Director – Robert Eggers (Hansel and Gretel)
Starring – Anya Taylor-Joy (Vampire Academy), Ralph Ineson (Guardians of the Galaxy), and Kate Dickie (Game of Thrones)
Release Date – 2016
Rating – 4/5
Tagline – “Evil takes many forms”
Horror, just like any genre, finds itself absorbed by fads and trends which is understandable looking at it from a business sense. When something sells it sells so it only makes sense to continue making a product that people are buying. Horror has faced several trends over the years following torture porn, found footage, paranormal, and now zombies. When movies try to set itself apart from the trends and gives the viewer something different for the time they are often met with ridicule.
That brings me to the filmThe Witch, or The VVitch for those of you that have read the poster. The film has been getting mixed reviews among my horror peers. Some loved the film for the scenery, acting, and story telling while others hated it for being too boring. Either way I love a good story centered around a witch so I reached out for a review copy and they were kind enough to hook me up. Thanks guys!
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows a strict Christian family that is excommunicated from their township. They travel far from their home and set up a new home for themselves on the edge of the woods. They live a reclusive life that is simple of the time but things take a bleak turn when their infant child goes missing. The mother of the family hits a depression, which is understandable considering the situation.
Not long after the events, their oldest child, their daughter Thomasin, jokingly tells her twin siblings that she is a witch and consorts to the devil. They tell their parents and their mother accuses her of being a witch while her father takes up for her. Soon, her younger brother becomes ill where her mother once again accuses her of being a witch. This time her father sympathizes with his wife and attempts to lock her in the barn but she tells her parents that her youngest siblings, the twins, is able to communicate with their goat, Black Phillip. Their father locks them all in the barn with Black Phillip so he can attend to his grieving wife and now dead son.
When he awakens the next morning he finds Thomasin unconscious and covered in blood. Bewildered, he goes to check on her and is attacked and killed by Black Phillip. Thomasin awoke and saw the whole thing. When she goes to check on her father her mother attacks her and blames her for the whole ordeal forcing Thomasin to kill her. After losing everyone she loves, she speaks to Black Phillip who reveals his true self to her and welcomes her to his coven.**Spoiler Alert**
They sure don’t make horror like they used to. Classic horror, I mean the real classics, like the Universal monster films and the Hammer horror flicks worked stories with suspense and tension. Now horror films goes straight to the blood and gore and completely skips on the story and atmosphere. That was why I was so excited to see The VVitch.
The acting in this one is perfect. One of the best acted films I have seen rather it be indie or theatrical. The cast is phenomenal. I say that more often than not but this film is easily one of the best acted films I have ever been lucky enough to watch. I have to point out how well the children act in this one. I have seen thousands of films with children where they are far from convincing but the children in this film knock it out of the park. If this film is remembered for anything it should be for it’s amazing cast.
The story for this one is fantastic and rubbed me the wrong all at the same time. The film’s beginning is painfully slow and does very little to establish the characters and plot but it does eventually get going and when it does it brings about some of the best atmosphere and tension I have seen in a modern horror flick. The film really knew how to play with suspense and then exploded with one of the greatest endings I have ever seen. That imagery of the witches dances nude around the fire is now forever going to be one of my favorite horror scenes.
Finally, the film does not really offer up a lot of blood and gore. We get a little blood and some very lackluster deaths but that is not the kind of horror film this one is. This film relies heavily on story and the tension it is able to create around that. Overall,The Witch is a fantastic horror film. It’s dark, moody, and brilliant. The cast is out of this world and the film’s ending is going to be iconic. The film starts out slow but if you stick with it then it will deliver!
