The Last Witch Hunter

The Last Witch Hunter

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Breck Eisner
Produced by
Written by
Starring
Music by Steve Jablonsky[1]
Cinematography Dean Semler
Edited by
Production
companies
Distributed by Lionsgate
Release dates
  • October 23, 2015 (2015-10-23)
Running time
 106 minutes[3]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $90 million[4]
Box office $140.4 million[4]

The Last Witch Hunter is a 2015 American dark fantasy action thriller film directed by Breck Eisner and written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. The film stars Vin Diesel as an immortal witch-hunter who must stop a plague from ravaging New York City.[5] The film was released on October 23, 2015 and grossed $140.4 million on a $90 million budget.[6]

Plot

Kaulder (Vin Diesel) is a witch-hunter who was cursed with eternal life in the Middle Ages by the Witch Queen (Julie Engelbrecht). The Witch Queen had unleashed the Black Plague to wipe out humanity and killed Kaulder's family, but Kaulder was able to defeat her. Before she meets her end, the Witch Queen curses Kaulder with eternal life as punishment because all he wants to do was die. 800 years later, Kaulder prevents a teenage witch from unintentionally destroying an airplane with weather controlling runes she does not know how to use properly. Kaulder is working as a witch hunter for an organization called The Axe and Cross, which aims to keep the truce between humans and witches and executes or imprisons witches who break the law into the Witches Prison. He is accompanied by a priest called a "Dolan" whose main purpose is to record the achievements of Kaulder and to be his keeper. One night, the 36th Dolan (Michael Caine) tells Kaulder that he is retiring from his duties and has chosen a new Dolan to work alongside Kaulder. The very same night he dies in his sleep.

While investigating his apartment, Kaulder and the 37th Dolan (Elijah Wood) discover traces of magic and deduce that the 36th Dolan was murdered by a witch. While tracking down the witch responsible, Kaulder finds traces of old dark magic, not seen since before he killed the Witch Queen. As it turns out, the Dolan is not dead but rather under a dark magic spell that can only be broken if the witch that cast it is killed. Using clues that the 36th Dolan left behind which asked him to "remember his death," Kaulder goes to a witch bar owned by young witches named Chloe (Rose Leslie) and Miranda (Aimee Carrero) to buy a memory spell to help him remember how he died and came back. Chloe is hesitant to give him the spell but eventually agrees out of curiosity. While in the process of reliving his memory, the bar is attacked by Baltasar Ketola (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson), better known as Belial, the witch that cursed the 36th Dolan. After attacking Kaulder he proceeds to burn down the bar, and attack Chloe at her apartment later in the evening, though Kaulder saves her. After Chloe's friend Miranda is killed by Belial, she agrees to help Kaulder get what he needs to kill him. Unfortunately, Belial destroys what is needed to make the memory spell in Miranda's garden, where she is found dead by Chloe and Kaulder.

In order to get the ingredients to create another memory spell, they visit Danique (Dawn Olivieri), an old and powerful witch who runs the fashion scene. However, Danique drugs Kaulder with an endless dream, and intends to lock him away forever. Chloe is able to enter his mind (because she is a dream walker), convinces him to break free from the hold of the spell, and the two escape together. Later that night Kaulder shows Chloe the history of witches, and how the Witch Queen used dream walkers as soldiers because they were able to enter someone's mind and twist any good memory into something horrible. He then asks Chloe to enter his mind and pull out a memory. Using Chloe's dream walking abilities, she enters his mind and guides him to the memory of his death, where Kaulder discovers that though the Witch Queen's body burned to ash her heart was saved. Kaulder's fellow warriors tried to destroy the heart, but decided to spare it because they saw the more damage was done to the heart the more pain Kaulder felt. His immortality was tied to the Witch Queen's heart, and if it were to die, so would he. The 36th Dolan was attacked because like other Dolans before him, he knew of where the heart was hidden, and was tortured into revealing its location.

Leaving Chloe and the 37th Dolan behind, Kaulder goes to face Belial and the Witch Queen to prevent her from returning. Though he kills Belial, the Witch Queen reenters the world through the sacrifice of another witch, a blind merchant named Max Schlesinger (Isaach De Bankolé), and escapes into the city, stealing Kaulder's immortality, revealing she only gave it to him so her heart would survive. Back at Kaulder's apartment, the 36th Dolan is recovering. There, he encourages Kaulder to continue to fight again.

