Comedian and musician Reggie Watts once wrote about his love for “time travel” movies, which do not involve literal time travel.
Instead, this genre of film recreates an era so different from the current, you feel like you’ve traveled back in time.
“The Witch” is a masterpiece of that subgenre, with a wicked supernatural twist.
“The Witch” follows a Puritan family that leaves its village because of their father’s pride. They try to live off the land near woods that are as creepy as they are forbidding.
As catastrophe repeatedly strikes, it becomes clear that a sinister supernatural force is targeting them.
The writer-director of this film, Robert Eggers, said he and his team used “all the building materials that would have been accurate to the period, as well as accurate clothing.”
All of the dialogue in the film is in Early Modern English, which means much use of the words “thither” and “thou.” The only way they could have made this film more accurate to the time period would have been to film it in 1630s New England.
This period detail engrosses you thoroughly in the world of the characters. It also helps to make the setting an essential part of the horror.
The exterior night scenes feel dark in a way that most contemporary films do not. The way that the candles strangely light up the faces of the actors adds an unsettling effect to scenes that would otherwise be ordinary.
Horror films are sometimes, and occasionally unfairly, criticized for the quality of their actors. The actors in this film all deliver performances of complexity and psychological depth. They add heat to a film that could have easily been cold.
Ralph Ineson is perfectly cast as the father, William. He puts his face, which seems like an illustration from a centuries-old Bible, to good use.
The best performance in the film is given by relative-newcomer Anya Taylor-Joy as Thomasin. Thomasin is the family’s oldest daughter and the film’s central character. The first shot of the film is of Thomasin, and she has the most dramatic emotional journey.
Taylor-Joy makes Thomasin a sympathetic and fascinating character to watch. Her intense, bright eyes have the most interesting reactions to the supernatural campaign against her family. I greatly look forward to watching her future performances.
“The Witch” will make you feel the chill of 1630s New England. It is a masterpiece that makes me both excited and frightened for Eggers’s future work.
Jesse Pasternack @jessepasternack
