The Witch

[rushmore223]

Just thought there is so much good discussion going on in the Review thread that this deserves it's own space.

 

[I Am Toys]

Hell yeah it does. True horror artistry.


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[rushmore223]

I can't think of many Directors that would be so uncompromising in bringing this movie to the screen. He really pissed a lot of movie-goers off in this film, even the ones that liked it, like me were a bit shocked at one scene in particular. I didn't think I could be shocked by a film anymore.

 

[JAWS]

Bunch of quotes from the other thread...

The Witch 8/10

Beautifully filmed and acted its a movie that sinks in deeper well after viewing it, and wont be forgotten anytime soon. I'd say its better to sell this movie to someone as an intense family drama set in the 1600s that eventually takes a turn into horror territory but not in the typical sense. No jump scares, or overly violent imagery, just a maddening descent into hysteria and evil. I've always loved the idea of witches and I think this movie nails down all those things that frightened me as a child. The witch is hardly the focal point of the film, but the film does recall some classic imagery that we all know and love (fear?) about witches. By the final shot a sense of dread and evil is deeply embedded into the minds of the audience. And as a bonus the score equally as disturbing. Would definitely recommend for those with patience looking for food for thought. Certainly not for those who find themselves coming out of horror movies saying "THat wasn't even scary" "That's how it ends?"

^ if you plan on seeing it in theaters be prepared for many people voicing there hatred for it afterword. In my theater many people booed and shouted they wanted their money back, which is an oddly a common thing for the more subtle horror movies out there (even for krampus, which I found to be a satisfying experience). I find myself looking for any movie similar to the witch to watch now, which is a sign of a good movie. Sometimes a movie gets in your head and you want to visit a similar experience with different movie but it always seems next to impossible with something this unique. If anyone has any suggestions let me know

7 out of 10 for me... I bolded what I really agreed with. This was beautifully filmed and well acted. I liked the story and feel of the film... I love horror films and I may have been a bit over excited for this one.. But I fault the trailer which had quotes like "one of the most disturbing films" and "it's like watching something that should not be seen" So I got myself psyched up for something that this film was not. Don't get me wrong it's dark and has a feeling of dread but obviously some of the glowing reviews about the intensity of this film were a bit overstated IMO. I may enjoy this more with a second viewing.. As you, a bit of time to sink in, helped improved my initial thoughts about this film... I also really had to think about how I would have liked this one if none of the hype was out there. Had I seen this in January with no expectations I think I would have been a very happy horror fan... The director lives up to the hype... The film while good did not.




Give Antichrist a chance. It use to be on Netflix and still might be. It reminded me of this film in subject matter (loss of a child) pace and tone. Be warned it earns its Unrated rating (real sex scene and some cringe worth violence).... Far from perfect but like I said it reminded me of The Witch in tone. No witches in this one though. I also like the Witch much more.. But It did make me think of this film while watching it.

Just got back from seeing The Witch. 8/10. Super creepy and a decent suspense/horror pic. I am a big fan of movies that let the viewer is their imagination instead of cheesy CGI especially in the horror genre. I don't think I will look at goats or rabbits the same way! Def check it out

Saw The Witch twice. As a horror fan and lover of art house horror, I f'n loved it. It's not everyday a horror move comes out that critics love. This is definitely not a "jump scare" or "gore" horror film, so you definitely don't want to go into that way.

This movie was the absolute manifestation of a Puritan nightmare as well as the best period piece horror movie I've ever seen. It incorporated the witch folklore of the time, as well as some "fairytale" aspects. You essentially have a girl who admits early in the film that she hasn't been right with God, and then you throw in the fact that her Christian extremist parents are berating her for everything, and you basically end up with a coming-of-age story with the worst possible outcome. This movie wasn't necessarily scary, however it was one piece of truly haunting and disturbing filmmaking.

As an avid horror fan and when considering the tremendous praise this movie has already received from critics, it's an easy 9.5/10 for me. [emoji106]


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As an avid horror fan and when considering the tremendous praise this movie has already received from critics, it's an easy 9.5/10 for me. [emoji106]


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I went to see Witch, but walked out after about 10 minutes. Too much like a Wayans Brothers parody horror movie.