Kaulder, Chloe, and the 37th Dolan drive to the church that holds the Witches' Prison, where the Witch Queen plans to enact another plague curse using the prisoners as a magical power source. Using her dream walking ability, Chloe enters the mind of one of the weakest prisoners and kills him in his dream, also killing him in real life, severing the connection of the Queen to the prisoners and temporarily stalling her plan. Kaulder fights the Witch Queen, and appears close to killing her, until the 37th Dolan reveals himself a traitor with a grudge against Kaulder for killing his witch parents. He asked the Witch Queen to "make him whole again," as he was born without any magic. She replies, "Clay cannot be turned to gold. Without magic, you are just a human." The Witch Queen kills the 37th Dolan and uses Chloe instead to complete the connection between the witches for the plague curse to form again.

Willed by the images of his deceased wife (Lotte Verbeek) and child telling him to get up and fight, Kaulder uses the runes he took from the teenage witch to summon a thunderstorm and throws his sword into the Witch Queen where it acts as a lightning rod and burns her body to ash. But as Kaulder prepares to kill both the Witch Queen's heart and himself to end her once and for all, Chloe stops him, convincing him that she and the world still need him around.

After congratulating him on defeating the Witch Queen, the 36th Dolan agrees to delay his retirement and stay by Kaulder's side who is immortal once again. Chloe does as well, and the three form a new team, free from The Axe and Cross organization he served under before. The film ends with a faint sound of the heartbeat of the Witch Queen, heard within Kaulder's weapon stash in his apartment.

Cast

Production

The film's New York premiere was held at the Loews Lincoln Square on October 13, 2015.

Plans to film The Last Witch Hunter were announced in 2012 and initially Timur Bekmambetov was to direct the film based on a script written by Cory Goodman.[8] Goodman was largely influenced by talks with Vin Diesel, specifically about his Dungeons & Dragons witch hunter character.[9] Bekmambetov was later replaced by Breck Eisner and Goodman's script was re-written by D.W. Harper before Melisa Wallack was brought on to work on the film's script.[10][11] The production filed for a film tax credit in Pennsylvania and was allocated a tax credit of $14 million.[12][13] In February 2014, Vin Diesel posted a photo of the film's concept artwork to his Facebook page and Lionsgate CEO Jon Feitheimer commented that if successful, The Last Witch Hunter could become a film franchise.[14] In March 2014, Lakeshore Entertainment boarded the film as co-financier with Lionsgate, but Lakeshore quietly left the project. In July 2014, it was announced that Rose Leslie would be joining the cast as Vin Diesel's co-star,[15] and in August, Elijah Wood, Michael Caine, and Ólafur Darri Ólafsson were also announced as attached to the film.[16][17][18] Julie Engelbrecht and Lotte Verbeek will also star.[19][20] In February 2015, Steve Jablonsky was hired to compose the film's score.

Principal photography for The Last Witch Hunter was initially delayed due to the death of Paul Walker,[21] as the death delayed shooting for Furious 7. Lionsgate officially began setting up for filming in Pittsburgh in June 2014.[21] The filming began on September 5, 2014, in Pittsburgh, as Diesel posted a first look of himself on Facebook.[22][23][24] The shoot lasted until December 5.[25]

Release

The film's New York City premiere was held October 13, 2015[26] at the Loews Lincoln Square.[27]

Reception

Box office

As of January 1, 2016, The Last Witch Hunter has grossed $27.4 million in North America and $113 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $140.4 million, against a budget of $90 million.[4]

The film opened on October 23, 2015 alongside Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, Rock the Kasbah, and Jem and the Holograms, as well as the expanded release of Steve Jobs. In its opening weekend, the film was projected to gross $13 million from 3,082 theaters,[28] but made $525,000 from its Thursday night previews and just $3.7 million on its first day. In its opening weekend, the film grossed $10.8 million, finishing fourth at the box office behind The Martian ($15.7 million), Goosebumps ($15.3 million) and Bridge of Spies ($11.3 million).[29]

Outside North America, the films top openings are in Russia and the CIS ($3.4 million), Brazil ($2 million) and Italy ($1.2 million).[30]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 16%, based on 116 reviews, with an average rating of 3.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Grim, plodding, and an overall ill fit for Vin Diesel's particular charms, The Last Witch Hunter will bore and/or confuse all but the least demanding action-fantasy fans."[31] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 34 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[32] On CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "B–" on an A+ to F scale.[29]

Sequel

On June 17, 2015, Diesel stated on his Facebook page that an untitled sequel was in the planning stages.[33] Though it was initially planned to be a franchise, the poor box office showing as well as Diesel's busy film schedule has cast doubts on a sequel getting made.[34]

