A New England Folktale

21/10/2016

New England, 1630: William and Katherine lead a devout christian life with their five children, homesteading on the edge of an impassible wilderness. When their newborn son mysteriously vanishes and their crops fail, the family begins to turn on one another. The Witch is a chilling portrait of a family unravelling within their own fears and anxieties, leaving them prey to an inescapable evil.

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The Witch is written and directed by Robert Eggers and is his first film as writer and/or director. It stars Anya Taylor-Joy in her first major role, Ralph Ineson from Game of Thrones and Kate Dickie from Prometheus & Game of Thrones.

This film already had a ringing endorsement from Steven King, the man behind The Shining and many other horror movie classics stated that 

The Witch scared the hell out of me. Its tense and thought provoking.

So does this film living up to the phrase that the master of horror gave it? The answer is yes it does and it well deserves that phrase. 

Cinematographer Jarin Blaschkes use of entirely natural light all throughout the movie gave it that original and gloomy atmosphere that adds to the authenticity of early 17th century New England. The early colonial dialect and clothing of the period was also a welcome addition to an already authentic atmosphere. The films colour pallet is also interesting in that there is an assortment of different grays and hardly any brights which could be to illustrate the harshness of life in these times or to establish a sense of foreboding. The natural light, clothes, dialect and colours all combined make you feel like you are there with these characters in those times. The lack of other people outside the immediate family at the homestead makes the whole film feel very claustrophobic to the viewer, in a good way, it adds a sense of dread to the tension. 

This film is a slow tension building experience, that some people found boring but i personally found riveting in an age of horror movie jump scares and loud annoying noises that add no substance to their films. This film is not your typical horror movie but instead is a movie with a horror story line containing the witch and a drama story line involving the tragic family dynamic that ensues. 

The acting in this film is top notch especially from Anya Taylor-Joy (Thomasin) who based on this performance will have a great career in the future. The quality of this film surprised me and you easily be one of the best movies of 2015.

Anyway that is my review for The Witch. If you are still here thanks for reading, if you have a different opinion leave a comment, if you agree with me leave a comment.  

Thanks. 

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