The Witch [Blu-ray + Digital HD]

Lysa Arryn and Dagmer Cleft Jaw from Game of Thrones are Puritans who have been exiled from their crappy village and have to make it on their own on their new crappy farm. The Witch is a horror movie, but not a 20XX horror movie like Annabelle or Paranormal Activity. The Witch is first and foremost a film and it also happens to have crafted story that builds tension and dread with fantastical elements; they didn't think of jump-scares and make up a story around them. The Witch has great acting, storytelling, and cinematography, but the pacing sometimes feels off as we rush parts I wanted to spend more time with and drug on minor details. The Witch isn't a blockbuster horror and if you aren't in the mindset to watch an actual film and be required to pay attention, The Witch is boring and largely uneventful. If you have the energy to watch The Witch like you'd watch something like The Shape of Water (the only comparison I am making is that it's not a "popcorn movie" but something more), The Witch is 90 minutes of edge of your seat uneasiness and suspense. The script and dialect are representative of the time, but in 2018 it feels odd hearing characters use a colonial vocabulary, but that's just part of the setting. The Witch is distributed by the same company that later gave us Hereditary, which is a better comparison to The Witch than other recent horror films.

Great film. One of the best horror films out there. Liked the setting and time period. Two thumbs up.

Fast reliable delivery, great movie

To me, this is how legitimate horror movies should be done. This is a movie that relies as much on the atmosphere as it does on the tensions between the characters and the story to move itself forward. So many horror movies now think that startling the audience and making them jump out of their seats over and over again should be the factor for what is real horror. In reality, however, that's all that is, just anticipation to be startled in your seat repeatedly. This movie cuts deeper than that and goes more psychological, more in the veins of movies like The Shining, The Babadook, Rosemary's Baby, and so on. In the 1600's, society wasn't like it is today. Religion and familial beliefs were very much paramount to how life was lived. As a result, anything that deviated from that was looked down upon. At that time, one of the worst things that could happen to someone was being excommunicated from the church, and anyone who acted strangely or different from what was considered the norm at that time were considered evil, agents of Satan, witches, and so on. Robert Eggers did a perfect job capturing that feel in this movie. He studied that time period to a tee and made sure the movie was as authentic to the time period as possible, right down to the dialogue. Really, ask yourselves, if the characters were all speaking in modern language, would it make sense? Or would it stick out like a sore thumb in the midst of everything else? The acting and performances, particularly from Anya Taylor-Joy, who I believe is someone to keep your eye on, Ralph Ineson and Kate Dickie, are all excellent too. So much of this makes you feel like you're living in this time period as you're watching this, and that's rare in movies these days. In terms of actual horror, like I said, this movie is not concerned with turning its audience into Mexican Jumping Beans in their seats. Instead, it makes you focus on this family and how they are dealing with this horrible situation. Their baby has disappeared, their crops are failing, tensions are rising within the family. And normal life is happening to these children, like oldest son Caleb having feelings towards women, even if it is his sister, as well as Thomasin's own sexual awakening, which is startling and looked down upon by the family, particularly the mother. They have no idea what is truly happening to them, or why it is. As a result, paranoia and superstition take over. That is the real horror of this movie, and that is legitimately scary when you really think about it. Is there really a witch, or even a whole coven, living in the woods near the family? Or is the family just going crazy. As previously stated, the horror in this movie is the psychological fear of superstition and paranoia in a very strict community, as well as your own family turning against you in a time when there's really no one around to save you. That in itself is the real, legitimate horror of The Witch.

Good movie very creepy.

