Season of the WitchIt's been awhile since Nicolas Cage has come out with a great movie (long gone are his Adaptation and Leaving Las Vegas days), and a small part of me keeps hoping that maybe his next film will bring him back to star status. Unfortunately for Nic fans, Season of the Witch is not going to be that film. Cage stars as a knight returning from the Crusades to a Black Plague-torn homeland. The church elders have put the blame on a girl, who they deem as a witch, and they command the knights to escort her to the monastery so the monks can lift her curse. Along the way, they encounter genre-appropriate beings such as wolves and demons.

Critics are slamming the film, saying that this could have been Nic's comeback performance, but instead, it just ensured his position in the bottom of the Hollywood barrel.

Brett Martin, The Examiner:

"This movie is so bad its almost silly. I quit counting how many medieval clichés there were and to be honest with you, I still can't tell you if this is a a supernatural action movie or a dark demonic horror film. I might not be the smartest guy in the world but I didn't fall off a turnip truck yesterday either. This plot is so preposterous and frankly nothing that happens makes any sense, even if you try your hardest to suspend all reality."

Marshall Fine, Huffington Post:

"Season of the Witch is genre garbage, served up with a straight face as though it means something. But all it means is that P.T. Barnum and H.L. Mencken remain inarguably correct in their assessment of the public's gullibility and appetite."

Mark Jenkins, Washington Post:

"The age of chivalry has never looked dingier than in Season of the Witch, a sluggish mash-up of knight's tale and creature feature. The movie proceeds in near darkness, perhaps to obscure its shoddy special effects, but the pervasive gloom is less discouraging than star Nicolas Cage's indifferent performance."

With reviews like these, I'm surprised the movie even managed to get produced.

Do these reviews keep you from seeing the movie, or do you plan on watching it anyway?

 

Image via SeasonoftheWitchMovie.com