There are no morally sound characters in Black Death, Christopher Smith‘s followup film to Triangle. Nearly every character is a pure bastard. No one in this universe, which is a solid mix of a genre filmmaking and period piece, could be deemed a good person. Oddly enough, though, the most charming character is who some will claim to be the villain: Carice Van Houten‘s charming and intimidating witch. The British director is interested in playing in gray areas and raising questions. If you have seen Triangle, then you should know by now Smith isn’t all about the answers. Black Death may not end on the complete mind-boggling question mark that Triangle does, which Smith himself jokes about, but there are definitely some open ends to be discussed. Here’s what director Christopher Smith had to say about his atmospheric horror film:

At first, the new red band teaser for Repo Men, a futuristic action film starring Jude Law and Forest Whitaker, seems like a tired old girl. That is, until she busts loose with bloody intensity.

What do having sex with Sharon Stone, having sex with Carice Van Houten, and having sex for money have in common? I’ll give you a hint, and it’s not having sex.

Enlightened to the evil of Adolf Hitler, a battle tested German Colonel named Clause von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise), joins a group of fellow dissenters in an intricate plot to assassinate their Fuhrer.

For a movie that looks so “Hollywood”, Black Book is terribly grim, but that’s because, despite its epic surface, it isn’t Hollywood at all.