^
So that's why it has a 90% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Lol.


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It was awesome brother. One of my friends said that he never thought he would see the day when certain horror movies would become smarter than a portion of their fan base. Lol. However it's the art house horror movies that are really doing something different these days and I love it.


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I don't think you'll be disappointed. Even though I lliked The Babadook, it did fall a little short for me too.


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Yeah, anybody that complains about big studios and commercial filmmaking should go see The Witch. You're not going to get purer dope than that. It doesn't give a **** about you.

View attachment 249271

My showing was silent during the entire movie, we were all at the edge of our seats.

You could hear a pin drop at the end.

It was shock from either side of the fence!

Just saw the witch and enjoyed it however I would of liked to know more about the witches and their history but then that would ruin the mystique. I do wish there was a cut of the film with a different ending just to see the direction it would have taken if the lead would have chosen another path.

The film was great in that it didn't do jump scares or slash em up but truly gave you a very tense and unsettling feeling of dread. The acting was great as was the tone of the film.

The Witch - 9/10

Let me start off by saying that this movie is not for everyone, I myself felt inclined to walk out after a rather disturbing scene in the early part of the film. It will also not effect everyone the same way, I think being a parent makes me more susceptible to its style of dread, which is exactly what permeates this film, unceasingly. The movie is a slow burn, the family's isolation serves to amplify the horror the family is going through, being ripped apart by forces both external and internal. It isn't something that is really left to interpretation, the supernatural forces at work are real in the context of the film, and the environment and mundane things like wild animals and domesticated animals are used to eerie effect. If you live in an isolated, wooded area, this movie may make you long for the suburbs. There were times where the accents coupled with the use of old English made some of the dialogue difficult to discern, but it doesn't get in the way of the story, you know what's going on even if you can't always hear clearly what is being said.

The movie is shot beautifully in a banal, muted way. the acting is flawless, and really, there are no real flaws in the film.

I think many will find the ending a let down, as there will be no

Spoiler

Coomeuppance or happy resolution

. The movie pulls no punches, it can be a hard one for many to watch, but it is very, very good and probably the most wholly original film i have seen in years and I look forward to seeing what this Director does next.

Yeah it's definitely not. I think a lot of people went into this movie not fully understanding what to expect or what it was about. I love art house horror films and this movie was damn amazing. I also have kids. Lol. However I would've loved it either way.



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The Witch (2016) - 8/10

Oh man, when this one ended half the theater spontaneously exclaimed "What the ****!" and "That was the worst ****ing thing I've ever seen!" which caused everyone else to laugh, me included. This is definitely a movie to see with a crowd, the response at the end was just too priceless. On the one hand I couldn't blame the people for being upset so I found their vocal feedback amusing even if I didn't agree with them.

This is NOT a traditional "deal with the scary thing in the woods movie." It's definitely a straight up ghost story and a hell of a one at that. Great tone (I really felt an almost palpable sense of dread throughout,) a terrific score and solid performances from the cast all around. The ending is a doozy all right and it's certainly one that won't be embraced by everybody.

Wow, my thoughts almost exactly echoed yours. I actually looked away during that scene toward the beginning that you mentioned, something I rarely need to do.

I thought this movie was a fascinating account of

Spoiler

what many people in that time and place genuinely dreaded, presenting it all as if those fears were very much grounded in reality, with regard to both the external damage such forces could cause as well as the discord and confusion such beings could create within. It was so organic how the external damage caused inner conflict, the inner conflict gave birth to infighting and imprisonment which allowed the dark being to use his enticements as the gateway to freedom from the very judgment and imprisonment that HE perpetuated. *shudder*

Not necessarily. There's a scene in the beginning that might tweak you a bit especially if you have a newborn. It's a must watch regardless. Just don't go into this movie thinking it's a jump scare or gore film. Just recognize that this movie will be different. You should enjoy it especially if you're an avid whorrorfan such as me.


