"The Witch" is a stylistically inventive cautionary tale, but is lacking in basic entertainment value.

Rating: 4/10 (19 February 2016)

1692, Salem Village and environs, within England's newly-renamed American colony, the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Political upheaval, town and family rivalries, religious disagreements, constant fear of Indian attacks, and some individuals' psychological and medical conditions created a perfect New England storm that exploded into what history calls the Salem Witch Trials. Based on unquestioned belief in the Bible, these colonists believed in the literal existence of witches and demons. Stemming from a lack of scientific knowledge, the Puritans also ascribed many natural occurrences to God or the Devil, depending on the prevailing opinions in their society. And, finally, the lack of separation of church and state in Massachusetts Bay meant that their government wrote and executed laws (and sometimes executed their people) based on their religious principles. The result of all this was a mass hysteria which occupied the colony's governmental apparatus and legal system for over a year and led to the killing of 20 accused witches. Now, having said all that, I have to tell you that "The Witch" (R, 1:33) is not about the Salem Witch Trials. However, taking place in the same general area 32 years before the witchcraft hysteria in and around Salem Village, all the same elements play out in the life of one Puritan family.
William Nolastname (Ralph Ineson) is an extremely pious man, so pious that the leaders of Massachusetts Bay invite him to take his family and leave. (This is kind of like ISIS breaking away from Al Qaeda for not being radical enough.) William happily packs up a horse-drawn cart and takes his wife, Katherine (Kate Dickie), teenage daughter, Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), and son, Caleb (Harvey Scrimshaw), the younger twins, Jonas and Mercy (Lucas Dawson and Ellie Grainger) and baby Samuel even further out into the wilderness. They establish a homestead in the shadow of a deep, dark forest, but, despite their fervent prayers, things aren't going quite as well for them as they would've hoped.
Life is tough in colonial America and it's even tougher when you're a day's ride away from anyone else. William's crops fail and the hunting ain't so good either. Then, baby Samuel disappears. One moment he's enjoying watching Thomasin playing peek-a-boo with him and the next, he's just gone. The family assumes he was taken away by a wolf, but the audience knows that the reality is even more frightening. As the family members venture into those forbidding woods looking for answers (and food), things go from bad to worse. Caleb disappears, family members reveal uncomfortable secrets to each other and as their stresses and insecurities build, serious accusations of witchcraft are tossed around.
"The Witch" is a stylistically inventive cautionary tale, but is lacking in basic entertainment value. The characters speak in Old English (think: King James Version of the Bible) and with antiquated British accents. This makes the dialog simultaneously interesting and hard to decipher (although it does get easier as the movie progresses). The acting is outstanding which, when combined with the small setting and even smaller cast, gives a realistic, even voyeuristic feel to the action. The plot, however, is intentionally un-realistic. First time feature film writer-director Robert Eggers has based the dialogue on actual official records and personal journals of the time period, and his story, on popular folklore and superstitions of the day. The result is a film that's original, but convoluted, and has open-ended plot points that call to mind a more European style of filmmaking which many Americans find frustrating. With a terrific cast and original (or at least, unusual) tone and style, along with great educational value (in understanding how something like the Salem Witch Trials could have happened) and relevant lessons as they relate to the dangers of religious extremism in the modern world, "The Witch" is just a little too overwrought and unsatisfying for me to call it "entertaining" and recommend it. "C+"