The Witch – a meticulously detailed period drama about a pre-Salem Witch Trials family in New England, oh, and a witch – premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, not in the Park City at Midnight category, but in that of the U.S. Dramatic Competition, and justifiably so. The way that writer and director Dave Eggers explores the incredible tension of a struggling family in his feature film debut is nothing short of dramatic, from the very moment we’re introduced to William (Ralph Ineson), who uproots his devout family to the edge of the woods due to religious differences within their community.
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It’s clear that their new location will be problematic almost immediately, when the youngest member of their clan, an infant, is presumably stolen while under the watch of eldest sister Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy). This jarring moment happens quickly and without warning – setting a precedent for the tone of the remainder of the film, which remains fresh through the end, light on horror tropes and heavy on surprising new ideas. The theme of freshness that courses through The Witch is mirrored through the films setting and costuming, thoroughly creating the complete feel of a different world.
The scenes actually involving “the witch” are sparse but powerful. The haunting build-up to the various witch-reveal moments is all-encompassing to a point of being stifling, complete with a score that includes the not-so-gradual growth of what sounds essentially like wailing banshees as the woods get their close-up. The “witch” of The Witch is no Halloween cartoon or American Horror Story queen bee; Eggers evokes the image of something truly malevolent, who dances with the Devil and thrives on human misery. Witches are scary again.
Moving performances round out this hard-to-shake film. In conjunction with the time-appropriate props and costumes, the actors’ inflections feel spot-on and never detract from Eggers’s script. Taylor-Joy adds a maturity to Thomasin that makes her predicament seem all the more frustrating, while Ineson’s turn as William provokes serious feelings of desperation for the father. Lastly, Kate Dickie performs phenomenally as Katherine, a palpably grieving mother who’s being terrorized by fear.
As the family’s strain grows stronger, the attempts at peace and towards safety become the true source of the film’s horror, ultimately leading up to an archaic and shocking ending. If anything, a more gradual shift towards the tone of this ending could’ve made the film smoother, but it’s a fitting conclusion nonetheless.
Bottom Line: The Witch is an unforgettable film that pairs the old-timey fear of a witch to the timeless terror of a family’s unraveling. Impeccable attention to detail, fierce performances, and unpredictable plot-points make this successful Sundance film. 9/10
