• Home
  • Podcast
  • Interviews
  • Movie Reviews
  • TV Reviews
  • DVD Reviews
  • Columns
  • News
    • TV News
    • Film News
    • DVD News
    • Online Entertainment News
    • Space News
    • Music News
    • On Stage
    • Geeky, Funny & Weird

Slice of SciFi

This is How We Geek Out: Interviews, Reviews & More

  • Writers, After Dark
  • The Babylon Podcast
  • Slice of SciFi TV
  • Charlie Jade Verse
  • Contact Us
    • About Us
Reviewing “The Witch” A well-crafted period piece, but without the underlying fun of a real horror movie

Reviewing “The Witch” A well-crafted period piece, but without the underlying fun of a real horror movie

February 19, 2016 By Noah Richman Leave a Comment

If there’s one thing I can say about Robert Eggers’ debut film The Witch, it’s that I’ve never seen anything quite like it. This is one movie that certainly scores points for originality. The closest description I could give would be if Roman Polanski directed a loose adaptation of a Nathaniel Hawthorne story and mixed in elements of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Only, in this case, it’s a version of The Crucible in which aspects of witchcraft and the supernatural actually do manifest in the physical world.

In many respects this is really more of a film for the art house crowd than a straightforward horror movie. While it has a grim and ominous tone, it is slow paced and uses archaic language. It’s a fascinating period piece, recreating what the sound, look, and feel of life among the early Puritan settlers may have been like. It’s a movie that conveys a culture filled with a deep belief in humanity’s basic sinfulness, and a deep-rooted terror of the omnipresent temptations that can lead a soul to hell. Using documents and transcripts of the time, The Witch gives its audience a window to witness what the mind of a Puritan family may have been like. It’s a portrait of a sinful world, full of supernatural terrors, hunger, and despair. It’s also a world that can, at times, be quite bloody and violent, so a word of warning to those who may be squeamish.

I wish I could say I liked The Witch, but ultimately it’s a film that I respect more than I actually liked. I appreciate that it is so diligent in creating a period piece, using language, costumes, and actors that are believably of the time. I think it’s interesting that so much research went into trying to understand the folklore and mindset of the early New Englanders. I like that there is an ambiguity about what the characters perceive is happening and what the audience should believe is “really” happening. However, I have the same complaint about this film that I did about Alex Garland’s Ex Machina. Having been exposed to a year of formula, routine, same-old same-old movies from the big studios, why is it that when somebody comes out with a fresh and original genre film there seems to be a requirement that it be downbeat, violent, and make you feel bad?

I like a good horror movie as much as the next guy, but this one isn’t fun and it isn’t scary. Instead it’s a slow-burn film that leaves you with a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach, and I’m not entirely sure what we get out of that. It’s well crafted, it’s different, and it’s original, but in the end I don’t know that it’s particularly insightful. In addition it’s not fun, it’s kind of boring, and it makes you feel bad. For me, all of that adds up to something of a mixed bag.


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 – animals turn malevolent, crops fail, and one child disappears as another becomes seemingly possessed by an evil spirit. With suspicion and paranoia mounting, family members accuse teenage daughter Thomasin of witchcraft, charges she adamantly denies. As circumstances grow more treacherous, each family member’s faith, loyalty and love become tested in shocking and unforgettable ways.

Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger, Lucas Dawson
Directed By: Robert Eggers
Written By: Robert Eggers

The Witch
3

Summary

I like a good horror movie as much as the next guy, but this one isn’t fun and it isn’t scary. Instead it’s a slow-burn film that leaves you with a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach, and I’m not entirely sure what we get out of that. It’s well crafted, it’s different, and it’s original, but in the end I don’t know that it’s particularly insightful. In addition it’s not fun, it’s kind of boring, and it makes you feel bad. For me, all of that adds up to something of a mixed bag.

Sending
User Review
0 (0 votes)
Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on Email

Filed Under: Film Reviews Tagged With: horror

About Noah Richman

Noah Richman is President of the Phoenix Fantasy Film Society, the longest running group dedicated to sci-fi/fantasy movie fandom in the Phoenix area. An avid board gamer, he has also amassed a library of immersive sci-fi/fantasy themed strategy games. A life-long film buff, Noah enjoys film commentary and criticism and has been having a blast writing film reviews for the Slice of SciFi website.

Related Posts

Slice of SciFi 948: Blood Quantum
“Blood Quantum”: On Zombies, Marginalization and Compassion
Daylight's End (2016)
“Daylight’s End”: William Kaufman on the Freedom of Indies
Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story
Official Trailer: “Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story”

Trackbacks

  1. “Hereditary”: More surreal than scary | Slice of SciFi says:
    June 7, 2018 at 4:46 pm

    […] is well made but it’s not something you haven’t seen before. If you liked movies like The Witch, Rosemary’s Baby, The Blackcoat’s Daughter, and The Neon Demon, films that are all about […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Filter by Categories
Audio Productions
Awards News
Book News
Book Reviews
Columns
Comics News
DVD News
DVD Reviews
Entertainment Business News
Events
Fan Films
Fan Productions
Film News
Film Reviews
Gaming News
Geeky, Funny & Weird
Human Interest
Interviews
Music News
On Stage
Online Entertainment News
Science News
Slice of SciFi
Slice Video News
Space News
Specials
Technology News
TV News
TV Reviews

Slice

Follow Slice of SciFi

  • twitter
  • youtube
  • facebook

Listen to Slice of SciFi

  • iheartradio
  • playerfm

Subscribe to Podcast

Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsiHeartRadioStitcherPodchaserTuneInRSS
  • Movie & TV Reviews

Father's Day - Deals on 4K UHD Collections

Recent Comments

  • Greg R. on “Hotel Artemis” offers splendid lodgings: “Hotel Artemis – I just had the chance to watch Hotel Artemis again on SHO and looking for an answer…”
  • Raymond Stevens on Reviewing “Return to Sender”: “Killing her dad’s dog was unnecessary and cruel. I then felt instant dislike for this woman. Giving the rapist POS…”
  • Eric Wiggins on “The Equalizer 2” explores retribution and consequences: “Very very well written. Im drinking ?and ?. But im watching equalizer 2 an was looking up random stuff. Awesome…”
  • janet p on “The Equalizer 2” explores retribution and consequences: “hope for equalizer 3”
  • Bb on Reviewing “Return to Sender”: “I HATED she killed Bennie the dog. Bennie recognized that Miranda is off kilter. Both Miranda and Finn are serious…”
Tweets by Slice of SciFi
death to humans 160x600
Save 20 on all pre-order statues at TFAW.com!

Slice of SciFi
415 Pisgah Church Rd #302
Greensboro NC 27455
602-635-6976

Artwork:
Slice of SciFi spiral logo designed by Tim Callender

Theme Music:
Slice of SciFi music and themes
courtesy of Sci-Fried

Sister Sites:
Writers, After Dark
The Babylon Podcast
Charlie Jade Verse
Slice of SciFi TV

Slice

Copyright Slice of SciFi © 2005–2023 · WordPress · Log in