Review of The Witch (2016) by Kyle L — 15 Aug 2018

The Witch is a smart, brooding and eerie Horror film that does a fantastic job in creating suspense in every way that makes it one of the scariest Horror films A24 has ever done. In my opinion, it is more frightening than their most recent film Hereditary.

This film tells the story of a family who've been banished from the plantation town after a difference in opinion surrounding The New Testament and are forced to live in a farm located near the woods.

Soon, strange events started to happen within the family as they point the fingers at their eldest daughter Thomasin. But unbeknownst to them, a dark force lurks in the woods as Thomasin knows the truth more than them while the family slowly reached to a point of deterioration.

I have to admit, when I said that this film is way better than Hereditary, I really meant it. The Witch is one of the scariest and most effective Horror movies ever made that takes the Horror genre in new heights and directions.

It really beats Hereditary out of the water for many reasons, Whereas Hereditary tried to keep itself on track with a dull but good opening until by the second half it suffered from cliches and lack of compelling vision but is saved in the finale due to its nightmarish moments that can cause sleepless nights and is like an acid trip to hell.

The Witch is different and pure to perfection from start to finish. As filmmaker Robert Eggers does an amazing job with paying attention to detail in a very skillful fashion which creates a dark, unsettling mood from one scene to the next.

This is a Horror film that does not rely on jump scares or cliches as The Witch avoids the major mistakes of Hereditary. Instead, its slow burn takes time to craft the tension filled with haunting music and bleak imagery along with its standard run time while focusing on good mystery build up.

I love how The Witch does a fine job with its cinematography as we get to see gorgeous shots of the woods that normally gave the film a haunting vibe as well while balancing the brooding mood thanks to the creepy soundtrack.

There are so many scenes that are terrifying yet unsettling while balancing disturbing gore effects (The terrifying Peek-A-Boo scene where the baby is kidnapped and killed by the witch, Caleb's abduction and encounter with the witch in the woods, the suspenceful sequence where Caleb, Jonah and Mercy are seemingly possessed before Caleb dies and the frightening finale where Thomasin's dad is killed by Black Philip and Thomasin's mom gets killed by her own daughter in self defense before becoming a witch herself).

The titular villain is horrifying, the dialogue is well written and the periodic 16th century setting is so stunning. Now the acting is great, while the other performances of the casts are believable and well acted.

Its Anya Taylor Joy who steals the spotlight the most as she delivers a very believable and intriguing performance as the eldest daughter Thomasin plus she is so gorgeous and beautiful at the same time.

Director and Writer Robert Eggers has done a fantastic job with his work on his first feature film and he is a director to be on a look out for future Horror films as he knows how to craft suspense and create atmosphere from its ambitious setting while also telling a thought provoking story.

Overall, The Witch is a dark and frightening Horror film that manages to terrify and scare the living day lights out of anyone thanks to its sublime execution and bleak imagery plus unsettling moments which lingers in your head until its over.

This film gets a 10/10.