'The Witch' Review

Last year saw some real gems in horror cinema, from the Carpenter-esque 80's throwback It Follows to the bizzare kiwi splatter Deathgasm it is safe to say that 2015 was a good year for horror. Now with 2016 in full swing, director Robert Eggers has already proven that this year could be an even better one due to his feature length debut, The Witch. An eerie suspense horror in the form of a gloomy period piece, The Witch follows a family of British settlers in 17th century New England who come under threat from mysterious dark forces. As tension rises and paranoia increases between family members, things begin to spiral into dark and evil territory.

One thing that will strike many about this film is that it does not follow in the footsteps of most contemporary horror films that use excessive jump scares to shock audiences, in fact it utilises very little jump scares at all. So if you are planning on watching something like Sinister or Paranormal Activity then this is not the film for you. Instead, The Witch manages to build this atmosphere of unbelievable tension from start to finish that will have audiences almost hanging from the edge of their seats. One factor used in building this tension is its music, a beautifully haunting score by Mark Korven that is extremely effective when played out in some of the more tense scenes, helping to gradually build suspense. The lack of jump scares are replaced by a combination of Eggers' directorial abilities and clever editing by Louise Ford, something very reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining and something that really works. Some of the jumpiest parts of the film are its cuts. Of course, one of the highlights of the film is its visuals, the stunning cinematography from Jarin Blaschke manages to accentuate the films disturbing imagery making it something that as much as you want to, you cannot look away.

Along with being utterly unnerving, the film also contains some stellar acting from its ensemble cast. Game of Thrones alumni Kate Dickie and Ralph Ineson (or Finchy from The Office) portray the parents Katherine and William, a pair of Puritan Christians who stand firmly by their beliefs despite how it could effect their family. Inesons character is the more understanding of the two and although he is just as fanatical as his wife, he has a strong bond with his eldest daughter Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy) and often defends her. Thomasin is the closest thing to a central character in The Witch and Taylor-Joy gives a powerful performance as the young girl on the brink of womanhood. The younger actors are in fact some of the best things about this film, particularly Lucas Dawson and Ellie Granger who portray fraternal twins Jonas and Mercy, they bring a sense of humor every now and again to relieve the tension however they are not solely comic reliefs, their performances are equally as strong as their older co-stars. And it would be a crime not to mention the performance of Harvey Scrimshaw as Caleb, the second eldest child who gives a fantastic performance throughout, stealing the show in one particular scene.

The film focuses heavily on the themes of religion and isolation, emphasisng the Christian Puritan beliefs of the family without doing so disrespectfully. The idea of religion being such a prominent thing within the household manages to add to the films sense of realism and drives the characters when faced with what they perceive to be witchcraft. It is a very isolated horror as well, the families residence is located away from civilisation making them seem a lot more vunerable, it is very reminiscent of films such as the aforementioned The Shining and The Thing. This is another factor in building the tension that makes the film so unsettling, the isolated atmosphere builds a sense of cabin fever between the family members making things all the more suspenseful. In my opinion, it is a very hard film to fault.

Immensely suspenseful from start to finish and accompanied by fantastic acting and beautifully disturbing visuals, The Witch is a slow burner that will have your heart racing throughout. It preys upon the senses to create this tremendous feeling of dread by using its imagery and its score to build a terrifying atmosphere. A promising debut from both its director Robert Eggers and its younger cast members, The Witch is without a doubt set to be one of the scariest films of the year and perhaps even the decade.