I be the witch of the wood...

Rating: 7/10 (2 May 2017)

With language based on authentic early 17th century usage and a plot drawn from tales of that time it seems an unlikely film. It's fair to say that some of the dialogue does feel a little forced olde- worlde but that is forgivable. All the cast acted their Puritan smocks off: The youngest children, apparently carefree, exude a menace that only the seemingly innocent can do - there are few things as sinister as children's laughter. The older children are transitioning to early adulthood with pressures and stresses on them (far in excess of today's sheltered teens) contributing to the family's descent. The parents, Anya Taylor-Joy slightly hammy as the disturbed and grieving mother practically swept aside by Ralph (Finchy!!) Ineson's dominance as the father who has sinned - you get the feeling he was taking this VERY seriously. The scenery and lighting are relentlessly bleak and amplify the isolation the family must feel when they (and their livestock...) are expelled from their religious community - a family as dependent on prayers to meet their needs as they are the backbreaking toil they endure every day. The unsettling feeling that something is not quite right grows in the viewer inline with the increasing paranoia, tension and fever induced surrealism within the family. In hindsight the final denouement feels like a false memory or a drug induced hallucination, did that really happen? A 'horror' film that will remain with you on dark autumn days.