The Witch Review

Written By: Aaron Meyer

133 Min | Horror
Director: Robert Eggers
Writer: Robert Eggers
Starring: Anya-Taylor Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie

In the wilderness of the New World in the 1630's William and Katherine set out to find a new home after being banished from their comfortable colony founded in New England.  After devout religious differences and the opportunity to practice Christianity in their own way.  The family ends up homesteading on the outskirts of a forest when suddenly their newborn son is taken, crops fail and the family inevitably begins to turn on one another.

The story of The Witch is based on stories and journals found from the time period it takes place in.  It does a very good job of showing viewers what the hardships of life, was like as a new settler in this strange new world.  The fears and anxieties of the people who lived in that time are all present here as people struggle to survive on the new frontier.  The movie really makes you feel as though you are in the time period and does an excellent job in making you feel as unfamiliar with the world as the characters from the film are with their new surroundings.  The matte grey and blue tones make the audience feel dreary and hope feels out of reach once things seem to get out of control.  I really enjoyed how characters also used the proper language from the time period which helps fully immerse the audience with its atmosphere.

Now this movie is definitely a horror movie, however it does a great job of not falling into any of the cliches' that most horror movies, that have come out over the last few years.  Even when I thought I knew what was going to happen the movie veers off in an unpredictable way.  This movie is not full of jump scares or violent gory scenes to create shock.  Instead it uses the persistent idea of a looming threat that is constantly hiding just out of sight.  We watch as the family grieves for their missing newborn to seeking answers from God for their sins.  This family is very devout and believes that the loss of the crops and hardships they face are all from God punishing them for their sins.  This leaves the Puritan family as prey for the evil that they can not escape.

The acting in this movie is top notch from a bunch of actors that are not well known.  Even the child actors do a fantastic job as well.  How they were able to get such great performances out of such young actors is an amazing feat in and of its self.  Like I said earlier using the appropriate dialog of the time period, it does require you to pay attention more to the conversations between characters.  Ana-Taylor Joy and Ralph Ineson both do a great job as the daughter and father respectively. They both do a wonderful job conveying the dread and anxiety they have over the events that take place.

The sound in this movie does a great job bringing this world to life, creating an atmosphere that most horror movies wish they could bring with such success.  Even with long drawn out shots that are accompanied by complete silence do their part to make the movie seem all the more authentic.  The use of lighting in this movie does a great job by making you fear what you can't see and knowing that something might just be lurking outside your range of view of the candle light.

While I can't recommend this movie will be for everyone I believe it's an excellent example of horror movies that use practical effects and don't rely on jump scares and gore to create a good horror flick.  If your someone who didn't enjoy movies such as The Others or It Follows than you probably won't enjoy this film either.  The techniques prevalent here are about building up of tension and the dark drama that circles this family.  Eggers won an award for Directing in Drama and his talents truly shine here.  I personally will be excited to see his future endeavors from here.

FINAL SCORE: 4 / 5