Fantastic!

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

I rarely ever write reviews anymore- refuse to rate films on a 1-10 scale- and NEVER watch trailers (you guys who watch them- do you also answer phone calls telling you you've been selected to go on a cruise for free?). I, however, felt the urge to write a little concerning Eggers' The Witch- since I watched (and enjoyed) it and, after reading such disparate reviews I felt like chiming in with my own take. I'll let you in on a little secret, if I hear about a film and want to decide if it's worth seeing, I come to IMDB and read the user reviews. If the film has many high AND low ratings from users-it's worth a try. The Witch was just such a film- horror films that are criticized for being "slow" and having "like no plot" in the low ratings are a slam dunk to be good. This is really a very nice little film- but it could have been so much better. I felt that the director was probably made to compromise his vision of the psychological breakup of a Puritan family due to various issues (religious fervor, isolation, jealousy, insecurity, and most importantly the onset of puberty). I find it hard to believe that Eggers ever really intended for the satanic forces to be made visible to the audience (at least not in the sensational way they are)- the viewing of the witch and the baby early in the film destroys the possibility that what is going on here isn't really supernatural at all- and that is the lens through which this film presents its best face. I'd like to think he merely caved to pressure from "money guys" to "sex up his movie" to please the lower level viewers (and, indeed, he didn't even sex it up enough for those Philistines- who wouldn't know a great film if the screen fell forward onto their laps)- sadly this really hurts the film. I will say, however, that i will be anxiously waiting for his next film with the hope that as he achieves enough success he will be able to present his true vision. Developing.

Let's travel back in time.... way back to the time of the settlers. Things were very different back then. Religion had a much stronger presence in society. Along with that, you had rampant paranoia of witchcraft. These two historical facts play a big role in the core plot of The Witch.The plot focuses on a family that has just been banned from a village. With nowhere else to go, they travel outside of the village and try to make it on their own. They start growing their own harvest, each member of the family doing their part in the work. They rely heavily on their very intense Christian faith. Unfortunately for them, weird things start to happen.... starting with the children. Soon it becomes clear that supernatural forces are at work around them. The only question is.... who is to blame? Paranoia plays a role here, so much so that it eventually leads everything to a breaking point. The acting in this film is some of the finest you'll see. The performances given scream talent, you can really tell that this cast was passionate about their roles. Anya Taylor-Joy blew me away as Thomasin, she really captured the emotion and depth necessary to play the role. Kate Dickie is also great here, she plays Katherine, the distraught mother. Dickie throws herself into this role and delivers a truly captivating performance. Lastly, is Ralph Ineson, who plays the extremely devout Christian father. I loved him in this role! He totally nailed it as William, portraying a confused, angry father trying desperately to understand what's happening to his family.I absolutely adore the score in this film. It's so unsettling and sets the perfect tone. That along with environment and visuals create a very chilling watching experience. What I love about films released by A24, is that they are all so raw and disturbingly realistic. If you want real horror and it's an A24 horror film, you're almost guaranteed quality. The ending is another great asset this film carries, it ends in the most chilling and unsettling way. I refuse to spoil anything, you'll just have to see for yourself. 9/10 for The With.

Do not go into this movie expecting horror or gore, this is movie is all about the atmosphere, calm and mellow at times, but surely intense enough throughout. Absolutely stunning imagery and scenery all throughout the film a it is set in a 1630's forest. The movie does not solely revolve around withcraft and magic as the title might lead one to believe, it takes a rather different approach giving us insight into the heavy religious influence in the 17th century. Overall, the movie has a great vibe to it, watching a film like this makes you forget about the usual appeals of horror/thriller movies as you easily get sucked into the atmosphere of this movie even without much crazy and intense action you are feeling the rising tension between the close-knit family as the eldest daugther becomes suspected as a witch. Note that there is an enourmous religious prejudice and bias in this movie as it is all about god worship and being an obedient person living out god's will. If you have a problem with the heavy religious tone this movie has, i would suggest not watching it, because i can understand how redundant that can get at times. A really relaxing, but tense film, that is worth watching for many different reasons, do not expect gore or horror as i have said above, enjoy the sound effects, beautiful imagery and the usage of old english, which is rather rare in movies and art nowadays!

I love and prefer a psychological thriller, and tend to stay away from movies that rely on gore or jump scares, but this was just plain uninteresting.Cerebral films can be engaging and fascinating, but they must entertain in order to engage. They set up the concept of how terrifying life in the new world circa 1630-something would have been and then slowly dissolved all of that wonderful potential in favor of further suspense that leads to.......nothing. A period drama/suspense. Nothing thrilling here.