The horror movie the masses don't deserve

Rating: 10/10 (20 February 2016)

The Witch, much like films like Kubrick's The Shining or Polanski's Rosemary's Baby just makes the viewer feel uneasy and nerved right from the start. A slow-burning, subtle and reserved experience that lets you resonate with the characters and really experience the unraveling of their family unit. What really makes this film special is that there's so many things that it could've very easily done wrong, but handled every aspect with class, tact and respect. The term 'Scary' means something different for everybody, so deeming this film as "un-scary" does not mean a thing, I will say though that this film goes beyond just 'being scary', it's not that kind of film. It's much more unsettling and unnerving, getting under your skin rather than being overtly frightening or gory. Frights last a moment, but the ability to not only get under you skin, but linger there is a mark of a truly great horror film.
It's a story about losing faith, it's a story about guilt and how those things can tear a family apart. For those wanting a 'fire and brimstone' monster feature, you'll be sorely disappointed. This film is much more in the vein of masters like Stanley Kubrick, Ingmar Bergman with even a touch of Andrei Tarkovsky. It's amazingly and intimately well crafted and shot, scored, acted and researched. It takes its time to tell the characters' stories, but does so with a strange, otherworldly and totally supernatural feel. It's just as effective as an intense drama as it is a horror film. This is the kind of horror film that will be discussed for years to come, and only comes around once in a blue moon.
I don't want to give away anything in this review, but I will say this: For those that really enjoy the art of film, storytelling, character building and the craft in general, believe the hype. It's excellent.
But for those expecting a gory and fun, cartoonishly-satanist and jump-scare littered monster flick, stay away and don't ruin it for the others trying to enjoy their theater-going experience. You'll end up not enjoying it or will find it to be a tedious and boring watch. Even though at a trim 90 minutes, if you find it boring, you have no attention span whatsoever, but that's besides the point.
To cap it off, this is the kind of Horror film I'm always waiting for, especially considering the droves of wanton garbage that flood the theaters week after week, and after looking forward to the film for nearly a year and a half, I'm glad to say that it delivered on all fronts. It's as flawless of a film as you can get, and for this to be Eggers' debut feature, he's in for a hell of a career.