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But just for the record after The Witch I theater went ahead and theater hopped and watched most of the end of Deadpool. I started with the montage of him killing people while asking for Francis' location and watched it all the way to the end. I wanted to like it. DP looked cool and he made a cool dynamic with Colossus and the fire chick. But it was just okay. Had potential, didn't live up to it.

I did chuckle at a couple parts like when I saw the first part of the movie but when it was done I shrugged, left, and immediately began pondering The Witch again.

Would you say it was better than Goodnight Mommy and the Babadock? Cause I thought those 2 were a tad overrated and boring. I didn't hate them but they weren't all that hard to figure out.

Not that I enjoy jump scares or anything.

I thought it was definitely better than It Follows and the Babadook, of which both I liked, however I like all kinds of horror movies, including the ones that are slow burn. I haven't seen Goodnight Mommy yet. But, The Witch is definitely a slow burn horror film. So if that might piss you off, you may not like this movie. But then again, I have friends that hate slowburn horror films, that actually did like this movie though just because it was haunting and disturbing as $@!* Lol. And there are definitely many scenes that are a big payoff.


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If you liked It Follows, you should like this film. The Witch is artisanal horror just like that. [emoji106]


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That's very cool, I'm glad you enjoyed it, if "enjoyed" is even the right word. I will see this again on video, but I'm not sure it's something I'd want to watch more than twice. I won't buy it, for fear my kids might pop it in someday, this is probably the last movie I'd let my kid watch, til she's 17 at least, she has already had nightmares about Witches without ever seeing a real horror movie, and I can't even imagine what kind of damage this movie would do to a young mind.

The theater I was in, you could hear a pin drop, not a single sound was uttered and the theater was pretty full. I heard no complaints afterwards, but neither did I hear any praise. This movie will find its audience, but it might not really catch on til it hits video. Not that it's not performing well at the theaters, but from what others have said, the audiences seem pretty polarized in their appreciation of it.

This is the kind of movie that gets under your skin, so I can certainly understand those who say they didn't like it.

The Witch:

Holy Crap!

Rush and khev summed up The Witch perfectly!

I can totally comprehend and respect some hating this movie, it can really take a ton of patience to settle in and get engaged with it.

I already knew what I was walking into and I love slow burns and even then it almost lost me, I kept hoping for something more threatening to happen from all that built up tension, if anything this movie could've actually benefitted from a few jump scares but the director refused to do them, he wanted to remain respectful to his vision of having the scares come from the creepy tension, and for the most part he succeeded.

Man, the isolation in this movie was creepy (see spoiler for more on this).

Spoiler time:

DO NOT CLICK IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE, IT WILL RUIN THE ENTIRE MOVIE! GO SEE IT BEFORE READING THIS, IT WILL BE WORTH IT!

Spoiler

I liked how they tricked us into thinking the father was going to go all Shining/Amityville and start chopping up his family with the axe, but that's not the direction they went.

This movie is brutal on kids, being a parent definately made this movie more disturbing (Like in Rambo 4 with all those kids getting killed only here its with religious mental trauma).

The heated debate involves the ending, and I can understand why some are not liking it but I fully embraced it.

It goes full on fairy tale, it literally is one of those fairytale drawings depicting witches in the woods surrounding a fire come to life!

But even then we really don't know if this was all in their heads.

This movie only reenforced my beliefs on just how dangerous and deadly religion can be

Like I mentioned before the isolation in this movie was insane, it became a character all of its own, especially when the daughter was all alone at the end, yikes, the silence was deafening!

I can't stop thinking about this movie!

Sure there were a few times where a jump scare would've actually worked, but the movie was still able to deliver the tension without them, so I guess that makes the movie even better.

Everything coming together made for a super high quality work of art, from the music to the acting.

The music certainly did its part believe you me.

Instant buy.

GO SEE THIS MOVIE!

