So much potential, so little commitment.

Rating: 7/10 (1 October 2019)

This movie is quite removed from the traditional notion of modern-horror. The story takes place in the 17th century New England and follows the life of a religious family venturing out of their colony in search of prosperity. The movie does not use jump scares or other cheap forms of horror to achieve its blood curdling results. Instead it brings to life a complex historical mythology. The constant development of this mythology in the story works well in capturing the viewers interest time and again. With all of this said, the story does fall short in certain areas. The film's ambition is exciting to see, however, it comes up short due to poor acting in some parts and seemingly forced plot points. Had the film flowed more naturally from piece to piece it would have had an overall greater impact in its execution. The film tries to balance pacing with high quality cinematography and the results are accordingly underwhelming. If the movie had been stretched to even two hours, I believe the progression of events would have been magnificent. It is unfortunate to come away from a movie knowing that it could have been so much more than it was.