The Witch (1 Viewer)

[Tino]

Anyone else looking forward to this film? Looks great.

From Rotten Tomatoes

In this exquisitely made and terrifying new horror film, the age-old concepts of witchcraft, black magic and possession are innovatively brought together to tell the intimate and riveting story of one family's frightful unraveling in the New England wilderness circa 1630. New England, 1630. Upon threat of banishment by the church, an English farmer leaves his colonial plantation, relocating his wife and five children to a remote plot of land on the edge of an ominous forest - within which lurks an unknown evil. Strange and unsettling things begin to happen almost immediately

TOMATOMETER
85%
Average Rating: 7.6/10
Reviews Counted: 40
Fresh: 34
Rotten: 6

Critics Consensus: As thought-provoking as it is visually compelling, The Witch delivers a deeply unsettling exercise in slow-building horror that suggests great things for debuting writer-director Robert Eggers.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_witch_2016/

 

[TravisR]

I'll be checking it out.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Not me, as I frighten easily.

 

[dpippel]

I've been looking forward to this film ever since the first trailer.

 

[Dick]

Sounds like a must-see to me.

 

[Yavin]

For those of you planning on seeing this, you won't regret it. This is indeed one of the creepiest movies you're likely to see this year.

Here's my spoiler-free review (encapsulated below):

Set in the late 17th century, writer/director Robert Eggers' The Witch tells the story of a Puritan family who fall out of favor with the leaders of their plantation and are banished to the outlying woods. There, patriarch William (Ralph Ineson) hopes to start anew. But it doesn't take long for things to go awry. And when their youngest, baby Samuel, is snatched right from under the nose of their eldest daughter Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), William's dream of a better life for himself, his wife Katherine (Kate Dickie) and their five children slowly begins to unravel. Of course, the film isn't called The Witch for nothing, for we soon learn that there is a mysterious presence in the woods, one that seeks to do Thomasin and her three remaining siblings unspeakable harm. The question is, can the family decipher the true identity of this malevolent force and find a way to stop it before it can accomplish its unholy mission? Stylish and thoroughly unnerving, what follows is the kind of old-school frightener that viewers won't soon forget, a film that benefits immensely from the sense of atmosphere it exudes, rather than relying on cheap jump scares or an overabundance of gore. But aside from the creepiness factor, what really sets the movie apart are its performances, not to mention Eggers' grueling attention to historical detail. Suspenseful and terrifying to its core, The Witch takes our collective fear of the supernatural and twists it into one of the most haunting movies in recent memory.

Film Rating: 4 out of 5

 

[Robert Crawford]

Now, you're forcing me to go see this film and have nightmares afterwards.

 

[Tino]

Seeing it in 10 minutes. Can't wait.

 

[TravisR]

Now, you're forcing me to go see this film and have nightmares afterwards.

I'm probably seeing it tomorrow and I'm hoping that I come back into this thread and warn you to not see the movie because it's too scary.

 

[Radioman970]

Was just talking about this on the air. Family moves to the Blair Witch Projects. (I know, not funny) Looks like they got the wooded setting right. Hope it comes close to BWP.

 

[Malcolm R]

I also want to see this. I hope it does well, as it seems to be without the traditional promotion given to most wide release films.

 

[dpippel]

Was just talking about this on the air. Family moves to the Blair Witch Projects. (I know, not funny) Looks like they got the wooded setting right. Hope it comes close to BWP.

Personally I hope it's MUCH better than Blair Witch Project, which IMO wasn't very good at all. I've never understood why many people thought it was so scary. However, The Witch appears to operate on a higher plane altogether and I'm anxious to see it.

 

[Dick]

Personally I hope it's MUCH better than Blair Witch Project, which IMO wasn't very good at all. I've never understood why many people thought it was so scary. However, The Witch appears to operate on a higher plane altogether and I'm anxious to see it.

THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT was among the very first of the way-y over-imitated "found footage" films, and as such was unique in its time. Personally I thought the expletives were heavily overused, which bothered me a lot more than the shaky cam thing. It was an inventive (and I felt, along with millions of others apparently) pretty damn scary film that succeeded on an almost no-existent budget to make its audiences anxious and genuinely frightened. The scare factor is in its 100% POV, no objective shots at all, and its clever use of sound and environment. Yes, any talented 18-year-old could have made this film, but except for Daniel Myrick and Co, no one did until after the fact, and not as well, IMO. I applaud their indie effort. This is still a scary film if you view it in the right spirit. So, Doug, take your digital camera (if you own one) and make us a scarier zero-budget film! With relatively cheap equipment, a decent script and a willing cast, and maybe you can outdo BLAIR WITCH. But lose the lost footage angle, which is so-o overused now.

P.S. Like you, I look forward to THE WITCH, but any comparison between it and TBWP is going to be an apples and oranges kind of thing.`

 

[Tino]

Just got back. The Witch is a refreshingly old school and unique horror film.

The less you know, the better. Great atmosphere, performances ,and story. The dialogue is so refreshingly memorable and setting so conducive to creepiness that I was hooked from beginning to end.

Don't go in expecting any kind of generic hack and slash type film. The Witch goes for the slow burn and your patience will pay off.

 

[dpippel]

THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT was among the very first of the way-y over-imitated "found footage" films, and as such was unique in its time

Yeah Dick, I understand that. BWP was the first film of its kind. It's just that I didn't find it to be scary. The camera technique, while new at the time, was more annoying to me than innovative after 15 minutes or so.Worse still, I didn't care one whit for any of the characters. The movie was an exercise in tedium for me. Glad you liked it. Different strokes and all.

 

[Tino]

I HATED BWP when I first saw it. Bored to tears. Twigs and pebbles scary? Really.

I have warmed up a bit to it over the years. Never having been s camper also contributed to my dislike. Different strokes indeed.

The Witch is Citizen Kane compared to the BWP imo. [emoji33]

 

[Radioman970]

Yeah Dick, I understand that. BWP was the first film of its kind. It's just that I didn't find it to be scary. The camera technique, while new at the time, was more annoying to me than innovative after 15 minutes or so.Worse still, I didn't care one whit for any of the characters. The movie was an exercise in tedium for me. Glad you liked it. Different strokes and all.

It made me paranoid. It's all in the mind I think... you never see the witch on see what she's created (those crazy stick men) and hear what she wants you to hear (babies crying in the woods). that's what got me. I absolutely love the film for giving me such a strong willies! I keep hoping they'll do another and take it to a surreal directions...

 

[TravisR]

I think the movie has parts with decent suspense but the end of The Blair Witch Project is scary.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Just got back. The Witch is a refreshingly old school and unique horror film.

The less you know, the better. Great atmosphere, performances ,and story. The dialogue is so refreshingly memorable and setting so conducive to creepiness that I was hooked from beginning to end.

Don't go in expecting any kind of generic hack and slash type film. The Witch goes for the slow burn and your patience will pay off.

I thought it was alright, but The Witch didn't resonate with me. Part of the problem is I had a hard time deciphering the spoken dialogue. I doubt I'll ever watch it again unless I see it on HBO or some other movie channel.

 

[Tino]

The dialog was one of the main reasons I liked it so much. It just sounded so poetic.