The Witch (2015)

Rating: 10/10 (28 February 2016)

Ever since seeing the trailer a few months ago, I've been dying to see The Witch. It calls to mind recent art-house horror movies like The Babadook and Goodnight Mommy, but The Witch is far scarier than those movies. It's a grim, perverse, and disturbing tale of religious paranoia among a crumbling family that will surely be remembered alongside the likes of Rosemary's Baby and The Omen. The Witch takes place in 17th century in Puritan-era New England. A family is excommunicated from their village and settles on the edge of a vast forest. Soon thereafter, their baby goes missing into the woods, and the family is torn apart by accusations of witchcraft, black magic and possession. From the first ten minutes, The Witch has a morose atmosphere and starts out with an incredibly disturbing scene. The initial shock is carried through the next few scenes which are dialog-heavy and slower, causing the dread to continue to the next horror. The terror never lets up and only amplifies as the plot progresses until the final 20 minutes are agonizing to watch. I could only vaguely tell you how the movie ended because I was watching through my fingers. It's perversely scary. The acting is fantastic from the entire cast, especially from the child actors. They're given heavy stuff to work with and pull it off with unsettling results. Along with amazing cinematography and an ominous score, it'll be difficult to find a better horror movie than The Witch this year. It'll leave you shaking.