Review of The Witch (2016) by James C — 09 Jul 2016

Ok, now that ive let it sink in a bit here is my take.

Having seen the trailer a few weeks back I was initially excited to see this. Finding movies that can actually scare you is getting more and more difficult unless you watch something off of Buff's movie list. But when I looked on RT and saw what the critics and audience thought of it was surprised that the critics scored it as high as they did (89%) and the audiences basically hated it (53%). So that left me worried that I may not enjoy this flick all that much. But I had one friend who is a horror fan who said he loved it even though it wasnt your traditional horror movie. He said it was more of a thinking and atmosphere type of horror film than your standard gorefest. Now, ive seen one review that has labled this the scariest film in years, let me be honest and frank in that is clearly not the case. Yes, this movie is very creepy, brooding, and a build up of an intense sense of fear. But it doesnt really pay off or deliver in the scare department for me. In fact, I found more thrills in the movie Babadook than I have with this flick. But... I dont want to sell this film short. There is actually a lot to like about it and one of those things is how well shot it is, the cinematography is superb here and the directors ability to give the viewer a sense of dread is perfect.

The film centers around a group of Colonial America settlers in 1630 who have just been excommunicated from their town due to "opposing" views on what they believe to be their true faith in God and their religious practices in general. The father of the family is more than happy to oblige the town counsel and take his family away to live on their own. Soon after establishing their cabin near a set of woods the eldest daughter is playing peek a boo with the youngest (baby) when all of sudden the baby disappears and all she sees is the movement of bushes leading to the forest. This chain of events soon leads the family on a path that not only challenges their beliefs but also their faith in each other and ends up becoming a burden to them all as their lives spiral down from there. Soon crops start to rot and the family is on the verge of starving to death for the winter. Then comes the mistrust of one another as the accusations about the eldest daughter from the 2 youngest (not the baby itself) who believe that the eldest is actually a witch and will hurt them.

The creepy feeling for me hits you when you see the 2 youngest prancing around with a black goat from their livestock, just thought I would point that out. lol.

The movie is incredibly well acted and directed but again the scares that one might expect never come to light but I would still recommend this film as it does show how something like the witch trials came about during that time. While the ending is pretty obvious it still leaves you feeling depressed and disgusted by what you have just witnessed. Not in a gory way but just in a very depressive and saddened kind of way. In some ways this movie could of left out the actual witch as I felt the film could survive more on what you didnt see in regards to the baby and the events afterwards. I felt this film worked better as a testament to the endurance of the human spirit and the collapse of faith in not only what you believe in but in each other. This type of horror flick is more about what kind of fear the mind can create rather than what you actually can see.

7/10.