A review by Brooks Rich
This is a deep cut film. This is not a film for everyone and this is a film you might want to watch with subtitles due to the heavy English accents. We're talking serious old English accents. This is also one of the darkest and disturbing films of the last few years. It's a masterpiece of horror and one of the most unsettling films ever made.
In the 1630s a Puritan family is banished from their colony. They build a farm near a secluded area of woods and are soon being haunted by something evil living in the woods.
This is not a film where every five minutes something is jumping out at you. It takes its time, builds an atmosphere, sets up the characters. Very few films give me the chills like this one does. I don't know what writer director Robert Eggers did, whether it's the music, or setting, or cinematography, but the second the family leaves the colony, you are on edge. It is clear something evil is lurking just beyond the trees of the woods. It's so clear but it takes it's time getting there.
I have to emphasis. This is not a traditional horror film. This is a slow burn deliberately paced film that scares by anticipation. You keep thinking something is lurking just beyond those trees or is waiting under the bed. This film understands that we are most terrified when we are waiting for something to happen, not when it happens. That is the beauty of The Witch. The entire film you're waiting, waiting for that big scare to come. Instead it disturbs us. One sequence that features a woman covering herself in something is just so disturbing and upsetting. It's unlike anything you've ever seen before.
The full title is The Witch: A New England Folktale. That's exactly what this is. a A folktale. A tale about an evil force that lived in the woods during the early days of America. There's a scene featuring the eldest son Caleb that is straight out of a fairy tale. It's a beautiful and deeply disturbing scene, like most everything in this film.
Please be warned. This is not for a casual horror fan or a casual movie fan. It is very slow and also deeply upsetting. The Witch is not a happy film. It's frighteningly bleak and disturbing. But for the right people it will work. Films like Hereditary have The Witch to thank for bringing back the slower paced horror film. I truly love this film and it's one I always recommend when someone asks for a really disturbing horror film. Pair this with Hereditary and enjoy those happy thoughts afterwards.
This is a deep cut film. This is not a film for everyone and this is a film you might want to watch with subtitles due to the heavy English accents. We're talking serious old English accents. This is also one of the darkest and disturbing films of the last few years. It's a masterpiece of horror and one of the most unsettling films ever made.
In the 1630s a Puritan family is banished from their colony. They build a farm near a secluded area of woods and are soon being haunted by something evil living in the woods.
This is not a film where every five minutes something is jumping out at you. It takes its time, builds an atmosphere, sets up the characters. Very few films give me the chills like this one does. I don't know what writer director Robert Eggers did, whether it's the music, or setting, or cinematography, but the second the family leaves the colony, you are on edge. It is clear something evil is lurking just beyond the trees of the woods. It's so clear but it takes it's time getting there.
I have to emphasis. This is not a traditional horror film. This is a slow burn deliberately paced film that scares by anticipation. You keep thinking something is lurking just beyond those trees or is waiting under the bed. This film understands that we are most terrified when we are waiting for something to happen, not when it happens. That is the beauty of The Witch. The entire film you're waiting, waiting for that big scare to come. Instead it disturbs us. One sequence that features a woman covering herself in something is just so disturbing and upsetting. It's unlike anything you've ever seen before.
The full title is The Witch: A New England Folktale. That's exactly what this is. a A folktale. A tale about an evil force that lived in the woods during the early days of America. There's a scene featuring the eldest son Caleb that is straight out of a fairy tale. It's a beautiful and deeply disturbing scene, like most everything in this film.
Please be warned. This is not for a casual horror fan or a casual movie fan. It is very slow and also deeply upsetting. The Witch is not a happy film. It's frighteningly bleak and disturbing. But for the right people it will work. Films like Hereditary have The Witch to thank for bringing back the slower paced horror film. I truly love this film and it's one I always recommend when someone asks for a really disturbing horror film. Pair this with Hereditary and enjoy those happy thoughts afterwards.
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