Director: Robert Eggers
Genre: Horror
Runtime: 92
minutes
Year:
2015
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy,
Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger, Lucas Dawson
I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 25: A MOVIE THAT IS A DIRECTORIAL DEBUT
Description: A family in
1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and
possession.
Review: The film opens in the middle of a court case. It’s 1630, somewhere in
New England. The village leaders of a Puritan community decide to exile a
strict believer father and his family. At the edge of an obscure forest, the
family members take up residence in a small farmhouse. But soon things go
horribly wrong there: the corn harvest fails and to make matters worse, the
baby disappears without a trace during an innocent game of peekaboo. Thomasin,
the eldest daughter, is blamed and the ‘evidence’ for her alleged witchcraft
seemingly begins to pile up.
“The Witch” is the debut of
American screenwriter/ director Robert Eggers and one of the best horror films
of the past decade. Absolutely everything falls into place here: the strong
ensemble of actors, the creepy locations, the beautiful cinematography, the
gray color palette, the ominous soundtrack and the beautiful dialogue in Old
English. It is important to know that Eggers based his screenplay on a whole
range of historical sources, from diary excerpts to court records from the
seventeenth century, and his results in a film exudes a completely authentic
atmosphere.
You can feel in everything that
the makers of “The Witch” are drawing from a rich, century-old story tradition,
in which witchcraft and black magic play a crucial role. Moreover Eggers’ film
regularly lets the blood congeal, especially in the scenes where the main
character become victims of their own paranoid feelings and outbursts of rage.
“The Witch” does what a
horror movie needs to do: scare you, disturb you and get under your skin. Well
done!
Rating: 4,5
/ 5
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