Review of The Witch (2016) by Liz D — 23 Oct 2018
While this film had incredible potential, it fails to fulfill it, which is greatly disappointing. Atmospherically, the movie is brilliant - grey and foreboding and full of tension that stretches like a rubberband ready to snap.
The family seems uncomfortable and mistrusting which stems from a backstory we are not privileged to other than a peek during the opening scenes. As such, these somewhat unlikeable characters do not ask us to invest in their welfare.
While the suspense and discord continues to build we expect to see the truth of faulty religious fervor or the assumption of evil - which we do. Unfortunately, the payoff feels hollow as the underlying motivation is simply "the devil is bad and people are stupid.
" While true enough, we see little of the main antagonist and nothing of the consequences that follow the agonizing marathon to the movie's climax. The last scene is truly intense, and I wish we'd spent more time there than wallowing in the corn crib.
This review of The Witch (2016) was written by Liz D on 23 Oct 2018.
The Witch has generally received positive reviews.
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