This is the main thing, IMO. I went in having read a few hysterical quotes about how scary it was. So while I wasn't disappointed at all, I was sitting there waiting for something that never happened. But I was so enthralled with the tone and tension that it didn't bother me. It was only days later that I started to really feel the power of the movie. It's scarier to present faith and religion with respect and then demonstrate their futility in the face of real evil than it is to scoff at the idea of virtue.
It really is a perfect storm of vision/direction, casting, and follow-through. Many people will hate it I'm sure. I've read of people walking out or yelling at the end. I guess I had a good crowd because it was utterly silent at the end.

Dat goat tho!

Thanks Jye!

A hell of a movie, isn't it? One of those rare, great horror movies that I think will stand the test of time, as there really aren't that many truly great films in this genre.

You added some very good points in your spoiler area, definitely some food for thought.

I've been thinking that this movie deserves its own thread, as I'm sure it will spur a lot of discussion.

 

[rushmore223]

Wow! Nice job Jaws!!

 

[JAWS]

Here is a great article regarding the ending... I basically agree with everything... Also I like that it talks about the twins... I figured that what happened myself

Explaining The Witch Ending | Den of Geek

 

[JAWS]

Wow! Nice job Jaws!!

Thanks... I thought about starting a thread.. But last week it seemed like only two of us had seen the film

 

[JAWS]

I personally thought this was much better the It Follows (I think that film is a tad overrated) and is better then The Babadook (which I liked but did not love)

This film gets better with time... It did not scare me or even creep me out.. But it stuck with me and I could not stop thinking about it. I kept thinking of scenes from the film and they kept taking on a different meaning.

I love it's grounded in reality approach... I have read some people stating on a Blu Ray board I frequent that

Spoiler

The ending was supposed to be an uplifting one as the main character is free from repression and guilt.. While there is a point to that I think (much like the link I posted) that this is the farthest thing from a happy ending... It's the whole point of Selling your soul... You are free from the rules of society... Do what you want without worry of consequences... But when the time comes your soul belongs to the devil... Not a very good trade IMO. She was repressed but her family was not a "bad" family. Just a troubled family who ended up meeting up with true evil and thus reacted in a way that would not be considered crazy for the times... Especially when you consider that not only was there the threat of the Witches on the outside but also the threat of Satan himself on the inside. She made her choice at the end not because she felt repressed but because psychologically she took a beating and it was easy for Satan to come in and strike a deal... Going back to the ending... She can love being a witch and have all the freedom she wants... In the end she will be bound to Satan and Hell... Not to mention that it looks like she is going to have to do her fair share of evil deeds to be a witch... Watching her smile at the end seemed more like the fact that she was turning/ accepting/ converting over to her new faith. I make these assumptions due to the rules of the film... Witches were evil... Black Phillip / Satan is evil... So in the end nothing good is going to come out of the deal she struck... If someone wants to argue that Satan is good then take it up with the director because at no time did he try and portray that. This the ending is more a tragedy then a happy "she is finally free" ending.

 

[rushmore223]

That is a really good analysis, and I can kind of see what some people mean about whether the ending is positive or negative. I mean if the concept of good a evil is taken out of it, then the Freedom you speak of can be merely seen as liberation, but I suppose, there is always a Piper to be paid. If its a coming of age tale, then it is one of the most bizarre coming of age tales ever.

Spoiler

I don't remember the quote exactly, but there was a saying that in order for a child to reach full maturity, they must kill ( figuratively, of course) their parents, or their parents must die.

I may be remembering it wrong, but it's the general gist of it

 

[rushmore223]

In the opening scene when the family is banished I was still acclimating to the accents and the Old English, but from what I could tell, they were being banished because the Father was too much of a zealot for even the Puritans to put up with? Which begs the question, for an ultra-religious community to banish someone for being Too religious, what exactly did this man do? I would love if there was some insight into this.

 

[IrishJedi]

10/10.

Best movie of 2016, so far. (Not that tall a feat, but I think this is a masterpiece so this might even stick through the whole year).

Still wouldn't recommend it to most people.

 

[IrishJedi]

In the opening scene when the family is banished I was still acclimating to the accents and the Old English, but from what I could tell, they were being banished because the Father was too much of a zealot for even the Puritans to put up with? Which begs the question, for an ultra-religious community to banish someone for being Too religious, what exactly did this man do? I would love if there was some insight into this.

