THE WITCH - While watching her infant brother, a farmer’s daughter finds herself amidst the unfortunate circumstance of his disappearance, during a game of peekaboo. Meanwhile, her middle brother and sister play a game, imagining their goat (Black Phillip) speaks to them as the embodiment of Satan. The story is set on a farm which perches on the edge of a forest in New England in 1630. It’s a coming of age tale, superimposed against Puritan submission to God, and unremitting fear of the Devil. Written and directed by Robert Eggers, The Witch is purported to be very close to its source material, taken from seventeenth century New England texts. The director’s debut film has been applauded on the film festival circuit and widely praised by critics. My recommendation on the movie is mixed. The mood setting was fantastic, the lead actress was compelling, and thematically it was interesting. But what I want in a horror movie is scares, and for me, there were missed opportunities. I won’t ruin the ending-- but all the bumps in the night were packed into the last ten minutes -- the pacing was off. There are long stretches --of talking, talking, talking --in hushed ‘actory’ accents inside a dark shack with a dirt floor. Artsy? Yes, if not a bit hard to follow. But as Eggers first horror film, it shows great promise, so I’m looking forward to the release of The Knight and Nosferatu.
