The Witch (2015)
Directed by: Robert Eggers
Written by: Robert Eggers
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Bathsheba Garnett, Ellie Grainger, Harvey Scrimshaw, Katie Dickie, Lucas Dawson, Ralph Ineson
THE WITCH (2015)
Directed by Robert Eggers
Available on Limited Edition 4K UHD Blu-Ray from Second Sight
When you hear the word witch your first mental image is likely a green skinned hag, cackling on a broomstick, wearing a hat as pointy as her oversized and boil-riddled nose: hardly the stuff of nightmares. Although recent years have seen a number of big genre names, from Rob Zombie and James Wan to television’s American Horror Story, attempting to reverse this stigma. Yet none have come close to Robert Eggers’ debut chiller in legitimising the Wiccan way of life as a ripe source of terror. This trepid folk-tale takes us back 1630, decades before the Salem trials saw religious hysteria overtake reason, and asks us to consider what if there really was a source of evil lurking within the jagged trees.
The New England countryside may be cold and grey, but doesn’t mean it can’t also be hellish. So learns true believer William (Ineson) and his wife Katherine (Dickie), two puritans excommunicated from the safety of a religious settlement due to the former’s pride. In exile they establish a sustainable farm by the woods: the sort of picturesque haven where they can live off the land and raise their kids properly, under the supposedly ever-watchful eye of their lord and saviour. Joining them, in this would-be utopia, are their maturing daughter Thomasin (Taylor-Joy), young son Caleb (Scrimshaw), pint sized twins Mercy (Grainger) and Jonas (Dawson) and months old infant Samuel. And for the first act we spend a surprisingly long time watching them struggle with the landscape, in a grim subversion of Little House on the Prairie. “We will conquer this wilderness” promises their patriarch. Yet it’s not long before hard rural domesticity begets familial tragedy. To make matters worse, shortly after the ordeal their hunting trips fail to yield meat, their crops die, the cow produces blood and the hen births rotten fetuses in the place of fine yolks. But these freak occurrences are made to seem trivial when their young talk in tongues and suspicions fall on their eldest as a witch.
Curiously Thomasin’s status as an innocent isn’t contested by the narrative, with the existence of a genuine occultist (Garnett) confirmed very early on by an unnerving ritual. Though this may seem a wasted opportunity, given the family’s close quarters, it actually works much better than a standard ‘is she/ isn’t she’ trope could. The cause of tension isn’t whether she’s a witch or not. Rather it’s when her family will inevitably become convinced she is and what they’ll do about it. This doomed dynamic gives a real feeling of apprehension from the outset, as paranoia sets in and the inevitable accusations surface. Accordingly The Witch is an exercise in sustained dread. The escalation is expertly handled, with Eggers building to his stunning finale from the opening moments and knows just when to introduce what elements. In the hands of a lesser talent some of the more fantastical elements could have descended into goofy farce, with a sinister goat named Black Phil being the most obvious. But here each is handled with the care and precision they need to be part of a wider picture.
Which brings me on to the incredible visuals. The setting is as dramatic as they come, with the cinematography perfectly captures every dusk, dawn and moment in between. The rigid buildings and handmade clothes invoke the director’s former role in the props department, with each shot boasting a keen eye for detail. Against the sinister strings and choral voices, that make the soundtrack, it makes for a thick atmosphere. Furthermore, save for a couple of accent slips from the youngsters, the actors make the archaic dialogue sound fresh. Ineson, Dickie and Taylor-Joy brilliantly embody their characters’ conflicts and give real emotional stakes to their attempts to find reason in their suffering. Are they being tested by God for William’s arrogance? Or are they cursed by The Devil? Answers are never forthcoming, but this doesn’t matter since cast members are at their best when trying to find them.
Curbing the story in favour of thematic cohesion means the film will not be for everyone. Indeed, I can see many an impatient punter giving up and thinking it a bore. Yet for those that like to immerse themselves in a layered piece it’ a hugely rewarding in its joint appreciation of horror and human frailty. Importantly The Witch also carries the distinction of being the first classic of 2016. As per the 2015 release, It Follows, it’s obviously premature to label it a contender for scary movie of the year. Yet if this doesn’t make people’s top five horror movies of 2016 it’ll only be because of how damn good everything else is.
Rating: 
THE WITCH – Second Sight 4K UHD Blu-Ray extras
Presentation:
- Excellent transfer – sharp and detailed. As someone new to 4K, I can see what the fuss is about.
Commentaries:
- Writer/director Robert Eggers: To me, this track is the most exciting thing on the disc. As detailed as you’d reasonably expect from a guy who seems to do nothing by accident. This exhaustive account highlights just how much research went into everything we see onscreen. Lots of history, lots of comments on the writing process (including the original opening scenes) and lots of praise for his cast and crew.
- Film writer/broadcaster Anna Bogutskaya: You may know Anya from The Final Girls podcast – she’s a really engaging and highly informed voice in horror criticism. In much the same vein, this is a very knowledgeable, enlightening and entertaining track. She gets the film’s themes, and has a lot to say about them plus the characters and witches in horror cinema more broadly. Recommended listening.
Interviews:
- Robert Eggers: Highlights include how the filmmaker was inspired by life in New England, the changing face of witches onscreen, the importance of set design, how he got into directing and how the puritan intelligentsia’s need to write everything down helped him to craft the script. (26 minutes)
- Anya Taylor-Joy: Highlights include how a chance encounter resulted in her getting work as a model, and how this led to her getting The Witch as a first script. There’s some good content about the relationship between herself and her character, and how her acting techniques vary from her co-stars. (13 minutes)
- Ralph Ineson: Highlights include how his time as an actor and playing an asshole character in The Office helped him get into character for The Witch. We also get an insight into his acting and his empathy for the character, losing two stones for the part, wearing old fashioned clothes, shooting with a fierce goat and what he learned from Katie Dickie. (22 minutes)
- Kate Dickie: Highlights include why the character appealed to her so much, how isolation helped her get in character for some of the more complex scenes, and how her life helped her connect with the part. You also learn how she did the breastfeeding the raven scene (no, that isn’t CGI!). (15 minutes)
- Harvey Scrimshaw: Highlights include his apprehension about doing some of the horror scenes (like kissing an older actor), auditioning with Ralph and Anya, working with Robert Eggers, rehearsing the possession scene in a hotel, the movie’s many bugs and why he missed the premiere. (7 minutes)
Miscellaneous features:
- A primal folktale: A selection of interview clips with Eggers and cast members, which were shot at the time. Introduces the themes of the film along with a discussion of the period and how the actors understood their characters. (10 minutes)
- BFI London Film Festival Q&A: Robert Eggers, the producer Jay Van Hoy, Anya Taylor-Joy and Ralph Ineson – A good-humoured questions and answer. Among other things, they discuss the pre-production, characters, modern horror and the score. (11 minutes)
- Short film: Brothers – a movie that was made to show he could work with a small family unit in a rural setting. This charts the problematic relationship of two siblings and their abusive grandma. One day the two boys go into the woods with rifles. As dark, tense and emotionally complex as what we’ve come to expect from Eggers. (10 minutes)
Limited Edition Contents (note that I have not seen these)
- 6 collectors’ art cards
- Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Peter Diamond
- 150 page hardback book with new essays by Emerson Baker, Daniel Bird, Anton Bitel, Charles Bramesco, Lillian Crawford, Shelagh Rowan-Legg and Anya Stanley plus stills, costume and production design gallery.
The Witch Limited Edition 4K UHD & Blu-ray is available now.
Neeeeeed to see this