The Witch is a horror period piece that follows a religious family that has been exiled from their puritan community and into the woods to survive on their own. As they struggle to find food and resources, the family is watched and terrorized by a coven of witches.
The Witch is both wonderfully acted and directed. The entire family from the parents to the two youngest children expertly execute the dialogue and accents of English immigrants that have come to New England to colonize. Anya Taylor Joy plays Thomasin, the lead and oldest child with the most substantial arc. Her transformation from responsible child to terrified victim/family black sheep to young woman resigned to her fate is nicely done and a great display of her talents. Although her followup film Morgan failed, I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of her in the future. Her parents, William and Katherine as played by Ralph Ineson and Kate Dickie respectively, were also well acted and portrayed. Watching their descent from pious pilgrims into scared and hopeless adults watching their children suffer was well done and executed. The twins Mercy and Jonas, played by Ellie Grainger and Lucas Dawson, provided some great moments of humor and levity but were also able to execute superb dramatic acting when needed.
Robert Eggers wrote and directed The Witch which is also his directorial debut. The Witch’s dialogue borrows from period sources of written accounts, journals, court documents, folklore, and fairytales about witchcraft which contribute greatly to the feeling of historical accuracy in what we see. Eggers is able to give the viewer the feeling of being in the time period of the film for everything from clothing to language. It really is a well done period piece.
Despite the great performances, directing, and execution, I wasn’t really engaged by The Witch as a film. The story moved slow for me most of the way and although the last third of the film is more interesting, I just wasn’t completely into what I was watching. I’m not too much of a horror fan outside of new, innovative concepts like Don’t Breathe so that may have played a role. I think that viewers more into horror films may enjoy this more than I did.
Image: A24
