An Expertly Crafted "Folk Tale".

Rating: 9/10 (12 March 2016)

It has been a considerable while since a film had elicited such a pure reaction of gut-wrenching horror from me. As a horror veteran, tired of the same generic haunted house garbage we get month after month, year after year, I am so happy to write that Robert Eggings brings us a film that transcends all expectations and clichés. The Witch is a palpable breath of fresh air for horror; or rather, a forced serving of black bile poured down your throat to churn inside your stomach and send shivers down to your soul.
Even if, and I am certain of it, nothing here will be noticed by such a sanitized society like the Academy or an immature audience seeking cheap thrills, the fact remains that everything on display in The Witch is of master-class craftsmanship. The choice of 1.66 : 1 aspect ratio, a highly subtle effect, is most likely responsible for much of the film's highlights and weaves a strongly claustrophobic environment. Many of the shots are close-ups on characters' faces or characters' backs, a technique that seems to be gaining popularity as shown by last year's phenomenal Son of Saul. The camera rarely expands beyond the intimacy of our characters' personal spaces and this creates a sense of attachment and empathy wherein the viewer experiences a feeling of active participation rather than safe and casual outside observance.
The gray and murky autumnal environment is succinctly rich in flavor which accentuates on the film's aesthetic of a "folk tale". The sky is ever overcast, and the trees in the woods are all stripped of leaves, remaining tall imposing husks that are easy to get lost in. The aesthetic and environment are almost like characters themselves in The Witch, hearkening back to Eastern European tales of the macabre, the Grimm Brothers, or Nikolai Gogol. And like a classical folk tale, subtlety is key here; you will find no obnoxious jump- scares or cheap gore here.
The heavy immersion power of The Witch is pulled along by the small cast of characters who luckily, are mostly unknown. I personally recognized no one besides Kate Dickie from Game of Thrones but this was nothing distracting. It is easier to sympathize with people whose faces you aren't familiar with, rather than thinking to yourself, "wow, Leo is doing great work here". This holds immersion for the viewer, and because the cast was enormously talented, nothing broke that immersion or tension. The 17th century script the cast works with is written with great care and effort and remains understandable and relatable, creating no barriers between the film and the audience.
There is a lot more I can comment on, but this is a spoiler-free review. For any comment in regards to story, I can say that the way the story is presented is an extremely tense family drama, punctuated by brain-searing sequences of horror. Robert Eggers, for a debut film, shows total command and mastery of the genre he presents, and plays all the cards right. The sensation of horror is crafted through just enough lingering on certain imagery, and just enough glimpses of the horrific and supernatural to make a world of difference between a competent period piece horror, and one of the most disturbing films of the 21st century.