Post Author – Immortal Alexander

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The Witch is a horror film in the vein of The Shining, The Omen, and Rosemary’s Baby. It is meant to feel unsettling and present its horror as a slow burn that builds to something truly horrifying.

The film is set in Colonial New England and feels wholly authentic in its execution. While watching this film you feel truly alone and terrified of the world. You are naked in the woods and there are wolves or worse in those trees. When the wind blows you feel a menace creep up your spine and the hairs of your neck stand at attention.

The world feels brutal and unforgiving in this time period, as it should.

It’s dirty place full of superstition and fear of the unknown. When the night comes it is truly terrifying.

In many ways this film is closer to something like The Revenant than any traditional horror film, but when the horror comes it is truly terrifying.

The point of this film is to represent what people of this time period believed Witches to be.

The film sticks very closely to what people of that time said about Witches and does not stray into anything more or wholly original. There are no jump scares to be had, and no creatures devouring the living.

The real horror comes from not knowing what is going to happen next.

The performances in this film were absolutely stellar. Harvey Scrimshaw who plays Caleb in this film is an absolute standout. He plays well beyond his years and I can see big things coming for him in the future. Every actor in this film was amazing. There was not a single performance from the primary cast that felt false.

The only performance that I did not enjoy was the witch herself as she felt very generic and underdeveloped.

If you enjoy period films and classic horror you will find a lot to love in this film. This is not my favorite slow burn horror film but it is a very well made and effective film none the less. If you are looking for something original that will haunt your dreams like The Exorcist then you will probably be disappointed.

On a technical level the lighting, sound design, audio, camera work, production design, costumes, directing, and the performances were all stellar.

Verdict

I am giving The Witch 3 ½ out of 5 blood spattered stars.

The film is moody and extremely atmospheric but feels a little incomplete. Perhaps that was done intentionally to create additional dread for the unknown. Either way the film lacks a sense of finality that feels truly earned. It left me thinking, but without a real message beyond things that I have already read about in New England history books and stories about this time period.

In That respect the film was a little disappointing but I still really enjoyed watching every minute of it.

Did you see this film or are you planning on going to see it? If so did you like it?

Leave me a comment so we can talk more about The Witch. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next week for another creepy adventure.

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About Today’s Author

Immortal Alexander is a filmmaker obsessed with Horror and story. He wrote and directed the web-series Haunting Light ,  Associate Producer for the feature films – Marathon (drama) and Diamond Ruff (action/drama). He also was the Cinematographer for the action feature Fight Ring.

He is currently working on another web series that will be a dark supernatural drama. He’s also working on a compilation of Slam Poetry that encompasses his old free association writing and new material. He will be writing many more short stories for Horror Made and hopes to publish in other horror publications as well.