Remembering Seventh Son Starring Jeff Bridges on 10th Anniversary

Witches, boggarts (not the Harry Potter kind), ghasts (not ghosts, there’s an important distinction), and ominous visions of the future collide in the sprawling medieval-inspired fantasy universe of Seventh Son, which was released into theaters 10 years ago today.

While not particularly well-received upon its debut a decade ago, Universal Pictures’ big-budget adaptation of the late Joseph Delaney’s 2004 novel The Spook’s Apprentice (the first in a series of 13 books) offers up a healthy amount of campy fun that brings to mind the classic fantasy flicks of the 1980s — The Dark Crystal, Legend, Dragonslayer, Willow, and The Black Cauldron — as well as Peter Jackson’s acclaimed Lord of the Rings trilogy. Jeff Bridges stands out most notably among the ensemble cast as the gruff, alcohol-swigging battler of dark forces, Master Gregory, bringing to mind his rootin’-tootin’ turn as undead cowpoke Roy Pulsipher in R.I.P.D. two years before.

“He wanted to have this archaic sounding voice, something ageless, and he certainly achieved that,” co-star Ben Barnes told We Got This Covered when asked by Bridges’ unique performance. “He wanted these false bottom teeth, because he thought in the dark ages everyone had crooked teeth. You don’t ever see them, but he put them in and that immediately altered his voice. He just started with that, but he always talks about channeling a character like a psychic — he just waits for the character to come to him with a facial expression or sound. This was the character that came to him, and I think that’s pretty badass.”

Revisiting Universal’s fantasy-adventure film Seventh Son 10 years later

Russian director Sergei Bodrov helmed the project, which focuses on an ongoing war between Spooks (professionals dedicated to fighting dark creatures) and shapeshifting spell-casters led by the dreaded Mother Malkin (Julianne Moore reuniting with Bridges for the first time since The Big Lebowski). Master Gregory is the last Spook left alive and in desperate need of a new apprentice after his underling of 10 years (Kit Harington, making a nice little cameo appearance in between seasons of Game of Thrones) is tragically killed by Malkin.

To that end, he seeks out Tom Ward (Barnes), the seventh son of a seventh son, who, according to folklore, is supposed to be imbued with special powers. Does Tom have what it takes to slay witches in less than a single week, before Malkin reaches the height of her powers under the light of the blood moon and wipes out mankind for good? More importantly, is the eternal battle between good and evil as clear-cut as it appears? Like many young people throughout history, Tom may hold the key to a brighter, more optimistic future unclouded by prejudice.

In a 2015 interview with Russia Beyond, Bodrov explained that he was drawn to the film because of its subtext on the dangers of paranoia and false accusations. “I was very interested in the topic of witch hunts,” he said. “It’s a very modern topic. The Inquisition may be long gone, but the hunt continues to this day. We love to look for witches and accuse them of all sorts of sins, because we always believe that we’re right. I’m not accusing anyone in particular; I’m applying it to the whole world. The majority of people everywhere think they’re always right. That was exactly the topic that touched me and that I attempted to develop.”

Story aside, Seventh Son has a phenomenal cast. You’ve got two Academy Award-winners, Bridges and Moore; two-time Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou; Harington (then starring in one of the biggest TV shows on the planet); and a pair of soon-to-be stars in Barnes and Alicia Vikander.

“We were just sitting there and Jeff was saying, ‘You’re my apprentice in the movie. I think you should be my apprentice in real life. Let’s talk about acting,'” Barnes recalled while in conversation with Collider. “I have been so lucky when I have to work with some great actors who have been my heroes before we started, but Jeff was the first one to actually say, ‘Let’s talk about acting,’ because no one wants to do it because you think there’s a secret. It’s like this magical secret that we can’t really talk about how and why, and what we do and what we’re doing and why we tell stories in the way that we do like there’s some mystical secret to the world of acting which you need a special key to open, then it’s not just dressing up and playing make believe. But Jeff’s actually the first person to kind of talk me through his approach to scenes and stuff like that, which was just, [turns to Jeff] thanks for that.”

Seventh Son is now available to own from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.