Director: Robert Eggers
Writer: Robert Eggers (Screenplay)
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger, Lucas Dawson, Bathsheba Garnett, Sarah Stephens, Julian Richings
Plot: A family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Creepy Thriller
Story: The Witch starts as we see William (Ineson) & Katherine (Dickie) along with their five children Thomasin (Taylor-Joy) Caleb (Scrimshaw), Mercy, Jonas and baby Samuel clash with the town leaving them alone on their farmhouse next to woods. With Winter approaching the family is struggling with the harvest while Thomasin is seeing strange things happening around the farm after baby Sam disappears.
As the family continues with their conflict between whether leaving was right or wrong we see how Thomasin is entering early stages of womanhood as the story of a witch in the woods haunts the family.
The Witch is a horror film I have heard plenty of things about mostly good but I couldn’t help but find myself feeling slightly disappointed with the final story. I am not too keen on this style of sub-genre of horror which doesn’t help myself but as a solo experience it did grab my attention throughout. My problem is that is that this just doesn’t reach the level of potential I could see it get too. The authentic style works to keep everything having a real belief in what is happening but for a final outcome I do feel this needed a final punch.
Actor Review
Anya Taylor-Joy: Thomasin is the eldest daughter of the family, she has to take more responsibility on the farm after Samuel disappears as we see her take her first steps into womanhood. She is strong when it comes to controlling her younger siblings but will have to fight the witch to save her family. Anya is good in this role showing she could be a star in the future.
Ralph Ineson: William is the father of the household, he has made the decision to move his family away from the village and continues to fight to keep them safe against any evil forces. Ralph is good in this role throughout.
Kate Dickie: Katherine is the mother of the family who never really wanted to leave the village, she ends up starting to lose her mind after Samuel is taken questioning all the faith William has put upon the family. Kate does well in this role through the film.
Harvey Scrimshaw: Caleb is the eldest son that is learning to help out around the farm with his father, he finds himself trying to do too much and finding himself at the mercy of the witch in the woods. Harvey is good in this supporting role.
Support Cast: The Witch only has a small supporting cast which is mostly the rest of the family which all do their job well.
Director Review: Robert Eggers – Robert delivers in atmosphere, and tension building which is what the film is aiming for but for actual scares falls slightly short.
Horror: The Witch is mostly atmospheric horror without enough scares happening.
Mystery: The Witch does offer us a mystery as to what is happening to our family.
Settings: The Witch uses the authentic settings to make us feel like we are part of the film.
Special Effects: The Witch has great effects when needed without going overboard with them.
Suggestion: The Witch is one for all the horror fans to try, it is a slow film and if you want just mindless horror this won’t be for you. (Horror Fans Try It)
Best Part: Tension being built up.
Worst Part: Final Outcome.
Believability: No
Chances of Tears: No
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Budget: $3.5 Million
Runtime: 1 Hour 32 Minutes
Tagline: A New-England Folktale
Overall: Good horror that has plenty of good things going for it but not enough for my personal preference.
Rating
Nice review Darren! Sorry it fell a bit flat, I know where you’re coming from. I read Damien’s comment and think he’s spot on thinking about this as a historical horror. I would have liked a little more to happen too!
Thanks, i still think it has to deal with the hype behind it pulled it all down for me. this is one i would go and watch again which is saying something because the last or so years there has always been that 1 (It Follows, Babadook, COnjuring and Insidious 1) that have done what i like in horror and made me want to see it again.
I’d defintely like to wtach it again but I nkow what you mean about the hype and it being a bit of a letdown. I did think more scary stuff would happen I must admit! But thinking about it later that evening, I did find it quite unnerving.
I loved all those horror movies you just mentioned! Interestingly the one that scared me the most, is the most ‘Hollywood’ – Insidious. That film scared the sh*t out of me!!! I really need to re-watch The Babadook and It Follows. I’ll be doing an OST review for It Follows soon 🙂
i feel like i should recruit you for soundtracks on here. it might be one i watch again around halloween time but will see
Please do!! Hint hint haha.
Oh! I get the larger family thing, but they could have easily had a point to being in the movie but they really didn’t 🙁 lol
Seriously, why were the twins even in the movie and where did they go? Gah.
Could it be too show how big the family’s of that time can grow too?
Also off topic have you switched comments to your posts off?
What do you mean? Explain more! And no, but I could have by accident maybe?
the last couple of posts you have had seen on yours comments have been off,
for the time period the story was set families were meant to be big because either mothers died in childbirth or kids died younger before medicine was understood, that would be my take on the larger family
I agree with you. For me, it ramped up when I looked under the surface to see what the psychology was about. After all, the mental cruelty the church foisted on young women then caused people to slander and accuse their very own daughters of being witches. I guess because I took it on a historical horror level, it worked better for me. I do agree it’s not straight up horror. It’s more tame than that.
For me it also had the hype factor because everyone was like this is going to be great. i also don’t really enjoy possession based horror because they never really come off fresh anymore.