One of the better horror films of the 2010's.

Rating: 10/10 (31 January 2020)

I am really surprised by the relative low rating on here. I guess the slow pace and that the film is focused on religious doubt throws a lot of people off. To me this is archetypal tale of witchcraft and I love the film's refusal to explain anything in great detail. There is a naturalism to the acting and the setting that lends itself to this feeling like folktale handed down by the generations. The film's quite unnerving specifically because much of the details are left to the imagination. While the film is ultimately supernatural horror I found the film's treatment of a family dynamics getting frayed to more emotionally involve then the average horror film. And the father's pride getting the best of him really works as a religious message.
In any case the visual lushness, especially the cinematography, of the film is rather hypnotic and the film has quiet power to it. Eggers is a really gifted director at invoking mood and atmosphere. This feels like a Puritan warning more than a modern horror film.
Good film