10s Movie Review - The Witch

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