1) The Witch – Black Phillip Reveals His True Colors
Robert Eggers’ The Witch has its clear forebears. The earthy horror recalls films like The Wicker Man and Witchfinder General, the witch in the woods scenario brings to mind The Blair Witch Project, while the virginal 17th century New England setting conjures up memories of Terrence Malick’s The New World. It’s a masterpiece of a movie, but perhaps not wholly original. Until you get to its bad guy.
For most of the film’s running time, Black Phillip is just a background character. Of course he is – he’s a goat for goodness’ sake. Then, in a shocking third act, ol’ Phillip is revealed to be Satan himself, in a moment going from innocuous farm animal to murderous ram, slaughtering Ralph Ineson’s God-fearing patriarch. So, while The Witch can be derivative, at the least you can say it’s probably the first major horror movie to feature a goat as chief villain.