THE WITCH (2015) - Movie Review

Director: Robert Eggers
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger, Lucas Dawson
Genre: Horror, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Writer: Robert Eggers
Runtime: 92 min
Rated: Robert Eggers
Buy This Movie: Blu-ray (Amazon), DVD (Amazon), 4K Ultra HD (Amazon), Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

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Synopsis:

In 1630 New England, panic and despair envelops a farmer, his wife and their children when youngest son Samuel suddenly vanishes. The family blames Thomasin, the oldest daughter who was watching the boy at the time of his disappearance. With suspicion and paranoia mounting, twin siblings Mercy and Jonas suspect Thomasin of witchcraft, testing the clan's faith, loyalty and love to one another.

Review:

"The Witch" is quite frankly one of the most disturbing horror films I've ever watched. "The Lighthouse" and "The Northman" filmmaker Robert Eggers' feature film debut is set in the 1630s and follows a Puritan family banished from their settlement who struggle to build a new life for themselves as farmers in the ruthless wilderness of New England. Threatened by starvation as their crops are dying, and an evil presence in the surrounding woods, the family comes undone and succumbs to paranoia and madness as they begin to suspect their eldest daughter, Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy) of being the cause of their damnation.

Eggers took inspiration from folktales, fairy tales, historical accounts of witchcraft, including journals, diaries, and court records, and much of the film's dialogue comes directly from period sources. This gives the film a high level of authenticity as it depicts a mind-set and culture that laid the foundation of America's witch hunting hysteria that would eventually lead to the infamous Salem witch trials.

As the film gradually reveals, the evil is already rooted within each family member. Moral frailty and religious hypocrisy have opened up the family to attacks from Satanic forces that prey on their weaknesses. However, the supernatural is one way you can interpret this wonderfully layered story. The other is more pragmatic, a result of the psychological conflict between love, loyalties and religious fervor in the context of the clash between man and nature. The despair stemming from the family's increasingly futile attempts to conquer the wilderness, made worse by the older children's coming-of-age pains, as well as feelings of loss, grief, isolation and loneliness, ultimately lead to tragic consequences.

Regardless of whether your point of view is secular or spiritual, the enigmatic Thomasin is at the center of it all. She's a fascinatingly conflicted character, seeking liberation from her repressed Puritan lifestyle, but still shackled by her religious upbringing. Her arc is also open to interpretation. The events that unfold challenge her understanding of the world she lives in, and while issues pertaining to Thomasin's empowerment, sexuality and self-acceptance can be viewed through a feminist lens, her turmoil can also be a result of evil forces seducing her to the dark side by alienating her from her family.

Taylor-Joy was only 18 when she starred in this film, and she demonstrates a wide range of emotions in a very impressive big screen debut. That is not to say that the rest of the cast don't rise to the occasion. Ralph Ineson as the religiously opressive father and Kate Dickie as the grief-stricken mother are great, and Harvey Scrimshaw as their pre-teen son offers an incredibly chilling performance in what I would say is the film's most disturbing scene, and a pivotal moment for all the characters.

The film's impact is not derived from jump-scares or gore. Although there is a fair bit of violent content, a lot of it is implied rather than explicit. The film's opressive atmosphere is what generates most of the tension, with the help of dark and grim cinematography by Jarin Blaschke who uses the rare 1.66:1 aspect ratio and strictly natural lighting, as well as Mark Korven's dissonant score.

The film's duality of perspectives opens it up to so many interpretations. Everyone will get something different from it, and that's what makes "The Witch" such an intriguing movie. It's horror of the truest and most terrifying kind. Horror that grows from the darkness within ourselves, and engulfs us in deeply rooted existential dread. A must watch.

SCORE: 10/10