanksKilling"), the low budget film takes place mostly in one location, in and around the Head Hunter's home. We see him preparing for hunts, repairing his armor, sharpening weapons and brewing healing potions. He heads out the door - the screen goes to black - and then he returns home, bloody and bruised, with a new monster head to mount on the wall. It's brilliant. We see the mundane day-to-day life of this hunter, puttering around his home, tending to his daughter's grave, preparing for the next job - until late one night, work follows him home.
"The Great Wall" (2016) - Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal and Willem Dafoe star as European mercenaries in 1100 who are recruited to help defend China from a kaiju attack. Yes, that's right - kaiju attack - as in an alien kaiju queen and her hungry brood. (Now we know what the Great Wall was built to keep out). It's "Marco Polo" meets "Pacific Rim," except instead of giant mechs we have waves of warriors utilizing hot-air balloons and gunpowder tipped arrows. Co-written by Max Brooks ("World War Z") and directed by Zhang Yimou ("House of Flying Daggers"), the film also features Jing Tian ("Kong: Skull Island," Pacific Rim: Uprising"), Andy Lau ("Infernal Affairs") and Zhang Hanyu ("The Taking of Tiger Mountain").
"Dracula Untold" (2014) - Luke Evan portrays Vlad "the Impaler" Dracula, the 15th century ruler of Romania who turns to vampirism in order to save his people from invasion by the Ottoman Empire. Turning the character of Dracula into a heroic figure rather than a villain, "Dracula Untold" features epic battle scenes with fun vampiric visuals. The cast includes Dominic Cooper ("Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter"), Sarah Gadon ("Castle Rock") and Charles Dance ("Godzilla: King of the Monsters") as the Master Vampire who turns Vlad into a creature of the night.
"Outlander" (2008) - It's "Predator" meets "Beowulf" as Jim Caviezel plays a spaceman who crashes his starship in 790 Norway. Passing himself off as a Northman to the nearby villagers, he claims to be hunting a "dragon" - which turns out to be predatory alien creature of great cunning and strength. The cast includes Sophia Myles ("Underworld"), Jack Huston ("Pride and Prejudice and Zombies") and both Ron Perlman and John Hurt ("Hellboy").
"Black Death" (2010) - Sean Bean stars in this "medieval guys on a mission" story concerning a group of knights searching for a necromancer they believe responsible for the plague ravaging the country. Originally written to be an entirely supernatural tale (the actual Devil was a main character), director Christopher Smith changed the script to have the horrors perpetrated by human beings rather than demons. Does Bean suffer yet another onscreen death? No spoilers.
"Sword of God" (2018) - Originally called "The Mute," this bleak and minimalist Polish film is a modern masterpiece in the "evil that men do" category of horror. Directed by Bartosz Konopka, the film finds two priests (Karol Bernacki, Krzysztof Pieczynski) who have sailed to an isolated island in the Baltic Sea to convert the Pagan natives to Christianity. But there's a ticking clock element to their mission - the king and his knights are on their way to the island and will slaughter the tribe if the priests aren't successful in their conversion. A sense of dread flows through the film as tension leads to desperation and culminates in horrific violence.
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