The Witch is an indie horror drama directed by Robert Eggers that tells the story of a religiously concentrated Puritan family whom got banished from living in their plantation due to New and Old Testament differences. How their migration to an isolated farm collides fate with a witchcraft cult existing in the woods formed the crux. Essentially, the story was about the cult trying to recruit a new member into their society, and how our protagonist Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy) became a victim of the grand scheme.
First of all, this motion picture proved that a group of cognoscente worked on it! The film had an immaculate production design, ranging from the costumes, architecture, wild animals, atmosphere, settings and colors that fit the 1600s. The sheer authenticity was mind-boggling. Jarin Blaschke's camerawork produced some of the most beautiful imagery cinema has ever seen! Old witch walking towards a full moon was an instance. Score and sound design were precise, especially Black Phillip's voice.
Resounding performances, with accented speeches riding on ancient vocabulary and speech pattern were extremely well done. Never came a moment we doubted this was a real family. Their livelihood, conversations, interactions and relationships were too realistic at many points. Parents discussing in bedroom whilst the children were eavesdropping from outside pretending to be asleep and Caleb's (Harvey Scrimshaw) expression of puberty through the way he looks at his sister were examples.
The writer-director has converted depression, banishment, sufferings, loss, faith, hope, survival, poverty and misunderstandings into horror! From the very beginning, we could sense how rocky the relationship was between the mother and daughter. Thomasin faced oppositions from all corners, with bad coincidence, a mother who wanted to send her away, simple joke believed as truth and younger siblings being part of it. Although she could have been a little more active as the main character, we felt pity and helpless seeing all circumstances possible were against her. Witnessing the entire family going to ruins with an intense bloodbath finale was terrifying to say the least!
Crow pecking breast, Caleb being possessed followed by a harrowing death and old witch slaughtering a young baby to smear the blood on her skin were truly disturbing scenes. Twins forming an unholy bond with the goat was a good unforeseen revelation, because as we think back, those two kids were the only ones seemed different or out of place in the whole unit.