A family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.A family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.A family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.
- Awards
- 43 wins & 72 nominations
- Black Phillip
- (as Wahab Chaudhry)
- Lead Coven Witch
- (as Vivien Moore)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe spelling of the title "The VVitch" is how the word was written in the story's period because the letter "W" was not yet in common use at the time.
- GoofsOne mistake in the dialogue is the incorrect usage of the personal pronouns "Thou" and "You." During the 17th century, "You" was reserved for formal situations, and when one was addressing someone of higher status/rank. "Thou," on the other hand, was used in personal/informal settings and between peers and close relations (similar to the French Tu vs. Vous). Throughout the film, the characters use thou and you interchangeably; however, a close-knit family such as theirs would not have likely addressed each other with the formal "You."
- Quotes
Thomasin: Black Phillip, I conjure thee to speak to me. Speak as thou dost speak to Jonas and Mercy. Dost thou understand my English tongue? Answer me.
Black Phillip: What dost thou want?
Thomasin: What canst thou give?
Black Phillip: Wouldst thou like the taste of butter? A pretty dress? Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?
Thomasin: Yes.
Black Phillip: Wouldst thou like to see the world?
Thomasin: What will you from me?
Black Phillip: Dost thou see a book before thee?... Remove thy shift.
Thomasin: I cannot write my name.
Black Phillip: I will guide thy hand.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Film '72: Episode #45.3 (2016)
The source material for this movie is amazing. Folktales are a horror goldmine and it's a shame you don't see it being used so often. The movie draws you in with it's original concept and stetting.
The approach to horror itself is very unorthodox in the sense that most horror movies nowadays rely on obscurity or grotesque visuals. This movie shows horror in broad daylight, the camera is steady, there are no monsters, no gore. So what good is it? - Realism. Especially in the supernatural scenes. The rawness of theses scenes is the best part. You're always asking yourself 'is this superstition or is this real?' and 'who is the real villain?'. Of course that's until the charm is ruined by the bullshit ending where those questions are answered in the worst way possible. If they left room for speculation and stuck to the subtle approach I would've given this film a 6 or a 7.
'The Witch' had some good ideas but it's far from perfect. I feel sorry for people who claim that this movie is some 'masterpiece'. Apparently they've been watching only shitty movies this whole time. The cinematography was dry and even felt effortless. I liked the composition in only one shot: the dinner prayer. The picture lacks tonal contrast to compensate the lack of color. It just fails at grasping your attention. Only parts where the dryness benefits the movie are the horror scenes, all the other shots are just tedious and repetitive. Sorry, but it needs to have style or at least some visual value before it can qualify as a 'masterpiece'.
The actors did a great job. My favorite was Kate Dickie as Katherine who I think came off as more threatening then the actual witch.
You can tell that 'The Witch' was heavily inspired by Stanley Kubrick's work (sadly Eggers doesn't take notes from his shot composition though). Not only has it similar motives to 'The Shining' but also a soundtrack that resembles Ligeti's 'Requiem' form '2001 Space Odyssey'.
- oksanasinner
- Dec 7, 2017
- Permalink
Every A24 Horror Movie, Ranked by IMDb Rating
Every A24 Horror Movie, Ranked by IMDb Rating
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- La bruja
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $4,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $25,138,705
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $8,800,230
- Feb 21, 2016
- Gross worldwide
- $40,423,945
- Runtime1 hour 32 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.66 : 1
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