Review of The Witch (2016) by Scarlett C — 15 Jul 2016

First time Writer & Director Robert Eggers is either the next best thing in Horror Cinema or belongs, (like many who have seen this movie and been forever shaken by it), institutionalized. There is so much attention to detail; a genuine appreciation for authenticity in Egger's, "The VVitch," that it's easy to momentarily forget just how terrified you SHOULD be on a few occasions where you'll likely be verifying that not a single word from the colonial dialect & accents of our small, (but brilliant), cast of 17th century English settlers in early America is beyond comprehension. Bane from "The Dark Knight" these people are not - thankfully - they speak with purpose, clarify, and often project loudly - as a mysterious disappearance of their family's youngest child vanishes pretty much the first week they arrive at their new isolated farm/home in an unnamed area of New England'a forrested hills of land.

SOME (MAJOR) SPOILERS:

Tensions begin to rise. In fact, they vault to such extremes in terrifyingly abrupt moments that this family's sanity is no longer a question of survival by the time we reach the second act; the audience knows that it's a matter of time. Before you can collect your thoughts or catch your breath, Eggers begins to send his haunting script into overdrive, dealing out the most tense and upsetting moments in recent horror film history IN SPADES - just in a seemingly climactic finale that would've been marked as the end of 99/100 typical studio edited snooze fests...

But we are in masterful debut hands here, and Eggers brings his prized 5-year-prouction on home, and understands that *LESS* is more...

Without spoon-feeding specifics about the ending, please understand that you may not be a fan of the "slow burn" technique/approach to film-making, and that's your [incorrect] opinion. But if the first ~80-90% of, "The VVitch" is considered a 'slow-burn-horror' flick, then I cannot fathom the amounts of therapy and sedatives myself and the horror fan masses would require if Mr. Eggers ever decided to make a horror film less subtle in its approach. Because "The VVitch" - albeit "subtle" in its unique editing and build up to various moments of chaos or relentless mania, still seeps under the most thickened veteran horror critic's skin, and establishes a home deep in the mind that surface to terrorize you repeatedly long after you've walked away from the screen/credits. This film is the first since, "The Exorcist," to literally feel as though it is pure god damn evil. Brief scenes of grotesque violence, but this film is NOT that hilariously stupid torture-porn material you'll find in the Saw films, etc. This film is actually art.

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[About Me: I was raised Catholic, (since the end of my High School days - 20004ish(?) I've been an 'atheist' - but who cares about that??).

RELEVANT/SIGNIFICANT INFO:

I'm an inorganic/materials chemist, armchair film critic by night.].