References

  1. ↑ "Steve Jablonsky to Score ‘The Last Witch Hunter’". filmmusicreporter.com. February 12, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Vin Diesel Hits Theaters as The Last Witch Hunter October 23, 2015". comingsoon.net. October 24, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  3. ↑ "THE LAST WITCH HUNTER (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 "The Last Witch Hunter (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  5. ↑ Schafer, Sandy. "‘Fast & Furious 7′ Resumes Filming; ‘Last Witch Hunter’ Getting a Rewrite". Screen Rant. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  6. ↑ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=lastwitchhunter.htm
  7. ↑ "Kurt Angle In New Vin Diesel Film (VIDEO), TNA One Night Only X-Travaganza Debuting On PPV; Match Card And Details". Wrestlezone. 2015-05-08. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
  8. ↑ Foreman, Liza. "Vin Diesel in Talks for Summit's 'The Last Witch Hunter'". The Wrap. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  9. ↑ Dickens, Donna. "If it weren't for Vin Diesel's 'Dungeons & Dragons' character, 'The Last Witch Hunter' wouldn't exist". Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  10. ↑ Turek, Ryan. "Dallas Buyers Club Scribe Boards The Last Witch Hunter". STYD. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  11. ↑ Taormina, Anthony. "Vin Diesel In Talks for Summit's 'Last Witch Hunter'". Screen Rant. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  12. ↑ Schooley, Tim. "Exclusive: Vin Diesel movie may shoot in Pittsburgh". Biz Journals. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  13. ↑ Schooley, Tim. "Film industry hoping to recoup more than $22 million in tax credits". Pittsburgh Business Times. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  14. ↑ Terrero, Nina. "Vin Diesel reveals 'Last Witch Hunter' artwork sneak peek -- PHOTO". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  15. ↑ "'Game of Thrones' Actress Joins Vin Diesel in 'The Last Witch Hunter'". hollywoodreporter.com. July 11, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  16. ↑ Yamato, Jen. "Elijah Wood Joins ‘The Last Witch Hunter’". Deadline. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  17. ↑ "Michael Caine Joins Vin Diesel’s ‘The Last Witch Hunter’". Deadline. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  18. ↑ ÓLAFSDÓTTIR KAABER, EMILÍA S. "Ólafur Darri Cast in ‘The Last Witch Hunter’". Iceland Review. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  19. ↑ "German Actress Julie Engelbrecht Joins ‘The Last Witch Hunter’". deadline.com.
  20. ↑ "First still shot with Vin Diesel on The Last Witch Hunter. So excited!". Lotte Verbeek. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  21. 1 2 Schooley, Tim. "Sources: 'The Last Witch Hunter' film production setting up in Pittsburgh". Pittsburgh Business Times. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  22. ↑ Zimmerman, Samuel (September 5, 2014). "First Image: Vin Diesel as "THE LAST WITCH HUNTER"". fangoria.com. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  23. ↑ Bullock, Dan (September 5, 2014). "First Look At Vin Diesel In ‘The Last Witch Hunter’". thehollywoodnews.com. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  24. ↑ ""The Last Witch Hunter" Filming To Begin In Pittsburgh Friday". cbslocal.com. September 4, 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  25. ↑ ""The Last Witch Hunter" Starring Vin Diesel Open Casting Call". projectcasting.com. August 11, 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  26. ↑ Houlb, Christian (October 14, 2015). "The Last Witch Hunter cast describes working with Vin Diesel, Fantasy Nerd". Entertainment Weekly.
  27. ↑ "Vin Diesel is 'Flab and the Furious' at NYC movie premiere". Daily News (New York). October 15, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Only ‘Goosebumps’ Will Prevail In Five-Pic Logjam – Box Office Preview". deadspin.com.
  29. 1 2 "‘The Martian’ Returning To No. 1 Above Five-Pic Logjam; ‘Jem’ & ‘Kasbah’ Crashing". Deadline.com.
  30. ↑ Nancy Tartaglione (November 1, 2015). "Sony’s ‘Spectre’, ‘Hotel Transylvania 2’ Top Charts – International Box Office". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  31. ↑ "The Last Witch Hunter (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  32. ↑ "The Last Witch Hunter Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  33. ↑ Evry, Max (June 17, 2015). "Vin Diesel Says The Last Witch Hunter Sequel Already in Development". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  34. ↑ http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Vin-Diesel-Drops-Details-Next-Riddick-Movie-Get-Them-Here-100617.html

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