Year released: 2015
THE CHARGE: Weighing the same as a duck and therefore being made of wood (wink wink, nudge nudge)
THE EVIDENCE: Now here's a polarizing piece of celluloid. Robert Eggers's 17th century period piece has been hotly debated around the interwebs. Some consider it the scariest film ever made while others call it an overhyped snoozefest. Well, your good friend Judge Hammer has finally had a chance to weigh the evidence and I'm here to let you know that the truth falls, as it usually does, somewhere in the middle. The Witch is a legitimately frightening film, but not without its flaws.
For those still needing a synopsis: In the early 17th century, Thomasin's family is exiled from their Puritan town due to her father's arguments against the town elders regarding religion. They build a homestead at the edge of a forest but tensions begin to rip the family apart when their youngest disappears while in Thomasin's care. And when a poor corn crop threatens their chances for survival over the coming winter, Thomasin's younger brother Caleb heads into the woods to hunt for meat for their dinner table only to return to the homestead naked and delirious.
All the while, the twin children of the family go on about the messages they're receiving from Black Phillip, one of the family's goats. It all spirals - slowly at first but with increasing speed as the story draws you into the center of its vortex - into revelations of secrets, descents into madness, and pacts with the Devil himself.
This one is for the ladies.
The Witch is, admittedly, a slow burner of a film. But most complaints I've seen and heard about the film's pacing come from a generation raised on Jason, Freddy and Michael Myers skewering a fresh victim every ten minutes. You're not going to find that here, so anyone who's been conditioned to jump at loud musical cues or cats leaping out of doorways will likely be disappointed.
The real horror here is internal as much as it is external. When the family is confronted with hardship, the cracks in their Christian foundation spread and cause the very structure of the family to crumble. Their increasing desperation leads to suspicion, which then gives rise to hatred and violence. In fact, in one cacophonous scene, it's very hard to distinguish between the possessed and the self-righteous.
What we end up with is a story about a devout family targeted by evil and nothing - none of their actions, none of their beliefs - can save them. Their prayers are the only evidence of God, suggestive of a deity created by man rather than the other way around, while a natural evil seems to breathe in every crag and cranny of the landscape. It's one of the most dominant depictions of evil ever committed to screen and the utter hopelessness it engenders makes it bone-chillingly terrifying. No wonder Satanists dig this film.
And this one is for the furries.
I've also heard some people say that, due to the movie's use of time-appropriate language, it's hard to understand without subtitles. All I can say to that is: read a damn book once in a while. The movie offers a very literate script but anyone who didn't sleep though history class should have at least a passing understanding of the language of the era. I may have missed an obsolete word here and there but overall, I had very little problem understanding the dialogue.
The acting is where the film's biggest flaws are most obvious. Sometimes it seems like the actors aren't all on the same page when it comes to their mutual understanding the script. One will overact while another will underact while a third will subtly drop his or her accent just enough to be noticeable (and distracting). The one exception is Harvey Scrimshaw as Caleb. He NAILED a very complex, nuanced and demanding role. In a fair and just world (i.e., not Hollywood), his performance would have earned at least a nomination - if not a win - for best supporting actor.
So yes, The Witch has its flaws but is still a powerful examination on the fragility of the psyche and the bonds of family being torn apart by the raw seductive power of true evil. (OK, I admit that just like a lot of other movie reviewers, I'm prone to the occasional Frasier Crane burst of bombastic pseudo-psychology.) But if your tastes run toward more challenging cinematic fare like Lars von Trier's Antichrist or Ben Wheatley's A Field in England, then The Witch is a treat that's right up your dark and scary alley.
THE VERDICT: Aye, The Witch be NAE GUILTY of ye olde witchcrafte but shoulde in goode stead be commended for its challenging visione and literary scripte.
