Not really "Horror"

Rating: 6/10 (6 September 2016)

I had been anticipating the release of this film for quite a while, and when I seen it for the first time, it felt like the anticipation I had was misplaced. This is not a horror film. Nothing about this movie scared me in the "conventional" sense. I wasn't checking in my closet or under my bed for witches after I had seen it. However, this film profoundly disturbed me in its realism. It got under my skin, and I have been thinking about it ever since. This film's primary issue is its sluggish pace. This film felt about an hour longer than it was. I have to admit that I was deeply bored by about the halfway point. It's not like there was nothing going on either; a babe is kidnapped, and the family succumbs to religious hysteria before things start to get downright twisted. But, this film has the most oppressively bleak atmosphere I think I have ever experienced, and I have to say that it wore me out pretty quickly. So much so that I was exhausted and depressed after having finished it, and went and got wasted to pick my spirits up. This is a truly unique film with a very original ending and point of view. I don't know what to think of this film. It's less of a horror movie and more like a very old fashioned fairy tale or folk fable with some very twisted ideas. There are 4 or 5 truly brilliant scenes that provoked thought and got under my skin. There are also 2 scenes where I laughed at how stupid they were ( a crow pecking at a maniacal woman's breast and the face of the witch herself). The ending is bound to be studied in film classes for how thought provoking it is. The director seems to pull the veil from the audience to reveal that he was on evil's side all along. It's an interesting perspective for a director to take, and I can't wait to see what else this director can do. I have mixed feelings for this film. I didn't enjoy this film because of how depressing it is. I wasn't scared at all by it; as it was, quite simply, not scary. But I have to give credit where it's due; this film is well made and has great attention to detail. The acting is... good. A little forced at times, but it's serviceable. I like the ideas this film has more so than the actual film. This film was marketed very poorly. Lots of people will dislike this film because they probably have never seen an art film, and if they had seen one they probably disliked it. I may like this film more if I see it again, but first impressions matter too. Am I right? 6 out of 10 for the ideas being scarier than the film itself.