Solomon Kane

After the questionnaire it seemed like a good idea to go and take a look at Solomon Kane to see what inspirations and knowledge I can draw from it, considering that it fits into the same niche I am aiming the current piece at.

Solomon Kane was produced on a mid range budget ($45 million) considering the scale of the piece and was written and directed by Michael J. Bassett who has directed more theatre than films. It met with a relatively low box office turnover, which may have been due to it's limited marketing budget and small release. Regardless of this though the film seems well constructed for what it does, albeit a bit distanced from the mainstream due to the authentic and unsimplified style.

The opening of the film acts as a set up for the events which follow in the rest of the film. They act as a story in and of themselves which sets the tone of the film as well as introducing plot elements which will re-emerge later. As such it works very well as an opening.

The visual style is dirty and authentic. There is a noticeable lack of flare compared to other big budget Hollywood epics such as 300 and it bares more resemblance to Lord of the rings in its visual style. The opening sequence is also mostly lit by torchlight or orange stage lights which give it a warm and almost hellish look, in keeping with the plot developments within. The rest of the visuals comprise what you would expect in dark fantasy. Dark colours, lots of leather rather than earthy cloths, bloodied and fit-for-purpose weaponry and lots of dirt.

The camera and editing work is nothing special, it does what it needs to do. The music highlights key moments such as Solomon fleeing the Devil's reaper (the monster sent from hell to collect Solomon's soul).

There are some nice visual elements in the opening and it acts as the beginning to the story, as you imagine it would. Other than that there is not a lot to say.

Addendum: There is some good central framing such as below: