‘A Knight’s War’ Review
Stars: Jeremy Ninaber, Kristen Kaster, Matthew Ninaber, Shane Nicely, Kristen MacCulloch, Jeremy Dueck, Raechel Fisher, Ariel Gerard | Written and Directed by Matthew Ninaber
A Knight’s War is the new film from writer/director Matthew Ninaber, who you may recognize as the director of Death Valley and Transference, or as the actor who played the title creature in Psycho Goreman.
This time out he’s given us a dark take on sword and sorcery, the story of a knight named Bhodie (Jeremy Ninaber; Extraction Day, Best Friend From Heaven). Sworn to save The Chosen One believed to be enigmatic Avalon (Kristen Kaster; If I Should Die, Death Valley). Seemingly defeated at the last moment, his half-brother William (Matthew Ninaber) stabs him, sending him into The Realm of the Fallen, or in simpler terms Hell, to return her to our world.
Upon arriving there he’s forced to make a deal with the entity known as The Keeper (Shane Nicely; The Siren, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency). That done, he quickly finds Avalon, and the objective shifts to killing the three Dark Lords who hold the gems that will let them return to our world. From here A Knight’s War becomes a fairly conventionally plotted quest film as the duo has to face off against enemies that include blood-drinking witches and the sorcerer known as The Invoker. The biggest threat of them all however may lie within the duo themselves.
I have to give Ninaber credit, A Knight’s War is a great-looking film, incredibly it wasn’t shot on a professional sound stage but on sets built in his backyard. They have the dark, fog-enshrouded look of other genre favourites like The Sword and the Sorcerer, Hawk the Slayer and Archer: Fugitive From the Empire. It’s a wise choice because not only does it let cinematographer Brent Tremain (Bred for War, Eyes of Deceit) crank up the atmospherics, it helps hide any flaws in the set construction.
Set decorator Robyn Elliott, Costume Designer Darcie Kaster (Death Cycle) and Production Designer Ralph Ninaber all played a part in making the film look as good as it does. Whether it’s the look of the characters’ plate armour, a foggy forest or dungeon everything looks like it belongs in a much bigger budgeted film.
The film’s effects are also plentiful, Carlos Henriques (Reel 2, Here For Blood) and his special makeup crew deliver plenty of practical mayhem that includes charred bodies, severed limbs and heads. The VFX team led by Prasanna Paul (Beyond Hell, Godforsaken) are a bit more hit-and-miss with the smaller-scale ones coming off better than the more lavish ones. On the whole though, they are better than a lot of low-budget films.
Of course without a decent script that doesn’t really matter too much, and A Knight’s War tells an entertaining tale with enough action and Game of Thrones-type conflict among its small cast to stay interesting. The film could have used a bit of trimming and a faster pace. At an hour and forty-three minutes it feels overly talky in places and could have done with some trimming. My other complaint is it’s yet another film that ends right before the scene you want to see. Whether by design or by budget it left me feeling cheated.
The cast have the right look for their roles and do a good job of bringing them to life. Granted, the hardest thing they’re called on to do is make the rather flowery dialogue not sound clunky and keep a straight face while delivering some of the more mystical dialogue.
Overall A Knight’s War is a surprisingly solid excursion into heroic fantasy. As long as you’re not expecting an epic along the lines of Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves you should be quite happy with what it brings to the table. Matthew Ninaber says he wants to do a sequel, and I’m there for it if he does.
**** 4/5
A Knight’s War is currently in US cinemas, and Epic Pictures will release it to VOD and digital platforms on February 11th via its Dread label.
______
