Review of The Witch (2016) by Kara S — 29 May 2016

Thought-provoking and unsettling, "The Witch" is a compelling film with a genius writer behind the scenes.

"The Witch" is the story about a Puritan family who ultimately get banished from their current society. This English farmer moves his wife and his five children out in the wilderness to live on their own. As suspicion of possible witchcraft starts to arise, this family will be torn apart from the inside out as paranoia takes over.

For me, this is not only one of the most compelling films of the year, but also one of the smartest. I want to start out by saying that this is not your modern day horror film. In fact, this film falls under multiple categories. It's a thought provoking horror film, an eerie, suspenseful movie, a period piece, and most importantly, a religious movie. Not only is this one of the top horror movies of the year, but one of the most psychologically damaging religious movies that I have ever seen.

It's hard to explain why this movie is so amazing without digging deep into spoiler territory so for now, spoiler free. The thing I loved about this movie was the writing and Robert Eggers's vision. For years, he spent his time researching the Puritan era, bible scriptures, and the whole idealism of the time. It's shown in the dialogue, the environment, the hysteria, and the events. Now, I'm normally not a fan of period pieces, but I was definitely intrigued by this film. I'm not going to sit here and act like I'm an expert on the Puritan era, but I did have a basic understanding of the Salem Witch Trials and the general events that happened during that time. This movie takes place during the time period where witchcraft was a threat and the amount of realism it drew from that was unbelievable. Believe it or not, this mass hysteria and these events were based off of true beliefs and events that occurred, which makes it that much scarier. The lore was very accurate and it told a chilling story based off of real journals and writings from that time period.

The other thing I loved were the actors. From lead to supporting, everyone here did a fantastic job. Anya Taylor-Joy led the way here, falling into her character's role and executing perfectly. Ralph Ineson as the Father made for a rather fitting choice, and from his voice to his emotional state, it all worked very well. The Mother, played by Kate Dickie also did great, and the kids were all fantastic. Considering 67% of the cast were made of youth, they more than impressed me here.

The score was also very unnerving at times and was a major compliment to the events on screen. They used the music to build up suspense without ever ending with an unnecessary jump scare, and it really helped set the tone of each scene.

Now most general audience members will either not dig deep enough into the movie or not appreciate the art of the film. When you really dig into the screenplay and the lore, it's downright scary. Although you are able to follow along with the film, everything kind of comes together when you dissect it. Without spoiling what it is, this entire movie is a basic Christian metaphor. It tells the story by symbolically playing out passages from the Bible, major events during Christ's era, and many more beliefs from the Christian/Puritan belief systems. Every character here represents a sin or a passage in their own right which ends up serving as a haunting religious tale. I mean it when I do say that this is a religious movie, just not your typical one per say.

You can also view this movie as a psychological film as you watch this family break down from the inside out. Off the bat, it is quickly established that there is an evil entity out there, but that's ultimately not the main threat. However, what the hysteria of witchcraft did was it drove the family mentally insane. As they turned on each other and fell under the lies of the Devil, they were all pushed toward destruction as they fought a war against Lucifer himself. The movie makes you think so much about its plot, and no matter which way you decide to interpret the film, it can make sense for most any explanations.

In the end, I loved this movie a lot more than I thought I ever would. This is an artsy horror film that is smartly written, perfectly acted, hauntingly shot, and thought provoking in every way. This film is not for everyone and I nearly feel bad for owning this movie as it's so satanic in its own right. However, the more I deconstruct and think about this film, the more scared I get. I haven't been this unnerved since watching "Goodnight Mommy" and for that, there's no other way to say it. This was yet another perfect horror film.