He's too vocally prideful and actually considered his faith more pure than that of the church, thus turning everyone off.

 

[IrishJedi]

Thanks... I thought about starting a thread.. But last week it seemed like only two of us had seen the film

Seen it 3 times now.

 

[JAWS]

In the opening scene when the family is banished I was still acclimating to the accents and the Old English, but from what I could tell, they were being banished because the Father was too much of a zealot for even the Puritans to put up with? Which begs the question, for an ultra-religious community to banish someone for being Too religious, what exactly did this man do? I would love if there was some insight into this.

He was self righteous as viewed himself as better then others... He felt the others were all sinners...

Funny thing is... I thought overall he was a decent father.. Yeah he was not perfect but he loved his family and tried to do what was right... He was a imperfect man... But we all are.

10/10.

Best movie of 2016, so far. (Not that tall a feat, but I think this is a masterpiece so this might even stick through the whole year).

Still wouldn't recommend it to most people.

Boom!! Nailed that on the head... I can't think of anyone I would recommend it too... Even though that does not mean they wont like it... I could just see it going either way..

 

[rushmore223]

This movie definitely grows on you, and I gave it a 9 out of 10 yesterday. I know I need to see this again, but will have to wait for video. Before I said I wouldn't own it, but am sort of thinking on that again, though I would be mortified if someday my kids found it and watched it. But it is such an amazing film that it deserves a place in my library, might have to lock this one up though.

 

[IrishJedi]

There were 2 of my friends that I knew would appreciate it (as we're all in history; particularly 17th century New England). I went to see it again with one of them and the other went to see it earlier today. Both loved it and agreed with me that it's pretty much a flawless piece of work.

I honestly would have appreciated this film for its craft (including writing, acting, directing, cinematography... you name it) and painstaking attention to detail alone, but it also has a lot of terrific existential subtext going on.

Again, I'd call it a masterpiece. Already. That hasn't happened in a long time.

 

[JAWS]

This movie definitely grows on you, and I gave it a 9 out of 10 yesterday. I know I need to see this again, but will have to wait for video. Before I said I wouldn't own it, but am sort of thinking on that again, though I would be mortified if someday my kids found it and watched it. But it is such an amazing film that it deserves a place in my library, might have to lock this one up though.

I originally gave this a 6 out of 10 right after I watched it.. the hype machine got me and I thought it was overrated... Then I thought "If I did not read any quotes or reviews then what would I give it?" So I moved it to a 7 out of 10... then after three straight days of thinking about it I moved it to an 8 out of 10..

I will defiantly have this In my collection... I look forward to seeing if this becomes an all time classic for me.

 

[rushmore223]

There were 2 of my friends that I knew would appreciate it (as we're all in history; particularly 17th century New England). I went to see it again with one of them and the other went to see it earlier today. Both loved it and agreed with me that it's pretty much a flawless piece of work.

I honestly would have appreciated this film for its craft (including writing, acting, directing, cinematography... you name it) and painstaking attention to detail alone, but it also has a lot of terrific existential subtext going on.

Again, I'd call it a masterpiece. Already. That hasn't happened in a long time.

Seriously though, so many of us are such nitpickers on this site, for a lot of us to be calling this film flawless, which it is, is something akin to miraculous.

I originally gave this a 6 out of 10 right after I watched it.. the hype machine got me and I thought it was overrated... Then I thought "If I did not read any quotes or reviews then what would I give it?" So I moved it to a 7 out of 10... then after three straight days of thinking about it I moved it to an 8 out of 10..

I will defiantly have this In my collection... I look forward to seeing if this becomes an all time classic for me.

Uh oh, now I predict a backlash starting next week.

 

[I Am Toys]

Everyone that I've explained the movie too, or has had to think about it a little bit more, has transitioned to loving it. Lol


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[IrishJedi]

I get figure out why so many people don't get it. It's really not that hard. It's on the poster:

"A New-England Folktale"