THE WITCH (2015)
Black Phillip, Black Phillip, a crown grows out his head. Black Phillip,
Black Phillip, to nanny queen is wed. Jump to the fence post. Running
in the stall. Black Phillip, Black Phillip, king of all.
William and his family are banished from a Puritan plantation in England in 1630 due to his intense religious interpretation of the bible. The family leaves and builds a farm on the edge of a giant forest. They're struggling to grow crops, and those that do grow are infected. Thomasin, the oldest daughter, is playing peek-a-boo with the youngest baby, Samuel when he suddenly disappears.
He was kidnapped by a witch who lives in the woods and she murders him, covering her body in his blood. But the family believe he was taken by a wolf. The mother, Katherine, is devastated and spends all her time crying and praying while William secretly trades her precious silver cup for hunting supplies. But when he takes his oldest son Caleb into the woods they find no game.
That night the children hear their parents discussing the fear of making it through the winter without food and speak of sending Thomasin to live with another family. In the morning Caleb and Thomasin sneak out to hunt in the woods and try desperately to find food for their family. But something scares the horse and the dog and Thomasin falls to the ground hitting her head, while Caleb runs after the dog. When Thomasin wakes up she realizes her brother is missing.
With the twins seeming to understand what the goat, Black Phillip, is saying to them, and the sudden return of Caleb, naked and confused from the woods, the family begins to fear witchcraft. But soon fingers point to Thomasin and she must convince them of the truth and fight for her life against the religious fury pointed at her.
Alright...what did I love about this movie?
- That scenery though.....so terrifying and isolated. Just a small farm in the middle of nowhere on the edge of a spooky forest with just your family to keep your company, anyone would go crazy.
- The score was one of the best I've ever heard. It was haunting.
- Witch scenes - brutal, confusing, freaky.
- Amazing performances all around, specifically from Anya Taylor-Joy in her first movie role, and the mother played by Kate Dickie who was in Game of Thrones.
- Directorial debut from Robert Eggers and written by him as well - can't WAIT to see what he'll send out into the world next.
I'm skipping what I didn't like because I'm really not sure about this movie. I watched it last night and usually I write the blog right after but I slept on it and thought about it all day and I'm still so uncertain. Did I love it? Did I hate it? I don't even know.
I mean, this movie is deep. The symbols were strong with this one. From Black Phillip representing the devil and the poison apple representing old fairy tale witches, and the goats spitting out blood instead of milk. This movie represents so many things from oppression to misogyny to distrust. I didn't trust the film myself. Even the corn, which has gone rotten, is a hallucinogen. So if they were eating this stuff, how can we trust any of it was really happening? Was Thomasin evil all along? Or was she a young girl scared by her faith who misses her old life and is seduced easily into a new life?
SO MANY QUESTIONS.
It's a good film. It's accurate for the times from the dress, to the accent to the dialect. It's beautifully shot and it's easy to follow. But it's so damn....creepy? Thoughtful? Unnerving?
Jury is out on this one for me so I'm not even going to rate it.
Just watch it.
Stay spooky!
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