Judging from what I had heard and seen from many critics I was expecting a pile of horse poop. So while Season of the Witch was not as bad as it could've been, to me that didn't mean much. The costume and set design are great, the effects are good if too over-reliant in the last third of the film and Ron Perlman is a nice presence. So what spoilt it?

The two assets that spoilt it for me were the cheesy, anachronistic writing and the characters, that were both bland and clichéd. The storytelling is often thin in structure and sluggish in pace, and further hampered by a final third that is nonsensical and reliant too much on special effects. I missed the intimacy of the choreography of the action sequences as well, not sure whether it was lack of heart in the performances or the moments of hackneyed editing there was, and the direction shows signs of awkwardness. Perlman aside, the acting is pretty awful, and hurt even more by inconsistent accents. Nicolas Cage is especially wooden.

Overall, it wasn't quite as bad as I'd heard, however to me it was still one of the weakest of a very hit-and-miss year. 3/10 Bethany Cox

Behmen von Bleibruck (Nicolas Cage) and Felson (Ron Perlman) are two disillusioned 14th century Crusader that have returned home after many battles. Upon their return, they find the land devastated by the Black Plague. In one town, the church accuses a girl (Claire Foy) the witch responsible for the plague. And they order the pair to transport the girl to an abbey. There the pair hope to give her a fair trial.

The Crusades action at the start is pretty good. It gets very slow in the middle. Although there is a good drama whether the girl is or she isn't a witch. It could have gone on longer. This also stars Robert Sheehan. Claire Foy does a good turn as the possible witch. The banter between Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman is a little light especially for the dangers they faced.

SEASON OF THE WITCH, a film which bears no relation to the George Romero title of the same name, is an uneasy mix of a historical action film and a demonic horror yarn. It throws in the Crusades, demons, possession, religion and the black death into a journey narrative that sees an offbeat bunch of characters thrown into a sinister world.

First off, this is a PG-13 film through and through: there are some very adult scares here, including a couple of effective jump scenes (the opening sequence is particularly startling),but virtually no bloodshed or crimson gore. Secondly, it's about as realistic as ROBIN HOOD - PRINCE OF THIEVES, with the characters inhabiting a fairytale version of Europe that bears little resemblance to historical fact.

Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman are the unlikely characters headlining this mess, and out of place they certainly are. After their Crusader introduction (achieved by a mildly impressive montage),they grumble and gruff their way through every scene, their American accents never rightly explained. Cage tries hard, as ever, but Perlman seems to be sleepwalking for the most part.

The supporting players are a lot more interesting. Stephen Campbell Moore hasn't given a bad performance yet, and he continues that tradition here. Stephen Graham is good value, but why he adopted an American accent as well is anyone's guess. Ulrich Thomsen is unfortunately wasted (watch THE SILENCE to see him give an unforgettable performance) but watch out for a good, spooky turn from a rotted Christopher Lee as a plague-struck cardinal.

The action is what disappoints most about this production - it's all CGI beasties and flights of fancy straight out of the likes of VAN HELSING - and come the end it deteriorates in a big, FX-filled mess, as do so many Hollywood productions in their attempts to outdo each other in terms of spectacle. Still, the flashes of horror and uneasiness along the way count for something, so this isn't one of the worst I've seen.