Season of the Witch

Season of the Witch is a 2011 American supernatural action-adventure film starring Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman and directed by Dominic Sena. Cage and Perlman star as Teutonic Knights who return from the Crusades to find their homeland devastated by the Black Death. Two church elders accuse a young woman (Claire Foy) of being a witch responsible for the plague. They command the two knights to transport her to a distant monastery so the monks can lift her curse. The film reunited Sena and Cage, who had previously worked together on Gone in 60 Seconds. Development on the film began in 2001 when the spec script by screenwriter Bragi F. Schut was purchased by MGM. The project moved from MGM to Columbia Pictures to Relativity Media, where the film was finally produced by Charles Roven and Alex Gartner. Filming took place primarily in Austria, Hungary, and Croatia. Season of the Witch was released on January 7, 2011, in the United States, Canada, and several other territories. Plot In 13th century Villach, three women are accused by a priest of witchcraft, and are first hanged before being drowned. The priest performs a ritual on the three woman using a book inscribed from the Key of Solomon so they can never return to life, but one of the women takes on a demonic appearance, sets the book on fire, and hangs the priest. In the 14th century, German Teutonic Knights Sir Behmen von Bleibruck and Sir Felson joins the Smyrniote crusades. After witnessing a civilian massacre during the capture of Smyrna, the two abandon their order and return to Austria.