A devout community suffering from a plague is torn apart by a beautiful young woman and the forces of witchcraft and possession : I do love me a good folk horror movie, with the likes of Witchfinder General, Blood on Satans Claw, The Witch amongst my favorites in the genre, films that oooze the occult, darkly bewitched by supernatural elements, carry the stench of an evil force fighting against or part of a religious group and there usually set in some sort of rural farm community or isolated island in the middle of nowehere : Thomas Robert Lee’s The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw is another such movie, one that evokes a slow burn foreboding with flashes of unsettling scenes alongside it’s dark and eerie setting : the story in the movie is fine but does get a bit messy in parts and some it’s characters are a little underused but nevertheless there’s a trio of very strong performances from the likes of Catherine Walker who plays Agatha, Catherine was excellent in Liam Gavin’s very scary horror movie A Dark Song, Jared Abrahamson who was last seen in American Animals and Jessica Reynolds in her movie debut gives a haunting painful display as Audrey : I really felt for poor Bridget in the movie played by the wonderful Hannah Emily Anderson, she first looses her child and then this hideous curse is placed upon her to devistating effect, the tooth scene, shaving blade and that moment with the sheep is very upsetting : the idea of transporting Audrey in a box as not to be seen by the towns folk was terrific, as was the idea of Agatha’s land only producing crops, I also found the film’s sets and lighting superbly effective throughout : so overall if your a fan of these slow building, folk horror movies then The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw will thrill and chill your bones : LOVED IT ★★★★
The Witch
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2016 was not only a year of great loss but it was a year to celebrate some incredible cinema – some damn fine Independent Pictures that made me cry, laugh and sit back in pure amazement at the storytelling and acting involved – it was a year of exceptional Horror, mostly low budget affairs that reminded me of the movies of yesteryear and 2016 was also a year of some lighthearted, enormously fun blockbusters that didn’t quite make this list but I enjoyed thoroughly nevertheless – there are still many movies from last year that I didn’t get to watch but as custom I have put together a list of My Top 15 Movies of 2016 in poster form below – Have a wonderful Movie Watching 2017 from all of us all here A Very Happy New Year!
There’s something very unsettling about Robert Eggers movie debut THE WITCH a horror film set around the infamous Witch Hysteria’s in the New England Puritan times – it’s slow pace and it’s fine narrative penetrates your soul, the picture entwinines your subconscious and fills your mind with creepy, haunting images some beautiful others terrifying, like Kubrick’s The Shining The Witch plays on your fear of isolation, your darkest thoughts are let loose and the not knowing of what will happen next becomes more relevant, all of this is greatly helped by Mark Korven’s harrowing score that pushes your pulse upwards and gives each haunting scene greater significance – it’s cast that includes Ralph Ineson and Kate Dickie both known for work on HBO’s Game of Thrones are remarkable, they both deliver a harsh realism to their roles and you can’t help but be horrified by their circumstance but for me what gives THE WITCH it’s greatness is the young actress Anya Taylor-Joy who’s performance as Thomasin the elder daughter is utterly mesmerizing, her pale complexion & wide eyed innocence is something to behold, there’s a surreal beauty but also a cunning guile about her that Taylor-Joy captures perfectly, the scene where she tormentes her sister is both breathtaking & disturbing – Overall: this is no slasher movie and there’s ceretainly no great body count The Witch is not your mainstream horror movie, it’s masterful cinematography and direction allows the picture to be both unique and disturbing, my advice is don’t watch it alone – The Witch is a GEM in its genre a truly scary piece of work ★★★★½