¡QUÉ HORROR! 2016
Candidate #11
THE WITCH
(January 2015)
"O God, my Lord, I now begin,
O help me and I'll leave my sin.
O help me and I'll leave my sin.
For I, repentant now
shall be,
From evil I will turn to
Thee.
None ever shall destroy
my faith,
Nor do I mind what Satan
saith.”
Writer/director
Robert Eggers’ feature debut, The Witch
(or, The VVitch: A New-England Folktale,
if thou preferest) is an astounding
piece of period horror.
“Inspired”--as
the film tells us at its climax--“by many folktales, fairytales and written
accounts of historical witchcraft, including journals, diaries and court
records,” The Witch follows the
travails of a family living on the edge of a deep, dark wood, beset by misery
and sinister occurrences.
“Black Phillip, Black
Phillip,
King of sky and land.
Black Phillip, Black
Phillip,
King of sea and sand.
“We are ye servants,
We are ye men.
Black Phillip eats the
lions
From the lions’ den.”
Though
most everything in The Witch is noteworthy
(including Craig Lathrop’s production design, Jarin Blaschke’s cinematography, and Mark Korven’s creeptastic
score), the film’s casting should not be overlooked, particularly, the fact
that the only readily recognizable genre face here is Kate Dickie.*
Suspension
of disbelief is always a sight easier
when the screen isn’t filled with Hollywood names. And if you love your horror--and
treasure the lingering echoes of eeriness left behind by a tale of dread well
told--then this is a story you’ll definitely
want to get sucked into without any distractions.
“Wouldst thou like to
live deliciously?”
(The Witch OS’ courtesy of impawards.com
& hcgart.com.)
*
At least, to me.
I
imagine some Harry Potter fans may
recognize Ralph Ineson, who, like Dickie, also appeared on Game of Thrones. I, however, was never a Potter fan, and for the life of me, cannot recall who GoT’s “Dagmer Cleftjaw” is, nor what he
looked like…
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