Review of The Witch (2016) by Casi H — 05 Jun 2016

Well. That was certainly a thing.

Overall, I found myself disappointed in this film for a number of reasons, which I'll get into in a moment. But first? I want to take a moment to say this film really shows how biased the Academy Awards are because literally any one of the four main actors could have taken home at least an Oscar nom for this, but of course....horror film. But between the intensity, the period language, the archaic lines, and the accents, it was just phenomenal acting across the board even from the youngest children.

That being said, there were a lot of problems with this film. I give it a nod for some haunting imagery. This one is definitely going to stick with you.

SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT.

First and foremost, if you have a problem with child or animal death, skip this film. Just don't do it. The first twenty minutes or so were profoundly disturbing for me in particular and I wouldn't be surprised if I have nightmares about it tonight. But then, that's what a horror movie should be aspiring for, shouldn't it? To scare us? This one definitely did that. But I'm just not sure that was enough.

All in all, the movie dragged. The atmosphere was wonderful but the shots were a touch too long in places. Too lingering, without much of interest on the screen. Rather than build the suspense, as it did in the first half, I found myself more and more checking the time and wondering when it would just be over. I still wanted to see what happened, but I could only stare at the woods for so long.

Another problem the film had was that there were times where I literally had no idea what was being said. I had to turn on subtitles at one point. The words were so foreign and they were being spoken so garbled or fast at times that I couldn't keep up. Again, I give major props to the actors for being able to basically speak in what almost amounts to a foreign language so quickly and easily, but that doesn't mean the audience is going to be able to keep up.

But honestly, for me, the biggest failing of this film was the conclusion. That's not to say that it wasn't very much in keeping with the folklore the rest of the film was based on. It was. But it was a bit too much shown and not enough left to the imagination. I would have LOVED if this film had ended with the shot of her slowly dwindling as she walked into the woods. That would have been perfect. Instead we are treated to her arrival at a circle of witches dancing naked around a fire and all I could think the entire time was the quote from Neil Gaiman: "Most books on witchcraft will tell you that witches work naked. This is because most books on witchcraft were written by men." Of COURSE they were naked in the woods, because that is the most sinful thing a woman could do in puritanical times. Be nuuuuuude. Shudder, gasp. I didn't find it unsettling, the way I found the rest of the film. I didn't even find it in keeping with the general tone. Even the color changed, which may have been a style choice, but either way, it didn't work for me.

So what was my takeaway? Wonderful acting. Excellent idea. Poor execution.