By Jack Waterman
I have a bit of a confession to make: I, a self-proclaimed cinephile, don’t really like movie theaters that much. I don’t like the astronomical prices, I don’t like stepping over spilled drinks, I don’t like the noisy people in the audience, and I don’t like the 20 minute long previews. Why do I bring this up? Because I actually saw The Witch in a clean, empty movie theater, and it was legitimately one of the greatest viewing experiences of my life. The showing was largely free of distractions, and I was able to focus much more intently on the film’s minute details. And there were a lot of minute details.
The Witch is a 2015 horror film directed by Robert Eggers, who has a relatively sparse list of directing credits, and primarily does work in production design and costume design. The film centers around a family of Puritans during the early 17th century, excommunicated from their church and living in a remote part of the New England wilderness. After their newborn baby disappears, strange happenings start occurring around their homestead, and the family begins to spiral into paranoia and madness.
The Witch is a 2015 horror film directed by Robert Eggers, who has a relatively sparse list of directing credits, and primarily does work in production design and costume design. The film centers around a family of Puritans during the early 17th century, excommunicated from their church and living in a remote part of the New England wilderness. After their newborn baby disappears, strange happenings start occurring around their homestead, and the family begins to spiral into paranoia and madness.
Anya Taylor-Joy as Thomasin in The Witch
As is all too common with critically acclaimed, low-budget, independent horror films, The Witch was tragically overlooked by most of the general public, and the few casual filmgoers that did see it gave it lukewarm reviews. And I openly admit that this is not a movie for everyone. It is practically the dictionary definition of a slow-burn horror movie, and those expecting a ceaseless onslaught of jump scares and crimson showers of viscera will be sorely disappointed. Though it is only about an hour and a half, the film never once felt rushed or bloated, and in fact feels quite a bit longer than its running time. You can feel the family tearing itself apart minute by minute, and the sense of despair and dread that pervades the movie is crushing.
The tone of The Witch is further enhanced by the simple, yet highly effective camera work. Admittedly, you won’t find too many surprises; the camera generally remains stationary, and there is little in here that will truly wow you. Nevertheless, the cinematography has this sinister, creeping feeling that bodes very well with the film’s subject material. As Drew McWeeny from HITFIX observes, “It feels like we’re watching something we should not be seeing.” The color palette (or lack thereof) also contributes to the film’s atmosphere: bitter, bleak, muted hues make it seem as though the life has been sapped from the landscape, highlighting the tormented family’s hopeless situation.
The tone of The Witch is further enhanced by the simple, yet highly effective camera work. Admittedly, you won’t find too many surprises; the camera generally remains stationary, and there is little in here that will truly wow you. Nevertheless, the cinematography has this sinister, creeping feeling that bodes very well with the film’s subject material. As Drew McWeeny from HITFIX observes, “It feels like we’re watching something we should not be seeing.” The color palette (or lack thereof) also contributes to the film’s atmosphere: bitter, bleak, muted hues make it seem as though the life has been sapped from the landscape, highlighting the tormented family’s hopeless situation.
Harvey Scrimshaw as Caleb in The Witch
The acting and characters are where this movie truly shines. All of the actors, even the youngest children, do a superb job. Everyone speaks in a flowery, times-accurate King James-y lilt, which works wonders in regards to immersion. Though, if someone were to watch The Witch without knowing this beforehand, it would probably make the movie hard to follow. As a matter of fact, this was far and away the biggest complaint I heard about the movie. Still, for those of us who are dead set on historical accuracy, you will be greatly satisfied. But to be honest, even if there were no accents, the characters would still be fascinating. There’s a huge emphasis on the role of religion for early European settlers, and the constant struggle between religious life and the well-being of the family makes for a captivating and suspenseful story.
Is there anything I didn’t like about this movie? From purely objective, critical perspective, there’s very little in The Witch to find fault with. I do think that I should give a fair word of warning, however: though this movie doesn’t have a whole lot of onscreen violence, is still very unsettling and disturbing in its implications. An example would be when the movie reveals the ultimate fate of the family’s missing baby. I should also mention that this movie is exactly as scary as you want to be. And no, that isn’t meant to knock the film’s scariness overall. This just means that if you’re willing to use your imagination, really invest yourself into the characters, and analyze the fine details, The Witch can become the scariest movie you’ve ever seen. What you put into the movie is directly proportional to what you'll get out of it. If you allow it to, it will worm its way into your mind, gnawing at your subconscious, and certainly make you think twice about going into the forest alone. And as a horror fan, that is about the highest amount praise I can give.
Is there anything I didn’t like about this movie? From purely objective, critical perspective, there’s very little in The Witch to find fault with. I do think that I should give a fair word of warning, however: though this movie doesn’t have a whole lot of onscreen violence, is still very unsettling and disturbing in its implications. An example would be when the movie reveals the ultimate fate of the family’s missing baby. I should also mention that this movie is exactly as scary as you want to be. And no, that isn’t meant to knock the film’s scariness overall. This just means that if you’re willing to use your imagination, really invest yourself into the characters, and analyze the fine details, The Witch can become the scariest movie you’ve ever seen. What you put into the movie is directly proportional to what you'll get out of it. If you allow it to, it will worm its way into your mind, gnawing at your subconscious, and certainly make you think twice about going into the forest alone. And as a horror fan, that is about the highest amount praise I can give.
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