[yasr_overall_rating]
A family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.
“The Witch” takes place during the 17th century and centers on a family who, because of a difference of beliefs, abandons a New England plantation in favor of a place of their own. They find the seemingly perfect location, a plot of land next to a flowing stream and an extremely large forest, and set up home. The family is headed by the father, William (Ralph Ineson), mother Katherine (Kate Dickie), their daughter Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), son Caleb (Harvey Scrimshaw), and fraternal twins Mercy and Jonas (Ellie Grainger and Lucas Dawson). Later on, Katherine gives birth to a baby boy, Samuel, and one day, Thomasin takes him off her mother’s hands and while near the forest, playing peek-a-boo with the infant, he is abducted and never seen again.
William and Caleb scour as much of the woods as they possibly can, day after day, but in the end, with no trace of him whatsoever, they presume that he must have been taken by a wild animal and is long dead. When questioned by William, Thomasin is at a loss for words to describe what actually took the baby as he was there one moment, and literally gone the next. As time goes by, the family begins to experience strange occurrences. After Thomasin and Caleb are in the woods, they get separated and Thomasin returns home, alone, a second time, and when Caleb reappears a day later, naked, spaced out, and speaking in tongues, the family suspects that Thomasin could very well be a witch. As they argue and quarrel relentlessly, drifting further and further apart as a family, something from deep within the woods gradually emerges, with the intent on dividing them and taking not just their bodies, but their very souls.
“The Witch” is relentlessly atmospheric. It is coated in supernatural ambience from the get-go and never lets up. Never a fan of Stanley Kubrick, I was however, always captivated with his stylistic camera work. Typically in films, objects, whether they be human, animal, or props, are generally framed off-center, in other words, to the left of the screen or to the right. With Kubrick, he had a tendency to center most of his shots, making his audience feel slightly off-kilter and with “The Witch,” director Robert Eggers and his cinematographer, Jarin Blaschke, channeling Kubrick, pay him the highest homage by leaving you in a constant state of anxiety and apprehension. The tension never lets up and this aspect is only heightened by the top-notch performances of the film’s energetic and outstanding cast.
Ralph Ineson and Kate Dickie are absolutely flawless as the tormented and distraught parents who want to do right by God, while Anya Taylor-Joy as Thomasin, the eldest of the children, makes us watch her every movement with attentive conviction, as we ourselves want to determine whether she really is a witch, or if it’s just in the distracted minds of her now-skeptical parents. “The Witch” will not appeal to everyone, it is extremely slow, taking its time to get to its startling finale so if you want to see a movie filled with teenagers, being chased by masked, maniacal killers, you might want to skip this one. Otherwise, prepare yourself for one of the most original horror films in years.
In theaters now
