a review of 女巫

A family turned against itself. Set upon by an evil in the woods as well as in their very own home. The Witch is very much a parable of human cruelty. How simple ignorance and fear can bring out people's worst qualities. It also stands as a stunning recreation of a past era. From the way the dialog is written to the attention to detail in the costumes and setting, the colonial era has been masterfully brought to life onscreen. The acting is perfect and the story is bleak and moody. An excellent soundtrack sets the tone. The beautiful way the movie is shot and handled make it part art film. The plot touches on themes like religious intolerance and the potential danger religion could have on the weak minded. It captures the effects a constant struggle to control one's "sinful nature" can have on a person's sanity. One of the movie's biggest aspects is the time period it's set in. It's depiction of the people of that era's struggle to constantly subdue themselves and their incredible fear that simply slipping up in some way would lead God to cast them into hell is powerful. Yet, for all it's themes and messages this horror movie has one key flaw that almost sinks the whole thing; it's just not scary. Dark and affecting, yes, just not scary. I get that the real horror comes from the undertones as opposed to what is on the surface, and it certainly is a grim affair, but never once no matter how hard I looked under the surface of the events was I faced with any sense of fear. A darn shame for a horror film that succeeds so well in just about every other aspect. The Witch is still worth watching though. Perhaps not for those looking for big thrills and chills like you would see in horror films like Sinister or the Insidious series as this is a remarkably slow and silent film by comparison. It's not one to watch in order to be terrified. It's one you want to watch to see the genre at it's most original. You can pull a lot from the tone, atmosphere, and connotations. The movie is just as much about this family's inner struggle as it is their outer one. Maybe even more so. However no matter what you pull from it, none of it is really scary. More haunting. As a result it's successful as a mature, artistic horror film, but not one that will keep you up at night, no matter how sinister and true to life it's themes may be.