gets very compelling

Rating: 7/10 (15 February 2017)

It's 17th century New England. Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy) lives with her family on an isolated farm. The local village banishes them for religious disagreements. Her parents are strict and God fearing. Her younger brother Caleb has lustful thoughts about her. Her younger twin siblings Mercy and Jonas are obsessed with the family black goat Black Phillip. Thomasin is playing with baby Samuel when he suddenly disappears. A witch in the woods has kidnapped and killed him. The farm is failing and the father is forced to hunt. Thomasin jokes by scaring Mercy about being a witch which comes back to haunt her. Caleb goes into the woods to gather food. Thomasin insists on joining him but it goes badly. Thomasin falls off the horse and Caleb is found in a sickly state.
The movie gets really interesting around the midpoint. The first half feels slow and muddled. I had to watch the first half again to get a hold of the entire story. It's a matter of clarity and flow. After Samuel disappears, the family should be out of their minds searching the woods. Instead, the movie skips ahead a few day to them in a depressed state surrendered to the baby's fate. It's missing the emotional and plot connective tissues. The second half is much more intense paying off some story aspects. The lead girl Anya Taylor-Joy is terrific. The brother and the father are also great. This is an intriguing psychological horror.