His latest betrayal of his fanbase goes by the name of Season of the Witch, and he plays Behmen, a knight who deserts from the Crusades with his comrade and best friend, Felson. They're caught out in a small parish that's troubled by the Black Death, and commanded by church officials to take an accused witch across country to a place where her evil can be put to an end. It's believed her witchcraft is the cause of the plague, and Behmen is less easily convinced that the young woman in his charge is guilty.
For starters, I think the main problems with Season of the Witch are twofold, but they both relate to juxtaposed elements that never quite mesh. Firstly, I can't tell if it's meant to be a fantasy film or a horror film, and it's not fantastical enough or scary enough to fit into either one of those alone. Second of all, the involvement of Felson, mentioned above, makes Nicolas Cage part of a double act. Unless his opposite number is Chloe Moretz, and the film is Kick-Ass, Cage in a double act doesn't really work, as Jay Baruchel and Justin Bartha can attest. Weirder still, Felson is played by part-time Hellboy and genre stalwart Ron Perlman.
Just try and imagine that combination in your head. Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman. You might as well pair up Batman and Muttley for all the chemistry there is between those two actors. Perlman is clearly the better player in this one because of his experience in this type of film. Cage, for all of his celebrity nerdery, should stick to watching films like this rather than acting in them. His vocal rendition of "14th century knight" sounds an awful lot like "MIT professor" or "sorcerer" or "stage magician". Hell, it just sounds a lot like Nicolas Cage.
Claire Foy manages well enough as the seasonal may-or-may-not-be-gribbly of the title, but there's very little ambiguity about her character. Well, there's at least no chance that she might be just a wrongfully accused regular human girl. The turnaround we have instead takes us into much more familiar territory, lifting from horror films as we take a running leap towards a thoroughly uninspired denouement. Season of the Witch isn't that bad- it's just so uninspiring and such a minor effort that it's not worth the corresponding effort required for the audience to go out and see it.
Season of the Witch is now playing in cinemas nationwide.
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If you've seen Season of the Witch, why not share your comments below?
I'm Mark the mad prophet, and until next time, don't watch anything I wouldn't watch.