Brian Keene said: "The Witch is a gorgeous, thoughtful, scary horror film that 90% of the people in the theater with you will be too stupid to understand." I don't think people are stupid. I did notice that there's a bunch of single star reviews that complain they cannot understand the movie. Viewers and professional critics have said many times that this film is best approached without any expectations. And it seems that it was marketed to the typical Horror Movie audience, which is not a good fit. If you enjoy history, if you are familiar with 17th century dialect, if you appreciate atmosphere, direction, and cinematography, if you love deeply layered - truly gifted acting... you will really like this movie. If you can understand or relate to a stranglehold of superstitions and if you "get" the kind of horror that targets intuition rather than just your eyes and ears, you'll like this. If you are at least open to these things, and you never let your imagination outgrow the ability to scare you- then you should probably try this movie. If you primarily associate the horror genre with all the Blumhouse Prod. stuff and you spell your plural nouns with an apostrophe as well as an s, then you probably won't like this movie. You know the horrifying thing that is about to happen, and each time a horrifying thing happens, the aftermath that you see will kick you in the chest. But if you need it spelled out for you- if you don't like to wonder and question things and allow a film to haunt you after you see it, then this isn't for you. My experience from this film was that it made me feel like there was something horrifying just off to one side of the screen. I think that had to do with their decision to use a more narrow aspect ratio than today's norm. I also think that the vocals and violins in the score had a lot to do with it. I often wondered if there was some sort of infrasound used because of the weird feeling of dread a person can get while watching this. It makes you want to look around the corners and check for blind spots within the (both cradling and clutching) imagery. And the acting. Like a volcano of hysteria is bubbling just behind the eyes of the actors. Their regrets, grief, and suspicion heighten their fear. Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, and Harvey Scrimshaw are deeply skilled. Thoroughly convincing actors that had me invested in them through their entire performance. This was a refreshing and layered angle on the horror genre. People are going to hate it when it all goes over their heads.

In realtà l' anno di The Witch sarebbe il 2015 ma questo non toglie che sia stato il film rivelazione del 2016 qua in Italia. Si parte dalla sceneggiatura rigorosissima (i dialoghi sono stati scritti partendo da diari e documenti del 1600), dalla fotografia e dal setting eccezionali (Eggers è anche un noto scenografo) per finire con una regia mozzafiato, che mantiene altissima la tensione per tutto il tempo senza abusare dei più facili 'trucchi del mestiere'. Un film come pochi che merita ben più dell' appellativo di 'buon film horror'. Da vedere assolutamente.

Don't expect it to be like the trailer. This is a film that you need to watch alone in a dark room to really tumble into the lives of the afflicted family. Lingers...

Ppr se tratar de um item importado,já era de se esperar não vir com legendas em português,tem algumas entrevistas com os atores como extras do bluray ,melhor que a edição lançada aqui no Brasil que não tem nada além do filme.

Hi, I am a private film critic and I had to give this film a solid review to hopefully help stem the flow of its recent bad publicity in terms of reviews. I notice good quality films, and take into account plot, acting, cinematography and the research that went into it without being biased of its audience or genre. The acting was superb. And the use of old English I thought was very true to form, and though not always done correctly in other films, I feel this was an authentic take on its period. The characters were well written, believable and felt very real. Throughout the film there was underlying tension, and they didn't rely on cheap jump scares or mindless bloody horror to keep the audience gripped. Instead it used subtle moments to build that 'cabin fever' effect. Interesting and refreshing, and also a sad look on our own history, for people back then believed in much of the same and behaved in much the same way. I won't add any spoilers or what I thought of the ending, though it was an ending that kept me thinking about the film for many days after. So much so that I shall enjoy a second viewing. The only bad thing (and this is just nit-picking) was that the clothing worn by the actors was just too clean for people living on a farm out in the wilderness. It was just overlooked. If you enjoy a good story without cheap thrills that try and grab your attention too often then this is for you. All in all, I will give this film an 8.5 out of 10, and I am usually very harsh with how I rate my films.

Coup de génie pour cette première réalisation à l'esthétique austère, loin des clichés Hollywoodiens. Un film inspiré aux lumières dignes de tableaux de maîtres. À l'image d'une fable médiévale, le basculement de cette famille tient du sortilège autant que du ressort psychologique. Plusieurs degrés lectures sont possibles à cette histoire de sorcières, de diables et d'animaux envoûtés, qui s'illustre par des images puissantes comme des cauchemars. Ne pas s'attendre à l'artillerie des films d'horreur habitels mais à des séquences brèves, symboliques et proches de l'onirisme ou de la cruauté des contes populaires. Jusqu'au final d'un érotisme inoubliable. Mention spéciale aux acteurs adultes et enfants, tous époustouflants !!! En résumé, il est impossible de comparer cette œuvre qui laisse le sentiment d'une expérience cinématographique rare. Pour ma part, c'est un coup de cœur ! Là où d'autres trouveront ce film lent, linéaire et sans suspense, je le tiens comme beaucoup de critiques cinématographiques qui l'ont acclamé et primé en festival pour une pépite, un chef d'œuvre à découvrir si on aime le septième art 🎥 Le réalisateur est à suivre....