The Witch (2015)

 

The Witch (2015)

6/10

 

Starring

Anya Taylor-Joy

Ralph Ineson

Kate Dickie

 

Directed by Robert Eggers

 

Did I like this movie?

Maybe. I give it an 'okay' because I was held in suspense, wanting to see how everything would unfold in the end. I give the writing props for not being predictable. Even though it drops hints about who the antagonist is, I didn't notice them—thanks to the way the writer and director crafted this movie.

The film feels confined, and it has a very slow buildup, which was more tiring than gripping. But the suspense to know who was behind all their calamity carried me to the very end.

I respect the acting, as the cast gave a compelling performance, and their delivery of the dialogue is one of the most inspiring things about the movie.

I am not a fan of horror, but this movie is a good pass. One thing I have to warn audiences: like me, do not read or watch the trailer of this movie before seeing it. I have a feeling that knowing beforehand will mar the movie experience. The way the movie reveals its truth is not horrific, which I believe will annoy horror fans. Also, the movie lacks a backstory that links the real antagonist to the family.

Here is the plot: set in 1630s New England, a man named William and his family—his wife Katherine, teenage daughter Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), preteen son Caleb, and fraternal twins Mercy and Jonas—are banished due to a religious dispute. We see William act overzealous in his defense.

So, William and his family set up home on a farm near a secluded forest. Somewhere down the line, Katherine bears another child, Samuel. Then, while Thomasin is caring for the child, he just disappears. Thomasin briefly searches for her brother but can't find him, before alerting her parents. We later see that the child had been taken by a witch.

Katherine is inconsolable after this incident, and we see Thomasin trying to get by while holding onto this guilt and bearing the blame for other things besides her missing brother. The farm experiences a drought—no crops, no yield—so William decides to go hunting for meat. He is not successful in his hunt, so Caleb and Thomasin go, and something horrible happens.

Now there is a problem in the home, as accusations of witchcraft are passed around, and William is lost, not knowing how to handle it.

I can say I enjoyed the movie, but the end just didn't do it for me.

I didn’t know how to process the anticlimactic ending. If I lost my family, lived in constant fear, and witnessed death around me, I’d lose my mind. Anyone would. There’s no way after all that, someone would calmly walk into the lion’s den and say, 'Hey, now that you’ve taken everything from me, can we be friends?' That ending feels surreal and completely undercuts the dread, suspense, and tension built up to that point.

I feel the ending just lacks the intensity you'd expect from someone who’s just gone through trauma.

The movie is watchable.