First of all, this was an excellent film. I was repeatedly in awe throughout at how eloquently the cast mastered the Puritan language spoken through the entire film; this couldn't have been an easy work to commit to memory as the language was so different in that era than in today's English, so they didn't even have the option of ad-libbing or "paraphrasing" a particular line or phrase anywhere in the movie. Additionally, the movie was beautifully shot, with the elements adding all the natural touches to make the setting even more dark and foreboding. (Let's face it: it would be difficult to pull of 'witchcraft' or 'evil' or 'occultish' in the peak of a Canadian springtime; not so difficult in late fall/early winter when the skies are constantly overcast and everything is dead, dying, or dormant.) The acting was, IMO, superb throughout and the soundtrack, when necessary, was almost flawless. (There were two different scenes in the entire film where the musical score/background just went totally off the chart in volume; very very distracting and annoying but, fortunately, it only happened in those two scenes.) Some reviews have stated that the ending was "very predictable"; I didn't feel that it was "predictable" but I did feel there possibly could have been a better way to close it off. (That is only my humble opinion and should not be interpreted to mean I thought the ending was bad.) In the list mentioned in some of my other reviews, I'm currently watching The 20 Best Horror Movies Ever Made, According to Redditt and this title ranks as #11. Again, this is simply a list I pulled off of one of the movie sites I subscribe to and shouldn't be interpreted as my own personal ranking. The Witch is yet another title that I personally feel doesn't belong on that list because (again, art - including movies - is subjective) my interpretation of "horror" is somewhat different. Was this spooky? Not really. Creepy? Meh....maybe a tad. Was it dark? Definitely so. But I would consider this more of a period film with a dark twist more than a true "horror" film. There's no real violence, so if "blood and guts" are your thing, you'll want to skip this one or be very disappointed. There's very much an occultic feel to it but perhaps even more pervasive is the feeling of actual tragedy as a once-close family begins to slowly unravel, due to a series of horrific tragedies that cause their once-unshakeable faith to become shaken. If you're into dark, bleak tragedies, this is definitely worth watching. I still wouldn't put it on a list of "horror" movies, though.
Review by ShubesBlockedParent2023-09-07T01:29:18Z
First of all, this was an excellent film. I was repeatedly in awe throughout at how eloquently the cast mastered the Puritan language spoken through the entire film; this couldn't have been an easy work to commit to memory as the language was so different in that era than in today's English, so they didn't even have the option of ad-libbing or "paraphrasing" a particular line or phrase anywhere in the movie. Additionally, the movie was beautifully shot, with the elements adding all the natural touches to make the setting even more dark and foreboding. (Let's face it: it would be difficult to pull of 'witchcraft' or 'evil' or 'occultish' in the peak of a Canadian springtime; not so difficult in late fall/early winter when the skies are constantly overcast and everything is dead, dying, or dormant.) The acting was, IMO, superb throughout and the soundtrack, when necessary, was almost flawless. (There were two different scenes in the entire film where the musical score/background just went totally off the chart in volume; very very distracting and annoying but, fortunately, it only happened in those two scenes.) Some reviews have stated that the ending was "very predictable"; I didn't feel that it was "predictable" but I did feel there possibly could have been a better way to close it off. (That is only my humble opinion and should not be interpreted to mean I thought the ending was bad.) In the list mentioned in some of my other reviews, I'm currently watching The 20 Best Horror Movies Ever Made, According to Redditt and this title ranks as #11. Again, this is simply a list I pulled off of one of the movie sites I subscribe to and shouldn't be interpreted as my own personal ranking. The Witch is yet another title that I personally feel doesn't belong on that list because (again, art - including movies - is subjective) my interpretation of "horror" is somewhat different. Was this spooky? Not really. Creepy? Meh....maybe a tad. Was it dark? Definitely so. But I would consider this more of a period film with a dark twist more than a true "horror" film. There's no real violence, so if "blood and guts" are your thing, you'll want to skip this one or be very disappointed. There's very much an occultic feel to it but perhaps even more pervasive is the feeling of actual tragedy as a once-close family begins to slowly unravel, due to a series of horrific tragedies that cause their once-unshakeable faith to become shaken. If you're into dark, bleak tragedies, this is definitely worth watching. I still wouldn't put it on a list of "horror" movies, though.