31 Movies of Halloween: Day 29

Day 29 - The Seventh Seal


"And when the Lamb had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in Heaven about the space of half an hour" (Revelation 8:1). This is the quote of scripture that bookends the film. It sets the mood of the film right away.

Ah, Sweden, full of Crusaders, Death, and Aryans.

Flat out, this is the classiest movie I have watched for this experiment. It is also not a horror movie in any sense, though it deals with the character of Death, aka the Grim Reaper, so it counts as an appropriate film. Also, the Grim Reaper? Not terribly Grim in this one.

Welllllllll, kinda Grim.

Without going into too much detail, the film revolves around a knight freshly returned from the Crusades to his home country of Sweden. The Dark Ages being what it is, the country is filthy with the Black Death, and while the knight hoped to be rid of death since leaving the battle, he finds that it has actually beaten him home. Not only that, but Death, himself, greets the knight upon his return. They converse, as peers would, in which Death states that the knight isn't the first to beg for his life. The knight accepts death, but challenges Death to a wager: a game of chess for his life. If the knight wins, he lives; loses, and he belongs to Death. Death, interested in the wager, accepts.

It's not that he's out of your league, buddy. It's just that's he's been playing literally forever.

The game is played intermittently during the knights journey home. Will he be able to conquer Death? Will he be able to finally do something meaningful with his life? Or is it all for naught? Listen people: there is a reason that this is an internationally revered film. Watch it.


Best Part:
Like I said, this movie is amazing. There are so many parts that are phenomenal, so it is quite difficult to pick one. That being said, I must say that the best part of the film is how it has endured the test of time. It's consistently on lists of the most influential films of all time. It has be parodied and celebrated in numerous other films, as well as other mediums.

Also, Death knows Bill & Ted, so that's pretty cool.