Review: The Witch

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Blessed be. 

After Willam (Ralph Ineson) and his family are banished from their plantation, they strike up a life in the wilderness, barely getting by. Their crops are failing, their newborn baby disappears while under the watch of oldest daughter, Thomasin. (Anya Taylor-Joy) William's wife, Kate (Katie Dickie) starts to lose her faith, and things keep getting even more strange as the smaller children believe a Witch has cursed their family.

This is a film I've been looking forward to since it premiered at Sundance. Christian fundamentalism fascinates me in a completely morbid way, so a film about a family like that in the 1600's is instantly appealing. 

Director Robert Eggers based a lot of the dialogue off of fables and stories written around this time, so the puritanical nature is captured well. There's an underlying creepiness throughout that goes into full swing when we hit the 3rd act. Although the film suffers from a serious pacing problem. It trudges along slowly and doing so, it might make the ending anti climatic for some.

The acting here is fantastic. Katie Dickie is always reliable, but the two stars are Taylor-Joy and Harvey Scrimshaw who plays the oldest son, Caleb. I hope these two get plenty of work following this because they showed incredible range and were easily my two favorite characters. (And also the only two, minus the baby I didn't feel like punching at least once during the film's run time) The Witch succeeds in being very unsettling and gives us something that I feel like we haven't seen lately in the horror world.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B

Memorable Quote: 'Twas only a jest." - Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy)

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 24, 2016 at 10:36 AM

    This looks horrifying. I read about the baby scene the other day and...I just...dear GOD!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamFebruary 24, 2016 at 2:23 PM

      There's several things in this movie that range from "pretty gross" to "pass the bleach" lol

      Delete
  2. s.February 24, 2016 at 1:39 PM

    I'm so rooting for Anya - she seems like a very lively, fun person and it's so impressive she took on a role like that for her first big performance and according to everyone she just nailed it. I'm so glad you didn't hate it :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamFebruary 24, 2016 at 2:23 PM

      She really did. I'm shocked she's 19. She looks so young in this movie. I never would've pegged her older than 16.

      Delete
  3. BirgitFebruary 25, 2016 at 6:41 AM

    I haven't heard of this film but it sounds creepy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamFebruary 25, 2016 at 7:05 AM

      It's a good one. I hope you get the chance to see it.

      Delete
  4. Zach MurphyFebruary 25, 2016 at 6:46 AM

    I liked this one quite a bit. I've heard a lot of people complain about the lack of jump scares, but I found it to be really haunting and full of dread.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamFebruary 25, 2016 at 7:05 AM

      I don't think this film needed jump scares. The atmosphere was creepy enough.

      Delete
  5. ChrisFebruary 27, 2016 at 4:16 AM

    Very interested in seeing this one. I might want to wait for dvd so I can watch with subtitles(due to the old language). Glad to hear it's unsettling and the performances are excellent, even if the pacing was slow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamFebruary 27, 2016 at 6:53 AM

      I didn't think the old language was hard to understand at all. They speak very clearly.

      Delete
    2. ChrisFebruary 27, 2016 at 7:04 AM

      That's reassuring!

      Delete
  6. JoshFebruary 27, 2016 at 8:47 AM

    LOL, I thought the slow pacing worked perfectly. This movie is unsettling, but I'd give it an A. Loved it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamFebruary 28, 2016 at 8:33 AM

      I agree this film needed a slow burn, but they should've sped this one up a bit. lol

      Delete
  7. KatyOctober 10, 2016 at 4:17 PM

    Nice review! I totally agree that the third act was the strongest. And, the pacing was a bit too slow. It made the suspense fun, but with the ending was a little predictable for me, so the movie seemed very drawn out. I have to admit - I felt like punching everyone too except Thomasin, Caleb, and the baby. lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamOctober 10, 2016 at 10:02 PM

      Yep. They all needed it. You thought the ending was predictable? I didn't expect them to be so...forward with it.

      Delete

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