Mag Kiln is a priest in the Order of Shadow who has been given the task
of hunting down apostate priests and slaying them. The story opens with
Mag on the trail of one such apostate. Mag has a sidekick named Kruce
who seems to be an amiable fellow with a talent for finding people and
information. Having put down this latest apostate, Mag is given a job
outside his normal calling. He must go to Blackweir and discover the
fate of a priest who has vanished. Every priest sent to Blackweir has
vanished and the temple to Izrador the Dark God has yet to be complete
despite many years of construction.
Mag and Kruce are joined by Chuzara, a woman with an indeterminate role within the Order of Shadow. The band arrive to discover a multitude of characters, a vibrant rebel community led by the missing priest, and plots far too complicated for a single movie. Obviously, this is a pilot for a series.
Midnight Chronicles is based on the Midnight Setting for D&D, in which Izrador was expelled from the heavens but in his defeat managed to bar access to the world of Aryth from the other gods. Over the years, his followers swept away the resistance from those who worship the old gods. The movie is based about a hundred years after Izrador's fall and the Order of Shadow rules the world with few exceptions. I have never read the Midnight setting so have no idea whether the movie does a good job of reflecting it.
Some odd things about the series. There was an elf named Deleth. The actor seemed more like he should be playing a droll wit in a British comedy than an elf. He had a wry humor about him and a fatalistic outlook. Not what I would normally expect of an elf. There was a little used character named Crawlis. She seemed to be some sort of assassin. Either she was of some race I didn't recognize or her particular order of assassins wear an odd pattern of makeup – perhaps war paint? Orcs are plentiful and serve as troops for the Order of Shadow. It was entertaining to see people paying taxes while orcs stood by to keep order – or perhaps offer a bit of disorder and needles violence.
It was okay though a bit slow and convoluted. There are just too many characters for a single movie and few get to develop. The side story of the local kid on the road to being a hero should have been dumped altogether, allowing for more time to be spent on the competing views of Mag Kiln and the apostate Morrec.
Mag and Kruce are joined by Chuzara, a woman with an indeterminate role within the Order of Shadow. The band arrive to discover a multitude of characters, a vibrant rebel community led by the missing priest, and plots far too complicated for a single movie. Obviously, this is a pilot for a series.
Midnight Chronicles is based on the Midnight Setting for D&D, in which Izrador was expelled from the heavens but in his defeat managed to bar access to the world of Aryth from the other gods. Over the years, his followers swept away the resistance from those who worship the old gods. The movie is based about a hundred years after Izrador's fall and the Order of Shadow rules the world with few exceptions. I have never read the Midnight setting so have no idea whether the movie does a good job of reflecting it.
Some odd things about the series. There was an elf named Deleth. The actor seemed more like he should be playing a droll wit in a British comedy than an elf. He had a wry humor about him and a fatalistic outlook. Not what I would normally expect of an elf. There was a little used character named Crawlis. She seemed to be some sort of assassin. Either she was of some race I didn't recognize or her particular order of assassins wear an odd pattern of makeup – perhaps war paint? Orcs are plentiful and serve as troops for the Order of Shadow. It was entertaining to see people paying taxes while orcs stood by to keep order – or perhaps offer a bit of disorder and needles violence.
It was okay though a bit slow and convoluted. There are just too many characters for a single movie and few get to develop. The side story of the local kid on the road to being a hero should have been dumped altogether, allowing for more time to be spent on the competing views of Mag Kiln and the apostate Morrec.
The cast consisted of unknowns, all of whom are still unknown. The writer/producer/director never did anything before this and hasn't done anything since; it is the alpha and omega of his brief career. It was unusual for fantasy and I would have liked to see more. As it was made in 2009 and I watched it in August 2011, it looks like there will be no continuation of this story.
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