Robert Eggers is the type of director who often listens as if he has nothing to say, but when he does speak, he speaks to viewers and critics in a voice so deep that there are people who stand on their feet and don’t fall in front of him. The 40-year-old specialist is best suited to historical horrors, and has so far put on the table such masterpieces as The North and The Lighthouse, which have preoccupied Forum members since their presentation. There are those who hate both of them, and there are those who analyze them day and night. Eggers’ first and perhaps lesser-known film, 2016’s The VVitch, is now in limbo, though
It’s the kind of ruthless folk horror that stays with you for days or weeks and haunts you every night like a nightmare.
We are not exaggerating, The Witch is truly ruthless, it is one of the few plays in this genre, dripping every minute with cruelty and perversity, and it shows that this is a story in which evil does not spare whoever falls into it. trap her.
But what is the story? We are in New England, in the year 1630, when a settler named William (Ralph Ineson) gets involved in a dispute with the church, and because of this they banish him, his wife Katherine (Kate Dickie), their granddaughter Thomasine (Anya Taylor-Joy), their teenage son Caleb (Harvey Scrimshaw) and the youngest members of the family, twins Mercy (Ellie Grainger) and Jonas (Lucas Dawson). The family that was in the pores sticks together and moves specifically behind God’s back, they build a barn and a house next to the woods to live there for the years to come. Yes, but William literally takes refuge behind the back of a deity, among the trees, something inexplicable is hiding in the darkness, and it strikes them.
In the film we found on SkyShowtime, Robert Eggers does not speculate, he shows without any strings attached that even if someone is deeply religious, this can still make them a truly sinful spirit. For example, the character of William is trapped by his lies, his wife is arrogant, and the twins are little devils, while Caleb is haunted by thoughts of adultery, so we are not surprised that the townspeople do not welcome them to the village …
Perhaps the only exception among them is Thomasin, played by the amazingly talented Anya Taylor-Joy, star of The Leader and The Menu, who is famous for her piercing eyes, who helps her parents in everything and plays with her younger brothers. However, she is the one the family realizes is definitely a witch and cunningly torments her loved ones.
The Witch is by no means your typical horror movie, writer-director Robert Eggers builds the tension so persistently and almost under the turf, we zip forward into a 90-minute story, and then into a climax, just when we least expect it. With one frightening scene after another they bring us. This part of The Witch is terribly effective because the creator doesn’t click the panic jump every five minutes, but rather lays the groundwork for it.
There is something perverse about the fact that a primal evil would knock on the window of such a deeply religious family. The dull, grayish photography and annoying music add to the fact that we, as viewers, also get into a hardcore mood. And the point is made by the brilliant acting, none of the actors stand out in a negative way, and interestingly enough, it’s the young talent who put the scariest scenes on the table. Harvey Scrimshaw, seen as Caleb, is at least as old a talent as Anya Taylor-Joy, who has been accused of witchcraft. Not to mention Ralph Ineson, known as his memorable member, a wise but very intolerant family man, and Kate Dickie, who loses her children one by one, is so hysterical that we panic.
Don’t worry, Robert Eggers’ horror movie doesn’t fall into the category of mystical titles like, say, Lost. Here we get answers, like one wall gives another, and the joyfully staccato story becomes the sickest, most disturbing, most engaging in its own horrific way only for the grand finale.
The final scene is the climax, where the catharsis hits us, and even days later we are still thinking how dark and at the same time a beautiful turn it was!
9/10
The witch (The VVitch) can be seen on SkyShowtime, with Hungarian dubbing and subtitles.
