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Blu-Ray cover for The Witch
Blu-Ray cover for The Witch

The Witch,

directed by Robert Eggers (R, 92 minutes)

The Witch is capable of disturbing even seasoned moviegoers with its world of shadows and faith.

Allegedly based on firsthand accounts of 17th-century Puritans, the story begins in a small town modeled on Plymouth Colony, with a family being expelled from the community because of the father's severe religious interpretation. Righteous William (Ralph Ineson) proudly leads his family -- wife Katherine (Kate Dickie), teenage daughter Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), her younger brother Caleb (Harvey Scrimshaw), prepubescent twins Mercy (Ellie Grainger) and Jonas (Lucas Dawson) and an unbaptized newborn -- away from the decadence of the settlement to a clearing on the edge of a brooding forest.

They build a house and barn and dedicate themselves to subsistence. Then one day Thomasin is playing peek-a-boo with the baby in the meadow. She claps her hands over her eyes, and when she looks again the child is gone.

This event precipitates the family's slide into madness and hysteria. One of the most interesting things about this film -- which the press notes indicate is set in 1630, more than 60 years before the famous Salem trials -- is how it attempts to depict a world where most reasonable people accept the reality of witches and demons.

These people also understand that eerie explanations could be offered as alibis, and the dynamic among siblings is such that a little sister might snarl about wicked things and threaten to tell.

Taylor-Joy is convincing playing a girl five or six years younger than her actual age, though she seems to grow throughout the film. But as finely calibrated as her performance is, the breakout star is Black Philip, played by a sly goat named Charlie.

The goat is a familiar horror trope, often employed as a stand-in for the Horned One, and Black Philip does little to discourage satanic speculation. The twins claim he talks to them, that he has singled Thomasin out as the family witch.

While The Witch doesn't shy away from the simplest (and least credible) answers, it is remarkably subtle, walking an uneasy path between the psychological horror of The Babadook and the blatancy of Rosemary's Baby. This is a significant film, engineered to disturb one's sleep.

The Blu-ray and DVD releases include audio commentary with the director and a behind-the-scenes featurette.

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MovieStyle on 05/20/2016

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