A film that’s widely agreed to be one of the finest entries in the horror genre from the past decade is finding itself on the end of, well, a witch hunt after skeptics have begun slandering the movie that launched not just the career of its talented director but also that of its rising young star, both of whom have become major lights in Hollywood since this particular production released seven years ago.
Yes, the movie in question is 2015’s The Witch (also known as The VVitch), the folk horror flick that wowed audiences upon its arrival through its chilling, slow-burn story about a Puritan family, living on an isolated farm, that is seemingly plagued by an evil presence lurking in the nearby woods. Robert Eggers made a name for himself off the back of this directorial debut, as did leading actress Anya Taylor-Joy, but now some folks are making it known they don’t understand all the adoration it’s earned itself.
The big issue for these naysayers seems to be the admittedly (but also deliberately) languorous pace.
Are Eggers’ films actually too pretentious for their own good?
But, despite the OP’s insistence that they don’t know anyone who actually likes the film, The Witch‘s many worshipers raced to its defense in this thread, speaking eloquently about what they love about it.
“It changed the way I think about witches,” explained one Eggers enthusiast.
Others, meanwhile, weren’t so eloquent in their support of the movie.
A horror film as unique as The Witch is obviously not going to please everyone, although many in this thread note that they only fully came to appreciate the movie upon a rewatch, so anyone who didn’t get along with it the first time may wish to check it out again. Otherwise, maybe you might want to keep your criticisms to yourself, lest Black Phillip seek you out…
