The film  The Witch directed and written by Robert Eggers follows the story of a Puritan family in the 1630s New England. Different believes and interpretations from the New Testament leaves William, a devout Yorkshireman being banished from the puritan plantation. Now he, his wife Katherine, their daughter Thomasin, son Caleb, and fraternal twins, Mercy and Jonas; take their leave and build their own little farm in a secluded wood. One day their daughter Thomasin is in charge of babysitting their new baby brother, Samuel and suddenly he disappears. This leads to the downfall of the family.

The director took everything that is folktales, fairy tales, and witchcraft; threw it all together and wrote the story of this movie. It’s a period piece film that wasn’t afraid to touch the subject of religion. We have to applaud the actors for really pushing themselves into the fullest to deliver the lines in full blown old English; something that’s really hard to convey.

The ambiance of the movie went perfectly with the film. The location of the movie , which was in the woods , helped an create uneasiness feel to it . To accompany the mood of the film was eerie sounds to make the scenes unsettling; having a very haunting score. The color palettes of the film went really well , creating a very depressing mood. The only negative thing about this film is that the first act is a total slow burner but at the same time you slowly immerse yourself within the story.

Now, don’t let the trailer of the film fool you because this is not your everyday horror movie. If you’re looking for a good scare, this movie is not for you. There’s no jump scares at all; they only use creepy sounds and imagery that some people will find unsettling. The main focus of the movie is the story itself. How this traditional family breakdown from the loss of the child and starts to blame one another. How they rely on faith but it’s not enough to bring everything back to normal.

Not everything in horror has to be gore and monsters. Sometimes subtleness can be terrifying and that’s what this film is.

I give this film 3 / 5 goats heads.

Trailer for the movie The Witch : 

 

{video by https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQXmlf3Sefg }

{ picture by https://giphy.com/thewitchmovie/ }