Solomon Kane - It is finished and has been seen. Sounds hardcore nasty

Way back in September 2008 I posted some lovely pieces of concept art for a Solomon Kane movie. Being a fan of Robert E Howard's work I was very excited to see a film being developed for the 17th Century Puritan.

Then in December, the teaser poster was released and James Purefoy was mentioned as playing Kane.

After that we had to wait until February 2009 for an update from the director, Michael Bassett.

Since then it has been quiet on the Solomon front. Until now.

Harry Knowles over on AICN has seen the film and loved it. Here is a little of what he had to say.

SOLOMON KANE begins with an awesome shot of two great buccaneer style ships shelling the hell out of a strange Moorish city. We see English buccaneers and adventurers killing Moors as they make their way to find a great treasure of some kind.

The man in front is a man possessed. Cutting men down like they're nothing. He's enjoying what he's doing and it is bloody, it is brutal, it is tough. As they make their way into the heart of this great kingdom, there's a hall of black mirrors at weird angles - and as he and his men make their way through - demons begin grabbing the men into the mirrors... And as Solomon makes his way, alone, to the main chamber - something belched from Hell is waiting. Satan's Reaper (see the concept art below). And this reaper has come for an evil man's soul. An evil man named SOLOMON KANE.

This ties in with the synopsis I posted a while back.

We next find Solomon Kane living the life of a monk essentially. Completely and painfully dedicated in utter repentance to GOD. So intensely so that he scares nearly everyone there. The Abbott had a vision that God wanted Solomon Kane to go forth in the world and return home.

His body is covered with sacred symbols and his back branded with a crucifix that covers his entire back. It's brutal. this isn't modern scarification. This is curdled skin. You only see it in this brief sequence, but it is the image of a man that has tormented his body as he can only imagine his soul would be tormented for eternity. He does not wish to go to hell.

NOW - something you should know - throughout everything this film is BEAUTIFULLY SHOT. Not with filters and bullshit color tones - No. This film feels dirty, feels frigidly cold, life does not look easy. The actors don't look like actors with shiny white teeth and perfect hair. They look like people that have lived lives without air-conditioning, dentistry, exact surgeons and doctors. No - this is a hard time in life. If you've ever read Robert E Howard's stories about SOLOMON KANE you get a picture of the world he inhabited.

This film is an origin and an introduction to SOLOMON KANE. When Solomon's violence is unleashed, it is brutal and doesn't feel choreographed so much as it is what is required in the given situation. He uses the weapons of the period, musket style hand guns and swords. He throws himself into battle without regard for his safety or those he fights. And make no doubts about it, the evil in this world is true evil.

My favorite demonstration of this is a little village they come across. There's a stake in the middle of the village - and surrounding it are all these dead bodies. They all had their eyes burnt out from the inside out. Holy hell, this is evil looking. They surmise that they were attempting to burn a witch at the stake and she killed all that were attempting to watch her die. This ain't the fucking CRUCIBLE - this is the world of SOLOMON KANE!

Evil is real and thank god we have Solomon Kane out there in it.

Now - about the performances - they're all dead on. James Purefoy is a movie star. His Solomon Kane is the animal we wish Wolverine was in fights. He's fantastic as Kane. He sells everything about the character - this isn't a film about one liners and unbelievable action. This is the purest film introduction to a new screen star since I saw George Clooney in FROM DUSK TIL DAWN. I had the exact same feeling watching Purefoy here.

And so is everyone else... Pete Postlethwaite, Alice Krige, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Max von Sydow (wow), Jason Flemyng, Mackenzie Crook... everyone. They all sell this story so well.

There is lots more in Harry's article, but it does sound like it could well be an incredible piece of film, dark, moody, nasty and full of adventure. I really cannot wait to see some footage from it.

Are you excited about the Solomon Kane film?

Leave a comment on this post below.

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