The Witch premiered at Sundance last year to much acclaim, even winning the Directing Award in the U.S. Dramatic category. Several of my friends, whose opinions I hold in high regard, saw it at Sundance and absolutely raved about it so I have been looking forward to its wide release. I saw it last night and it is the real deal! I like to be genuinely scared by a horror movie rather than shocked and, let me tell you, I was scared by The Witch. In 17th century New England, a farmer (Ralph Ineson), his wife (Kate Dickie), and his family are expelled from a plantation for heresy. They settle in a remote area on the edge of a dark and foreboding forest. When a tragedy befalls the family, who are isolated and in the grip of religious hysteria, they begin to suspect that their oldest daughter Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy) is involved in witchcraft. It is brilliant! The cast is absolutely perfect and the production design is so full of period verisimilitude that it sometimes feels like watching a documentary about Puritan life. The historical setting makes the events seem so plausible (in fact, the script is based on the folklore of the period) that I doubt I will be able to sleep in the foreseeable future. It is atmospheric, shot in muted gray and sepia tones; intense, to say the least; suspenseful, almost to the point of being unbearable; and scary, more for what you don't see than for what you do. I highly recommend it.
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