The Witch (2015)

Originally reviewed on 10/27/22.

The Witch's poster, half of a black goat's face against a pitch black background.

Great child acting, first off. Never once had my immersion broken by them.

This movie is amazing if you can relate to its themes, but may be boring to those who can't. It features the horrors of many things, of colonialism, being the eldest daughter, christianity, poverty, the isolation of the nuclear family, and more. I think this movie works on exploiting your empathy, so being able to empathize with the characters is crucial in my opinion.

So if you do relate and empathize with them, you're in for a dreadful time. In the good scary movie way, of course. There's no cheap scares, just dread, anxiety, and a feeling of being deeply disturbed and almost sickened by what you're seeing. Many times the answer to "Are they (the movie's creators) really gonna do that?" is yes. But the disturbing aspects still feels a bit held back, the worst is only implied and left to your own imagination.

Oh, and please watch with subtitles. The accents and old english can be easily drowned out or misunderstood. I don't think I need to explain how understanding the dialogue is crucial to enjoying a movie.

★★★★★