The Witch Review

There is a reason why The Witch is considered to be the first movie in the "elevated horror" sub-genre. It raised the stakes for what a great horror movie could be. Think that's hyperbole? Well listen to our review of The VVITCH, and we'll state our case. Thanks @dgoebel00 (dustingoebel.com) for the awesome post art of Black Phillip The Witch can be found streaming on Netflix and available to rent https://youtu.be/iQXmlf3Sefg The VVitch Trailer Plot Synopsis for The VVitch This film is about a family that is trying to live off the land in seventeenth century New-England after being banished from a Puritan plantation due to ideological differences. The film never tells specifically what these religious differences are, but the father William (Ralph Ineson) is a devout man of god that, while prideful and stubborn, is trying to raise his family as zealous christians. William’s family is made up of his wife Katherine (Kate Dickie) and his five children Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy) the eldest teenage girl, Caleb (Harvey Scrimshaw) the next oldest boy that is on the cusp of puberty, the young twins Mercy and Jonas, and finally the baby Sam. While the harsh realities of homesteading in 1630 present their own danger, the family is also beset by a witch that lives in the nearby woods.  Poster for The Witch Thoughts on The Witch This film’s original title was The VVitch: A New-England Folktale, and it really is that. Great lengths are taken to make this period piece authentic. From the costume design to the dialogue which is sometimes directly taken from sources from the time. I went in with a certain set of expectations with this film. I thought that the major dramatic tension in a super realistic period film would come from the mystery or doubt surrounding false witchcraft accusations ala The Crucible. Well this is not the Crucible, while realistic, this is still very much a FOLKTALE, and as such, the Witches are VERY real, and the power of the devil is frighteningly apparent. Watch The Witch On AmazonClick here to watch It should be noted that this film is important in the genre as the first of the modern wave of horror films dubbed “elevated horror” that have come out of A24 films. The seriousness and craft that the director Robert Eggers is undeniable, and showed how successful serious, cerebral horror movies could be.  I really can’t say enough good things about this film. It creates a believable world filled with relatable characters, which brings a really unprecedented gravity to some fantastical supernatural elements. There is no doubt in this movie for the audience. They go FULL WITCH, very early on, and the audience gets to witness in horror, the dramatic irony of this poor family being ripped apart by the powers of Satan. Score 10/10 Check out Robert Eggers Other Masterpiece https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/10/30/the-lighthouse-review/ The Lighthouse Spoilers for The Witch Expand for Spoilers The film opens with the father of the family, William, standing before a panel of Puritan judges being defiant. We're never told exactly what William is on trial for, but my guess is it's for being kind of a dick. The family is banished from the Puritan plantation and sets out to create a homestead on the edge of the forest. The dissonant music tells us that this is not going to bode well for them. Hail Paimon! Within the first 10 minutes of the film, the families baby is stolen literally right from under Thomasin. Not to waste any time, Eggers establishes that, yes, the witches in this movie are real, and yes, they are scary af. We are shown the witch murder the baby and literally grind it down to bits with a mortar and pestel to rub the remnants over her wrinkled bent body. This movie does not fuck around. While you might think that the entertainment of this movie might come from the over the top violence that that scene might convey, the real good stuff comes from great characters and subtle interpersonal drama. This movie is brilliantly written. It really explores the fragility of human life, and their will resist their weaknesses. As the family works hard to mitigate their disastrous corn harvest, it is made clear that the cards are stacked against them. In the wood is not only the witch, but her master the devil is also exceedingly close. We see hints that outside forces are conspiring against them. We are given hints that some of the animals we see are either the witches familiar, or are inhabited by dark forces. You can tell that they are evil because they have real shifty eyes. https://youtu.be/T55ArHjeR1c Everyone in the family is dealing with their own struggles and doesn't really notice the obvious signs of satanic interference. Caleb is dealing with his burgeoning puberty. Katherine is dealing with the grief of losing her child. Thomasin is dealing with the