Pure Atmospheric Dread

Rating: 9/10 (12 September 2016)

Let me begin by saying this is perfectly constructed to recreate the feeling and mood of the time period. And even before the supernatural elements begin the cinematic frame is claustrophobic as the family leaves the plantation, and the disturbing sound design has constant wind and animal noises underlying the action. Natural lighting shrouds the film in darkness, and the time-appropriate dialogue has an edge of madness. The farm is under constant overcast, and the wood surrounding it has no traces of green or even the hint of something better around the corner. This is film making so precise it would be unnerving if we were to simply watch the family try and make it through the winter.
Shortly into the movie, we're introduced to a figure in the woods. We're also introduced to a skin-crawling score that takes this movie to a new level of unease. Scenes that depict the daily routine of trying to survive on a barren farm are marked with dread; the inner-family fighting occasionally boils to the surface in moments of fear and rage; and lonely figures walking through the woods are under constant threat of the demon that lurks within.
I'm still trying to wrestle with the meaning of the title of the movie, because there were questions I had throughout that I'm not sure were cleared up by the ending, or muddled even further. I do like the suggestion that the powers of the satanic forces were working to tear the family apart from within.
By the end, it contains some of the most frightening moments and images in recent cinema. There's a laugh that I'll never ever forget. And then there's that goat, Black Phillip.