Coffin loads of atmosphere and dread

Rating: 8/10 (20 May 2016)

The past couple of years have offered up some very interesting horror flicks that defy genre conventions. Movies like The Babadook and It Follows continue to haunt me at the back of my mind whenever I think about them, like now... This year we have another frightfully good one - The Witch.
Like the previous luminous examples, Robert Eggers' debut film focuses on themes rather than on the usual tropes and plot to drive the story. It is a marvel of minimalism and a wonder of unnerving terror. Eggers' meticulous construction of historical details is spellbinding and he even goes to the extent of having the entire cast utter King James English. The Puritan world of Christianity is the disquieting battlefield and the sweet family stands no chance. It almost feels like the story of Job in which God has deserted them and lets the devil play with them like dolls. The drab cinematography is immaculately precise, every frame carefully thought out. Above every aspect of filmmaking, Eggers got the difficult ominous tone spot-on. The sense of dread is so overwhelming and enveloping that you can't breathe. 5 minutes will feel like 10 minutes - usually when I say this I mean it negatively, but not with The Witch. The film has coffin-loads of atmosphere, and the horror is so real that it borders on pure torment.