Underrated gem: Solomon Kane!

Even in this day and age, some movies can get lost and travel a long road to find an audience. Such is the case with Solomon Kane. Filmed in 2009, Solomon Kane never found a U.S. theatrical release, though it did play in the U.K. and Europe.

Conan creator Robert E. Howard's pulp hero first appeared in the late 1920s in Weird Tales magazine - an avenging puritan who wonders the earth determined to vanquish evil.

I'd been waiting a long time for Solomon Kane, and when my long dormant Netflix placeholder suddenly shot me a "sent" message, I knew that it had finally been released.

Simply put, Kane is terrific - a rough gem to be sure - but if you're looking for a pulp-fueled horror adventure film that doesn't drag, you really owe it to yourself to seek this movie out. If you're a fan of old school Hammer Horror films, Conan, Game of Thrones, The Brotherhood of the Wolf - or any good rip-roaring adventure with a solid dose of supernatural horror, then you're simply going to love Solomon Kane. James Purefoy (TV's The Following) is Kane, a ruthless mercenary who seeks redemption by fighting evil, when he realizes his damned soul is bound for hell. Purefoy does his best Hugh Jackman (peppered with a little Liam Neeson) but makes Kane a sympathetic hero here. In one of his last roles, Pete Postlethwaite is terrific as a traveling puritan, Borg Queen Alice Krige as his wife. Max von Sydow is also effective as patriarch of the Kane family.

Solomon Kane is written and directed by Michael J. Bassett with style and enthusiasm. He gives Kane a strong unifying backstory for modern audiences while sacrificing none of the atmosphere of the era. Things move at a brisk, rollicking pace, yet Bassett gives us plenty of slower, suspenseful horror sequences. The film is beautifully shot in the Czech Republic and the production design is sensational. Creature designer Patrick Tatopoulos and the effects team do a super job on all fronts.

Is it a perfect film? There may be times when Purefoy's tone slips over into Van Helsing earnestness, but I can't help feel Solomon Kane was just released at the wrong time. It has the energy of a film that might have come out in the late 1980s, and whoever decided to can a stateside release - well, dude - you made a bad call. I feel Solomon Kane will be discovered on home video and fans will embrace it - it's a great horror adventure saga and you should really give it a spin.