Escape Games Canada was lucky enough to catch a sneak preview of The Witch, the horror film that has had critics talking since its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this year. It’s rare for a horror film to get a lot of attention, but The Witch has already garnered first time director Robert Eggers an award for his work from the Sundance Film Festival. The accolades are well deserved; for a debut film The Witch is absolutely beautifully filmed. Eggers shows a great eye and creates captivating imagery using his small cast and the beautiful forests of Ontario as his setting.
The movie may be billed as a horror movie, but it’s not the fast-paced, adrenaline rush you might expect from the genre. The Witch is a slow burn; an art house piece that balances the story of a colonial family with its horrific elements. The story follows William (Ralph Ineson) as he is expelled from the colony; he sets out to start a new life with his wife Katherine (Kate Dickie), their eldest daughter Tomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy, who steals the show) and their young children on the edge of the woods, but their lives are soon thrown into chaos when their infant son goes missing and suspicions of witchcraft and possession threaten to tear them apart. The family conflict paints a realistic portrayal of how difficult colonial life truly was.
The movie is steeped in accuracy. Every detail, from the costumes to the character’s speech feels authentic to the time period. The marketing for The Witch calls it a New England folk tale, and that is the best possible description. As you watch William and his family fall to pieces as they are plagued by one misfortune after the next, you can’t help but feel there is something of a moral tale, the kind you might find in the tales from the brother’s Grimm.
The Witch is a horror movie for festival goers. If you are a fan of suspense and drama mixed in with your horror, or if you love the idea of a period film with horror elements, then The Witch is for you. It is original and beautiful, with dramatic suspense that simmers and keeps the audience tense. The Witch opens across North America on February 19th, 2016.