The Witch | 100 Movies Bucket List

 

I can't say this is a re-watch I was looking forward to.

I saw this film a couple of years ago, bearing in mind I'm usually a bit iffy about elevated horror anyway, and from what I remembered, I just didn't like the film. But I tried to go into this re-watch with an open mind.

So imagine my surprise when I started watching, getting into the story, and ended up feeling completely different about it this time around. I actually liked the movie and had a good time watching it, which really wasn't the case the first time around!

I liked where the film started. Not only do we understand really quickly what these dark forces want and are capable of, but we also get an interesting exploration of grief that carries through the film.

The actors in this film are all so great. The child actors play their parts so well, and the adults are fantastic as these characters. Not only do they make the world feel really believable, but they are also good enough that they all feel authentic playing characters in a story set in the 1600s.

I have to say in particular that Anya Taylor-Joy and Harvey Scrimshaw were amazing. Their dynamic was great to watch, and Scrimshaw in particular gave so much towards the end that you can't take your eyes off of him. Considering he hadn't done much before this, it's insane how good he was.

The family dynamics here are really interesting. The eerie, tense atmosphere almost comes directly from the family towards Thomasin and outwards to the world around them, rather than the atmosphere itself influencing the family. Even with all the external factors, we're following Thomasin's story, and the source of tension and fear in her life coming from the people she loves rather than the 'witch' is a really interesting angle to take for a horror film.

And as scary as the witch in the woods is, particularly the visuals of this, the isolated family atmosphere is so much more oppressive and overpowering. When you're in the house with this family, it feels suffocating as the viewer, never mind being one of the children in this environment.

This takes some turns as we get closer to the end. What started as more traditional in terms of horror (a monster in the woods) then becomes something else entirely. As the viewer, what we're scared of isn't the witch, but the future of this family. We don't know what will happen to them, how they'll survive this situation, particularly Thomasin who we're the most connected to.

The descent into paranoia is another theme that the film does really well. It's so interesting to see the family turn on each other, particularly because, from the audience's point of view, this doesn't feel like a mystery we're supposed to solve.

I didn't expect my mind to change about it so easily or quickly. There were still elements that weren't for me, I'm not a huge fan of the 1600s setting, but the experience of watching it this time around was almost a complete 180 from the first time!