the most unnerving cinematic experience in a very long time.

Rating: 8/10 (12 March 2016)

I've heard a lot about this film prior to going in. It is the sort of film that you either really like or really dislike and it is clear why. The Witch is a 1630s English folktale and it doesn't shy away from showing that. Things get very real very fast and i can easily say this is the most unnerving films i have been to see for quite some time.
By that i don't mean it is a jump scare fest. I've seen a fair share of horror movies this year and all of them have been complete tripe, with countless jumpscares and a put you to sleep kind of vibe. The Witch features my favourite type of horror, the psychological type, and with that it provided something truly unique. The plot is simple, a 1630s family is torn apart and plagued by witchcraft and terrible unsettling things happen. Of course a lot more does happen, and over the course of the film i felt more and more uneasy. I have heard people complain the 1630s feel makes it boring, but never once was i bored. I was transported straight to this time period and i was transfixed to the screen for the entire duration. This is very much a family film and every member of the family does such an amazing job. The father of the family plays his role so well and you are constantly guessing what he is possibly hiding. This film will keep you guessing the whole way through, but does a stellar job at getting right inside your head and under your skin.
The first scene where the witch was introduced to the audience happens quite early on, it genuinely terrified me. Not to the point i was screaming aloud and jumping out of my seat, it was a different type of terrified. I was glued to my seat, not able to take my eyes off the screen as the sounds from the speakers were ringing through my ears getting louder and louder until the scene changed and put me back into reality. All of the scenes like this were the same, they would consume and take you out of reality for a bit to remind you that what you are watching is something that could have easily happened. It was terrifying also how realistic this film actually was, i know it was only filmed over a course of 25 days but it feels like the camera crew literally went out to film a 1630s family suffering from the threat of witchcraft and put it into a 90 minute film. I love when a 90 minute film can pull you in so much that it feels like a lot longer.
I hope psychological horror makes a huge comeback, i said this when i reviewed It Follows and until now, nothing had quite compared, but The Witch does. It is the best horror for a very long time and is one that i will honestly be thinking about for well over a week because that is what this genre of film does for me. Go and see it in cinemas.. but if you are faint hearted then beware because it will keep you up at night, in the best possible way.