THE WITCH - FILM REVIEW

T H E W I T C H

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dir: Robert Eggers

★★★★★

FILM | Luke Whitticase

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES...

Robert Egger’s directorial debut, The Witch, is something that even the most seasoned of horror fans may find difficult to digest in some regard. Not because of any overt visceral disturbance, or even the density of its authentic 17th century dialogue, but because the manner in which Eggers has chosen to tell this story of a Puritan family being terrorised by an unknown spectral presence is so serious, dark and hauntingly sincere that the miracle of its straight-faced demeanour makes the film’s very presence feel like a taboo is being broken before our eyes.

Much like The Exorcist, which takes its subject matter of demonic possession with a deliberate sense of honesty and thoughtfulness, from the opening scenes the witch of the title becomes one of the film’s most startling revelations; it’s an actual, honest-to-good cackling, baby snatching, Satan worshiping crone. From this moment on, The Witch descends into what can only be described as a living nightmare for both the family at the film’s centre, unaware of the genuine danger they are facing, and the audience in their utter powerlessness to warn them.

"The Witch of the title becomes one of the film's

most startling revelations; it's an actual, honest-to-good

cackling, baby snatching, Satan worshipping crone."

Egger’s screenplay is thick with allegory and historical authenticity - it feels like a lived-in world in which the interpretations of these characters will be met by what people choose to bring to it. It is as faithful a translation of Puritan belief systems to screen as any film has fully accomplished. So compelling are the conflicts at the centre of the drama that the film could be viewed less like a traditional horror film, and more like a documentary which is slowly devoured and distorted at the edges by the mythic folklore that it’s unshakably bound to. The bloodcurdling horror of The Witch comes from the nature of the situation that this family are facing, and not the frightful tactics of its shockingly well-suited director. The rot at the heart of this family, driven from their own society due to their uncomfortable mania surrounding sin, seems to be the very thing that is drawing the witch towards them. Evil is something that soaks into the film through the presentation of its deathly landscape, infecting the homestead of a family doomed from the moment they enter the wilderness.

The atmosphere of The Witch is one of constant dread that something terrible could befall its characters at any moment, calmed only by moments of sheer alarm when the unseen menace rears its head in new and unsettling ways, and Egger’s direction at these specific instances is skin crawling. Its dour cinematography gives its picturesque frames a dirty realism, a sense of hopelessness matched by its irregular editing techniques and unhinged score by Mark Korven. Populated by animals of varying function, there’s an indisputable impression being given of eyes everywhere - voyeuristically and threateningly overseeing everything - from the most worrisome looking rabbit that repeatedly evades capture, to Black Phillip, a show stealing goat of inexpressible creepiness who may or may not be the most malevolent presence in the entire film.

"Young Harvey Scrimshaw as eldest son, Caleb,

delivers some astonishing work in the second act...

but the film really belongs to newcomer

Anya Taylor-Joy... she's a wonderful presence."

Though the performances from the native Ralph Ineson and Kate Dickie as the addled parents are played with growling, panic-stricken ease, it’s the children of the piece who really come into their own. The young Harvey Scrimshaw as eldest son, Caleb, delivers some astonishing work in the second act, as do the young terrors that portray a pair of tormenting young twins, offering up some spectacular range for their age. But the film really belongs to newcomer Anya Taylor-Joy as the central figure, eldest daughter Thomasin, who like her brother is coming of age in an environment where any shred of natural desires will be decried as an act of weighted sin. She’s a wonderful presence who sells the transformation beautifully as she comes to terms with the incapability of their prideful father to provide for them, and the nature of her faith being sustained in this site of spiritual desolation.

The final act of the film, in particular it’s ending, is a pill that some will find hard to swallow. But given The Witch’s candour, its excellence in presentation and its nigh-faultless screenplay and technical ability, it’s an experience that works its way under your skin in the most subtle of ways. Defiantly delivering on its destined promises without a single breath withheld, it’s one of the most characteristic, exquisite and uncomfortable films in its respected genre that will haunt you through till the early hours.

MUSINGS

+ Egger's direction is astonishing, and places high expectations on his upcoming remake of Nosferatu

+ The cast are unaminously gifted and bring a great deal to their character, with Anya Taylor-Joy impressing the most in a star turning role

+ Exceptional art direction and production design makes the New England environment look and feel as earthly and real as possible

+ The atmospheric oppression and nastiness makes its figure of mythical origins an uncomfortable and truly disqueting presence

+/- An experience that will shake many, but its slow and reserved approach to the genre will ultimately alienate those conditioned to the more traditional scares and tropes of modern horror cinema.

Release Date: Friday 11 March 2016

Run Time: 93 minutes

Format: Theatrical Release

Official Website: www.thewitchmovie.co.uk

#ticker #review #new #5star