guilt of losing Sam on her watch. William is trying to hold everything together. The twins... well the twins are mainly praying to a goat. We hear them sing this song to their black goat: Black Phillip, Black Phillip, A crown grows out his head,Black Phillip, Black Phillip, To nanny queen is wed.Jump to the fence post, Running in the stall.Black Phillip, Black Phillip, King of all.Black Phillip, Black Phillip, King of sky and land,Black Phillip, Black Phillip, King of sea and sand.We are ye servants, We are ye men.Black Phillip eats the lions From the lions' den. The Twins' song Wut M8? The events quickly turn south when Caleb goes missing in the woods. We see him captured by a seductive witch in the woods. Now the family is exceedingly suspicious of Thomasin since both disappearances happened with her around. Things are only made worse, when Thomasin finds Caleb naked and bewitched. In a family prayer circle, Caleb comes to, but rants about the witch tormenting him, then the sighs in religious ecstasy as he is accepted into the bosom of Christ and dies. The whole time, the twins are accusing Thomasin of being a witch, and eventually William is convinced. When he confronts Thomasin, she denies the charges, but also spits some hard truths back at William. Mainly that he is a terrible father and farmer, and he is only good at chopping wood. She also points out how close the children have gotten with Black Phillip and that they are actually much more likely witches. William puts Thomasin and the twins into the shed and boards them in. Then all hell breaks loose. The witch appears in the shed and goes full cackle. William is attacked by Black Phillip and in his last moment, succumbs to evil. Katherine is tempted by the vision of her dead children. Finally, Katherine attacks Thomasin, and Thomasin kills her mother in her defense. The film concludes with Thomasin making a pact with the devil and becoming a witch herself. Thomasin arriving at the black mass Final Recommendations It might seem pretentious to say that this is an important film, but it is. I think it's important for everyone to see this film to be reminded of the possibilities in the horror genre. Horror Movie Talk Episode 67: The Witch Review Transcript Expand for the full transcript of the episode. this episode of horror movie talk brought to you by Sleepy time Disposable ether wipes. If you're like me, you hear about all these studies on the benefits of afternoon naps. But who has time and they're busy schedule to carve out time for a nap. Well, the good people, it's sleepy time. Have you covered with one swipe of a sleepy time brand disposable, either Wipe you'll be off to Does land on this News Express. Don't waste precious minutes of your power nap falling asleep. Let's Sleepytime disposable. Either Wipes. Release you from consciousness faster than you can say sleepy time disposable ether wipes. Go to sleepy time dot onion and use the code HMT A check out to receive a free pack of sleepy time disposable ether. Wipes for kids Hello and welcome to horror movie talk and opinionated and accidentally funny Horror Movie review Show your panel of expert hosts each week are Dr Bryce Hansen, who holds a phD in Spook ology, and Professor David Day, the foremost expert on scare No nose. New theatrical releases always get priority, but we also review older horror movies both good and horrible. I'm Bryce Hanson and I'm David Day. I'm the foremost expert in scare. No nose. Yes. I don't know if you knew that, and I appreciate if you'd call me Dr Hansen from now on. Yes, Doctor. I mean handsome. I went to 12 years of college to get my doctorate in spook ology. Well, I mean, you got to respect the position. Respect the the position, not the person, I think, uh, to new listeners. Check out our website at horror movie talk dot com All one word you can put a www in front of that. You know how websites work there? You'll find links to our social media and past episodes. We post new episodes every Wednesday. So please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. And please, please, please, if you're on IOS and use apple podcasts, leave us a rating. And we're really trying to get up to 200 ratings. That's our goal. You guys want us on rotten tomato? We wanna be on rotten tomato. So guess who's gonna be on rotten tomato with or without your help, motherfucker? Say you better get on with your help. You with your note? I meant to say we've got a great show I am this so excited for today. This is like I'm I can feel the energy in the room today because this has been a long time coming. Yeah, we've talked about this movie quite a bit because it's one of our favorite movies. It may be my very favorite movie. Yeah, it may be. It may be right behind there will be blood. Yeah, this is Ah, an important film in the horror genre and something that I think fans of ours will like us talking about....