The Witch: A Movie Review

Welcome, travelers, to the Map Shop.

Today, I decided to try my hand at something a little different. A movie "review." This is going to be more of a quick summery and my thoughts of this movie, so there will be some spoilers.

This week, my co-worker and I were discussing horror movies and he suggested I try The Witch. From his description, it's a slow build horror film with a focus on historical accuracy and cinematographic artistry. Everything from the language being lifted from actual reports and diaries to the natural light only that is used throughout the film to the color pallet that supposedly matches some period dutch paintings. It's artistic, it's not a gore and jump-scare horror, and it takes great care to be true to the source material. All of this sounds amazing to me. I like the feeling of suspense and waiting to see what's going to happen, and I have random knowledge of the American witch trials, so  I was interested to see how it was pulled off.

The Witch is a 2015 film written and directed by Robert Eggers. It stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger, and Lucas Dawson. It was well received by audiences and critics, though there seem to be a division between the people who enjoy it and those who dislike it.

So what's the plot? *SPOILERS AHEAD* The Witch takes place in 1630s New England. William, the father of the family, is banished from the Puritan colony because of a difference in religious doctrine. He and his family leave the community and go to create a farm on their own on the edge of some woods. The oldest daughter, Thomasin, takes her infant brother, Samuel, into the fields to play but when she looks away for a second, he disappears. This is the beginning of the family's trouble. Their crops rot, Katherine, the mother, spends her days crying and praying or chastising Thomasin for the smallest infractions. William and his son, Caleb, go into the woods to hunt and it's revealed William has traded Katherine's silver cup for the hunting equipment but doesn't want to tell his wife. This causes Katherine to blame Thomasin for the cup's disappearance, upping the tension between the family. The two younger siblings, twins Jonas and Mercy, have a black goat, called Black Phillip, who they claim speaks to them and warns them of the witch of the woods.

When Caleb and Thomasin go into the woods to check the traps, a rabbit startles the horse, throwing Thomasin, while Caleb chases the dog who has gone after the rabbit. Caleb becomes lost and encounters a woman in the forest who seduces him. Thomasin manages to find her way home and is again chastised for going into the woods with her brother. Caleb does return home, naked and feverish, leading to a fit where he proclaims his love for Christ before dying. Katherine is convinced it is witchcraft and the twins blame Thomasin. She, in turn, tells her father that Mercy had claimed to be the witch of the woods and speaks with the goat which is also often a symbol of the devil. William puts his children in the goat pen for the night before confessing to God that he moved his family out of the colony out of pride, not because of religious superiority. He believes it's these actions that has caused his family to fall apart.

In the night, the children find a woman drinking the milk from their goats before attacking them. Meanwhile, Katherine has a vision where Caleb brings Samuel to see her. However, it's revealed to be a crow who has come to peck at her breast.

In the morning, William finds the twins missing, Thomasin covered in blood, and the goats killed. He starts to go after his daughter when Black Phillip gores him. Thomasin tries to go to her fathers aid but is attacked by Katherine who blames her for everything that has happened to the family. Thomasin kills her mother in self defense, weeping, before going into the house to sit by herself.

As night falls, she goes to speak with Black Phillip who turns into a man in a dark cloak. He asks if she wishes to "live deliciously" and has her remove her clothes before signing a book. The goat then leads her into the forest to a coven. The women levitate and Thomasin laughs as she joins them.

As I said before, I don't mind slower build horror movies. I actually called the ergot rot that destroyed their crops pretty early on in the film since I know this is often cited as one of the causes for the so-called "witchcraft" that occurred throughout the world. Add to that the isolation, the grief over a child's death with no one to blame, the mother is sleep deprived, they're afraid of starving during the winter; it's easy to see how anything strange or bad happening could be seen as witchcraft or the work of some evil from the unknown forest.

The film received a lot of acclaim and praise. However, some people felt that the film wanted to hold a higher metaphor about coming of age or religious intolerance or man versus nature, etc. But it doesn't seem to follow through with it. There's also some debate as to how well it fits the horror genre.

I enjoyed the movie. I liked the setting and the characters and the way the story builds. I think my only complaint is the ending. I was told it was supposed to be ambiguous. It's not. I also felt the appearance of the witches was flat or unnecessary. There's never a point where anyone sees these women as anything other than crazy old ladies who live int he forest and murder babies. Not one appears as a woman on the edge of society or as someone who has herbal medicinal knowledge that some people considered wrong and threatening. Just crazy ladies int he forest. Maybe if they didn't appear at all, I could buy the ambiguity, or if they were shown as people first, I'd accept the idea of the coven. But I didn't like that element of the film.

The ending was also disappointing. Again, I'd been told it was ambiguos. It's not. It's quite clear there are witches an Black Phillip is the evil that's pulling the strings. I honestly would have prefered to see Thomasin sitting by herself and maybe even sing a few lines from the song Jonas and Mercy were singing earlier in the film. Maybe Eggers felt he needed the witches and the devil to make the film classify as a supernatural horror instead of a historical fiction. I just didn't like how it ended.

So, overall, this is an interesting movie and it was fun hearing the language and seeing how a family slowly goes insane out in the middle of nowhere. The ending is just disappointing.

Have you seen this film? What did you think? Are there others that you'd recommend? We'd love to hear from you in the comments.

Until next time, travelers.