The Witch

My Grade:  C+

Touted as the scariest movie to be released in quite a long time, the feature debut of Robert Eggers is a let down. It’s simply not that scary. This doesn’t necessarily make it a bad movie, though; and it’s not. But I do wish it was scarier.

The Witch is a New England folk tale about a religious family in the 1630s who leave their community because of differences in beliefs. Trying to make it on their own, they build a little farm just outside of some ominous woods. Before long, the farm and family become plagued by witchcraft and possession. 

It has all the makings of a solid horror flick:  dark woods, witches, creepy animals acting strangely, deep-seated religious beliefs, and little kids doing crazy things. It just never achieves the scares it’s going for. It does, however, spin an intriguing tale that slowly builds tension in a very successful way. And it has a fitting, albeit off the wall ending which will satisfy most viewers. It also suffers from some cliche and borderline silly tropes that you’d find in any witchcraft or possession movie. They’re only silly because they are over done… but silly none the less.

The true triumph of The Witch, though, is introducing the world to Anya Taylor-Joy who plays Thomasin. She’s barely 20 years old and is a force to be reckoned with. She carries the weight of this film on her young shoulders and does so with the skill and range of someone well beyond her years and experience. Without her emotional and sometimes down right insane performance, The Witch would fail.

Overall, The Witch benefits from a strong lead performance from newcomer Anya Taylor-Joy and a captivating score, but suffers from a lack of scares and reliance on played out genre tropes. Its story does build and keep tension well but is sometimes hard to watch due to the occasionally graphic violence and disturbing content. Don’t expect to be kept awake at night, but it’s worth a watch if you’re a fan of horror.