Review of The Witch (2016) by Laurie_Lou — 05 May 2016

Over-praised by some, but completely misunderstood by others. It's an artistic film that's supposed to inspire thought, NOT a cheap horror. If you're expecting thrills and jump-scares and action, this is not the film for you. The imagery is particularly terrifying; I don't think I've ever seen a convincingly 'scary' forest portrayed quite so effectively before. Saying that, there were a few 'scary' moments I couldn't help but find funny- a certain character's vicious demise could so easily be featured in a funny home movie compilation if it lacked the blood.

The language is a huge barrier, most will find, but it was painstakingly researched by the writer and is incredibly accurate for the time, so I can't complain too much, although subtitles would've been nice. You have to appreciate the effort that went into this movie, because it could so easily have been done badly. There's no real predictability, which is refreshing in a horror genre, and the ending was particularly satisfying. But I never found the movie truly 'scary' in the sense that I was covering my eyes or biting my nails, but maybe that's okay, because sometimes 'eerie' is just as unsettling as outright blood and guts.