The Witch

Critics Consensus

As thought-provoking as it is visually compelling, The Witch delivers a deeply unsettling exercise in slow-building horror that suggests great things for debuting writer-director Robert Eggers.

90%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 319

58%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 41,564
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Movie Info

In this exquisitely made and terrifying new horror film, the age-old concepts of witchcraft, black magic and possession are innovatively brought together to tell the intimate and riveting story of one family's frightful unraveling in the New England wilderness circa 1630. New England, 1630. Upon threat of banishment by the church, an English farmer leaves his colonial plantation, relocating his wife and five children to a remote plot of land on the edge of an ominous forest - within which lurks an unknown evil. Strange and unsettling things begin to happen almost immediately - animals turn malevolent, crops fail, and one child disappears as another becomes seemingly possessed by an evil spirit. With suspicion and paranoia mounting, family members accuse teenage daughter Thomasin of witchcraft, charges she adamantly denies. As circumstances grow more treacherous, each family member's faith, loyalty and love become tested in shocking and unforgettable ways. Writer/director Robert Eggers' debut feature, which premiered to great acclaim at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival - winning the Best Director Prize in the U.S. Narrative Competition - painstakingly recreates a God-fearing New England decades before the 1692 Salem witch trials, in which religious convictions tragically turned to mass hysteria. Told through the eyes of the adolescent Thomasin - in a star-making turn by newcomer Anya Taylor-Joy - and supported by mesmerizing camera work and a powerful musical score, THE WITCH is a chilling and groundbreaking new take on the genre.
  • Rating:
    R (for disturbing violent content and graphic nudity)
  • Genre:
    Horror
  • Directed By:
    Robert Eggers
  • Written By:
    Robert Eggers
  • In Theaters:
     limited
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Box Office:
    $19,239,494
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    A24 Films

Cast

Anya Taylor-Joy
as Thomasin
Ralph Ineson
as William
Kate Dickie
as Katherine
Harvey Scrimshaw
as Caleb
Ellie Grainger
as Mercy
Lucas Dawson
as Jonas
Julian Richings
as Governor
Bathsheba Garnett
as The Witch
Sarah Stephens
as Young Witch
Wahab Chaudhry
as Black Phillip
Brooklyn Herd
as Noble Girl
Derek Herd
as Peasant Man 1
Viv Moore
as Lead Coven Dancing Witch
Jeff Smith
as Nobleman
Madlen Sopadzhiyan
as Coven Witch
Ron G. Young
as White Trapper
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News & Interviews for The Witch

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Critic Reviews for The Witch

All Critics (319) | Top Critics (57) | Fresh (287) | Rotten (32)

  • The Witch slowly cranks up a feeling of mounting dread. It feels transgressive, forbidden. Robert Eggers and his talented cast and crew have made something special.

    February 13, 2020 | Full Review…

    Tim Brennan

    About Boulder
    Top Critic

  • Seems like it was created out of the Platonic ideal of a Hammer-period horror film, with all of the creep and none of the camp.

    January 13, 2020 | Full Review…

    Chris McCoy

    Memphis Flyer
    Top Critic

  • An odd mixture of fanatical religious paranoia and actual supernatural horror, which creates a fascinating, successful hybrid.

    July 23, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…

    Nicholas Bell

    IONCINEMA.com
    Top Critic

  • The Witch aims for an engrossing, period appropriate realism that only deepens the psychological burden on the audience.

    July 17, 2019 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    Dominic Griffin

    Spectrum Culture
    Top Critic

  • The biggest magic The Witch has to offer is making 93 minutes feel like the rest of your natural life.

    July 9, 2019 | Rating: F | Full Review…

    Ryan Syrek

    The Reader (Omaha, NE)
    Top Critic

  • Its masterful blending of the sacred and the blasphemous makes it not just a great horror film, but perhaps the first true horror masterpiece of the new century.

    June 5, 2019 | Rating: 4/4 | Full Review…

    Matthew Lucas

    The Dispatch (Lexington, NC)
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (319)

Audience Reviews for The Witch

  • Feb 04, 2018
    Neo-horror film based on New England folk tales as well as the fear of the wood and the supernatural. Well acted and filmed, the movie does not follow regular "scary movie" blue prints. That's a blessing for its unpredictability and a curse for its slow pace. There are some deeply unsettling and creepy scenes, but very few classical scares. The religious zealousness of regular 17th century folks is almost as uncomfortable to watch as the witch in the woods. The ending actually dares to go bat shit crazy, you gotta admire that.
    Jens S Super Reviewer
  • Jul 22, 2017
    Despite a bit of a slow pace, the Witch's tense sequences are enough for a decent folktale. The disturbing score, the daunting scenes and thought-provoking lore will make any moviegoer feel unsettled and paranoid. 3.5/5
    Eugene B Super Reviewer
  • Jan 02, 2017
    This was a crazy movie that I do not recommend. Very graphic and poorly acted. It was hard for the story to keep my interest, but it did have some intense moments.
    Jarrin R Super Reviewer
  • Sep 18, 2016
    Extraordinaria y perturbadora. Increíble debut de Robert Eggers como director. Una película que a nivel técnico esta impecable, muy bien dirigida, extraordinariamente bien actuada por parte de todo el elenco y consigue mantener tenso al espectador por parte de las situaciones presentadas y al score perturbador.
    Fernando M Super Reviewer
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