Sword of God (2024)

Sword of God

God’s sword (translated as “Blood of God” in Krew Boga) is an experimental historical horror film. And it’s just as crazy as you might think. This movie is stylish and captivating; it builds a sense of dread better than almost anything else I’ve seen in recent memory.

The story follows two travelers during the medieval period who come into contact with a tribe of pagan natives, one hoping to convert them to Christianity and the other hoping to understand their way of life. But unlike most movies with this setup, it’s not the natives that are the problem it’s the outsiders. That’s what makes this movie so powerful.

Bartosz Konopka, who co-wrote and directed the film, says a lot about European colonialism here. Although that isn’t quite as directly relevant now, much of what he brings up can be applied to modern issues of racism and prejudice. It’s thought-provoking stuff more so than your average genre picture.

The writers deserve praise for how well they characterized this film. The dichotomy they build between the two leads is incredibly interesting. Even more impressive is that they give personalities to native characters something these types of movies often overlook.

Both lead actors Kyrzysztof Pieczynski and Karol Bernacki are very good. The film toured festivals under the English title “The Mute,” because most of Bernacki’s performance has no dialogue. But his level of expressiveness throughout is astounding.

This is slow burn through-and-through, but it works like gangbusters; it crawls under your skin and stays there for its entire runtime. Konopka has a very moody, atmospheric style that lends itself well to this story; it creates an immersive tone that is terrifying in all respects required by such films (and then some). Atmosphere and tension nearly always work better than jump scares this is a prime example.

Visually, the movie is stunning. The color palette and cinematography are cold and uninviting, which suits the story perfectly. It’s not a fun watch by any stretch of the word, but it’s a rewarding one. Konopka knows how to disturb an audience with his filmmaking choices, and he does so here in spades.

Sword of God is one of the most unexpectedly scary horror films I’ve seen all year. This is truly a hidden foreign gem for genre fans everywhere; hopefully they find it soon enough to appreciate its full dread inducing glory.

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