Ron Perlman, who co-stars in the witchcraft thriller Season of the Witch, told SCI FI Wire that the Dominic Sena-directed film relies more on dramatic thrills than spectacular set pieces. The film stars Nicolas Cage and Perlman as knights escorting a suspected witch in the era of the Black Death.

"Season of the Witch is not as dependent on big, wild action as these others," Perlman said in an exclusive phone interview on Tuesday while promoting Mutant Chronicles. "Don't get me wrong. There is plenty of dynamic in the film, and there are plenty of things that take place that are action-oriented, but the film is more of a drama than it is a big action movie."

Perlman also provided more details on the film's story. "Nic Cage and I are sidekicks," Perlman said. "We're both knights coming back from many, many years, like a decade and a half of service in the Crusades. Nic's character is going through some sort of crisis in his faith in the exercise of the Crusades, whether it was everything that the church described it to be or whether it falls short. So he's in a bit of a crisis. Meanwhile, there's a plague. The church has identified this young girl to be the witch who's responsible for the plague. People are dropping like flies, so Nic and I have been entrusted to accompany her to her trial, where she will be tried for witchcraft. So that's the film."

If Cage plays the man of faith, Perlman plays the man of action. "I'm a professional warrior who really doesn't have opinions about sociopolitical or spiritual questions that are out there in the universe," he said. "He's a man of action, and I joined up because it was a way to kick ass, which is the only thing I'm interested in. But I'm such a profoundly deep friend of Nic's character that where he goes, I go. My first allegiance is to him, so when he says that we're going to hightail it on out of here and find a new cause to fight for, then I'm with him."

Season of the Witch wrapped principal photography in Budapest and is now in post-production.