Doctor Plague (2026) | Film Review

From the outset Doctor Plague wears its pulpy horror intentions on its sleeve – grimy East London alleyways, the whispered legacy of Jack the Ripper, and of course a masked killer straight out of your worst medieval nightmares. On paper it feels like a primer for cult horror fans; in practice… well, it’s a mixed bag.

Detective John Verney is on the trail of a masked serial killer cutting a swathe through East London, echoing the Jack the Ripper murders of 1888 and the Plague Doctors of old.

Martin Kemp as Detective John Verney does a decent job holding the whole thing together. He brings that world-weary, “I’ve seen some things…” energy we all know from his earlier work, and for the most part it keeps you invested through some otherwise creaky storytelling. Jeanine Nerissa Sothcott lands in the supporting cast as Francesca – and yeah, she’s good and gives another solid performance. But, I’m honestly more partial to her in Helloween. She gives this role enough spark to make her presence worthwhile.

The story itself is… okay. Once the cult angle gets dropped into the mix, you can pretty much see the reveal coming from a mile off. The script tries to ape conspiracy-thriller vibes but never quite sticks the landing, tumbling instead into exposition and uneven pacing.

There were a few things I think they could’ve done differently, or were just poorly written – like the way Verney’s Chief (superior officer, whatever he was) kept downplaying the whole cult angle and not even listening to what the Detective had to say. It was massively frustrating to watch and an idiotic way to write a character. That aside though, I’d say there was enough to keep me at least partially invested.

Doctor Plague (2026) | Film Review

Now this is where Doctor Plague gets its props for me: I have always loved how sinister, perculiar, creepy and other-worldly plague doctors look – that beaked mask and eerie silhouette are horror gold – and this film absolutely nailed the aesthetic side of that. There are moments where the imagery works beautifully and gives you that creepy folk-horror buzz. The green eyes add something almost ungodly to the mix and it makes for some fantastic visuals.

Unfortunately, that’s where the praise mostly stops.

So, let’s talk about my biggest gripe with the entire film – the CGI blood. Yes, you read that correctly, CGI f*cking blood, and not little moments like 300… no, no almost every death in the film. I don’t know if it was a budgetary decision or what, but it was utterly horrendous – cartoonish splashes that pulled me right out of whatever tension there was supposed to be. This really should’ve been done practically, not like early 2000s video game squirts. I mean Christ at least the 2000s video games looked good (for the time). Even the effects that were done practically, looked like they were built for stage more than screen; shame really as these could’ve been the films saving grace.

Killing scenes are a total mixed bag. There are some cool kills (great actually) and the Doctor carries them out in such a professional and brutal fashion. There’s moments that lean into the scares the movie clearly wants to deliver, but these are balanced out by utterly ridiculous kills that aren’t campy in a fun way, just poorly executed.

Technical chops-wise, the film is… functional. It looks a bit more competent than I expected from a micro-budget flick, but crafting mythology around Dr. Plague doesn’t mask the fact that the actual narrative logic often falls apart. Became too predictable in the end and felt like too much of a homage to Hot Fuzz (the greater good- SHUT IT!) and The Wicker Man.

All in all, it had moments I enjoyed – mostly whenever that masked figure stalked into frame or Kemp grumbled his way through another dead end of an investigation. But would I rush back to rewatch Doctor Plague? Nah. It’s enjoyable enough in spurts, but nothing special, and certainly not the fresh folk-horror slasher I expected it was going to be. It had a lot of potential, but sadly this one fell a bit short for me.

The film is out now on digital in the UK, US and Australia, as well as region free Blu-ray in the US. You can check out the trailer below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfHXdkXfjOY