Seventh Son
2014 · Directed by Sergei Bodrov
Original language: English
- adventure
- fantasy
The story
John Gregory, who is a seventh son of a seventh son and also the local spook, has protected the country from witches, boggarts, ghouls and all manner of things that go bump in the night. However John is not young anymore, and has been seeking an apprentice to carry on his trade. Most have failed to survive. The last hope is a young farmer's son named Thomas Ward.
What it’s like
Wide, washed-out landscapes of fenland and stone villages under grey, overcast skies, with a muted palette of mossy greens, slate and cold blue, and an occasional burst of candlelit amber inside dim cottages and caves. The camera favours sweeping aerial establishing shots and steady medium frames that let the scale of the countryside sit around the characters, while the monsters arrive in bursts of CGI that feel glossier than the rest of the image. The score is orchestral and swelling, leaning on brass and percussion for the action beats and softening into strings for the quieter scenes between mentor and student. Its vibe is earnest, old-fashioned dark fantasy, best suited to a weekend afternoon or a lazy evening with a bowl of something warm. The pacing is brisk and episodic, moving from one creature hunt to the next, and the emotional core is a gruff, weary mentor slowly warming to a stubborn young apprentice. Violence is frequent and moderately bloody, with swordplay, creature attacks and some grim imagery of witches and their victims, though nothing lingers on gore for long. It suits viewers who want sword-and-sorcery spectacle with a warm, reluctant father-son dynamic and don't mind a little darkness.
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