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The Witch (2016), R, ★★★

What's out there? Who goes there?
What's going on inside the woods? Many things in reality. Deer, bugs, snakes, a hunter, etc. But, in the horror genre, many ordinary things in extraordinary circumstances can occur to various characters with not much intellectual thought or expertise in wildlife. However, in history, Puritans grouped together as one religious family rather than a group of isolated individuals to practice their religion. A disagreement of beliefs can cause a person to be an outcast from other friends and with his/her family. This latest horror film provokes more thought than scares that produces a subtle and scarier environment. Nevertheless, it is a film of commitment and solid craftsmanship from a rookie director, Robert Eggers. He has talent.

William (Ralph Ineson), the patriarch of a Puritan family, has been isolated due to a religious disagreement and calling the people around him "false Christians". He and his wife, Katherine (Kate Dickie) and their children - Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), Caleb (Harvey Scrimshaw), twins Mercy (Ellie Grainger) and Jonas (Lucas Dawson), and baby Samuel move to a small farm from their plantation in England.

One afternoon, Thomasin is playing Peek-A-Boo with Sam and all of a sudden, he mysteriously disappears. Katherine becomes distraught over his disappearance and cries for many days and also praying to God. The next morning, Thomasin goes with Caleb on a hunting trip for rabbits and they encounter the same rabbit that Caleb and William saw previously. But, Caleb follows the dog running after the rabbit and finds it disemboweled and later, the witch, as a young woman, lures Caleb away. What's going on with all these disappearances?

"Thank you for all this bountiful food..."
This is a movie that is both captivating and quite efficient in its expertise of storytelling and horror scares. But what's so captivating about the movie is how meticulously detailed the supernatural story, the horror and the suspicions are in which the movie's caveat is the witch inside the woods. But, the worst caveat is the witchcraft within the family that haunts them. The scares are not purely cheap but they are supernaturally extraordinary as the horror comes within the family and it incites some thought as to why this specific family is being haunted.

All of the actors are quite good in this movie as they are all unknowns but the one performance I did think stood up before the others was Harvey Scrimshaw. He gives a natural performance that provokes some scares and there is a scene in the movie that was pretty gutsy, no pun intended.

Director Robert Eggers understands what people who have an affinity for the horror genre what they want. Sure, they want scares but other people do not want predictable scares. It's a silently assured movie about the obstacles of witchcraft, religion and rituals that impact a seemingly innocent family who transfers to Puritanism. Did it hurt them? It's a debate. I like it about the movie. I had two qualms with it and one I cannot spoil but it gets repetitive and almost looks like another Alien movie. The ending was questionable as to how to interpret its symbolism and this character's nature. I was conflicted. But, the movie's director, Eggers, is one to watch as I look forward to his next movie.

***


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