The Witch (2016) Review

Written by Stu Cooper

As human beings we constantly live in a state of paranoia and wonder when it comes to God and mysterious things that lie deep in the woods. What can't be explained is often accounted for by some belief in God or paranormal force. But what if there was more to it than that? What if man found a way to bond with nature in the unholiest of ways? That's the kind of fear that The Witch prays upon and that is what makes it a unique horror experience.

The Witch was Written and Directed by Robert Eggers. The film stars Ralph Inneson as excommunicated Puritan William as he struggles to keep his family on the right path a midst a series of unfortunate events taking place in the 17th century. William is accompanied by his wife Katherine (Kate Dickie) and his four children consisting of the Cinderella-like teenager Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), Caleb (Harvey Scrimshaw), along with twins Mercy (Ellie Grainger) and Jonas (Lucas Dawson). The film also features a non-human character by the name of Black Phillip, who is a black goat. I guess dogs weren't quite the usual pet just yet. After a positive reaction at Sundance and Toronto film festivals, A24 and DirectTV teamed up to get the distribution rights, deciding to release the film nationally in theaters. The film hit theaters February 19th, 2016 and grossed over 16.7 million at the box office. With a budget of only 3.5 million, the critics and audiences seem to agree that The Witch is something special.

It's the early 1600's and a family appears in front of a tribunal of some-sort. Their colony of Puritans decides that the family is not fit for their community and that they must leave immediately. The father William seems confident that God is on his side and that his family will be guided to a better life. Reluctantly the oldest child Thomasin follows her father into the wilderness. Once the family establishes a camp, they begin building a place to live. First they build houses and stables, followed by the planting of crops. The family even begins raising chickens and goats.

Unfortunately for the family, they are seemingly cursed. One by one things begin to go awry. After the family fails to grow healthy crops or raise healthy animals, they begin to question their favor with the lord. The father continues to be the most strong willed one when it comes to faith. He constantly reassures the son Caleb that they will go to heaven. He even speaks to Caleb about the idea of babies going to hell. As the family continues living on the outskirts, they experience multiple visits from some kind of creature. The creature takes residence inside the deepest, darkest parts of the woods. It's there that the family will discover some of the most disturbing things in the film. Things only continue to spiral downwards leading to people disappearing, possession, and death.

One word I would use to perfectly describe The Witch would be "macabre". It is a slow burning tale of horror that creates suspense through paranoia and a sense of foreboding rather than CGI effects or POV camera scares. I think the film brings back a lost art form in regards to the horror genre. The genre has been overly saturated by CGI ghost movies for the past decade and it desperately needs original eerie films like this one. While the plot of witches and black magic are nothing new, it's the execution that makes the film so strong. The cinematography aides the story by highlighting with creepy long nature shots, exposing the dark lifeless landscapes inhabited by the family. The atmosphere of the film is damp and murky, which sets the tone for the experiences the family endures. The subject matter serves a great historical fiction analysis of religious and spiritual hysteria and the damage it can do. You have many family members in the film who demonstrate extreme and frightening beliefs. That also poses the question of what is more dangerous, the black magic power in the woods or the ones who believe in it? A true horror experience gets into your head, and poses questions like these. It's been too long since theaters were able to engage in a film this dark. It's a far cry from the yearly Paranormal Activity or James Wan Ghost movie. If you can handle a slow crawling tone riddled with bone chilling imagery, then this is a film you'll enjoy.

As a testament to the style this film brings on screen, cinematographer Jarin Blaschke used natural lighting for the entire film. The natural lighting gives the film it's gloomy nature tone and really makes it stand out. The interior shots are often lit by nothing more than candle light. I think this decision was smart because it enabled me to easily get lost in the early 1600's. I found myself completely motionless, staring at the screen without a doubt that I was watching life in the 17th century. That's a rare feeling to stumble upon in a film, and it's the best kind of feeling. A good film always taps into that part of your brain and makes you get lost in the world on screen. If a filmmaker can accomplish this in a horror film it's even better because then the audience member is surprised or scared by the things they see on screen. That is why the imagery in this film holds up and feels so strong.

The highlight of the film was Ralph Inneson as the father. His deep voice definitely adds to the eerie nature of his character. It also helps that the film is historically accurate in terms of speech and atmosphere. The characters speak in a dialect that serves the time period, and adds to the mythos of the characters. When you hear Inneson deliver a prayer in Old English tongues, it sends chills down the spine. Another sign that this film knows how to tap into terror of another form. The constant state of paranoia that the characters operate under is another sense of tension in the film. You have people pointing fingers, constantly accusing each other of committing sin in thought. It brings to light a form of terror that is ancient, but still relevant. One could easily compare this blind faith fear to current day political situations, especially in an election year. It all comes down to wondering if the devil is whispering in people's ears. Besides the stand out performance from Inneson, you have to give props to Anya Taylor-Joy as the oldest daughter Thomasin. She is essentially the focus of the film and given her limited acting experience, I was very impressed. She conveys a sense of fear and isolation throughout the film that is very believable. She also has a puritan blond beauty to her, that makes her appear to be one of the most innocent characters in the film. She is also one of the only characters who seems to be level headed. She is often trying to get her family to snap out of whatever faith driven state of anxiety they are in. Joy does a fine job in the role, and given the reaction the film has garnered so far, I have no doubts she has a future in horror.

The Witch was shot in a mere 25 days, which I found to be an astounding feat. It is a testament to the devotion of the Director and especially the cinematographer. The cinematographer had to constantly work around the weather in order to keep the film in natural light. Not only does The Witch feel like a solid macabre horror film, but it's a true achievement in horror. If anything it can serve as inspiration for future filmmakers to create original scripts on low budgets and take them to festivals.

Overall the film is quite enjoyable. It is certainly on the slow side and I wouldn't recommend diving into it if you're about to crash for the evening. If you have an open mind or a fascination with witches, you will find this film interesting. If you already have a knowledge of Puritan life, then you may find the film disturbing on a totally different level. Patience is required for viewing, but since it only clocks in at 100 minutes, it will come to an end just as it starts to peak. It is not quite as intense as something like Lords of Salem, but it makes a lot more sense.

Nightcrawler (2014) Review

Written by Stu Cooper

The last film I had a chance to see in theaters was a little gem called "Nightcrawler" starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed, and Bill Paxton. The film was written and directed by Dan Gilroy. Gilroy had previously worked on Real Steel, The Fall, The Bourne franchise and many other pictures. The film made it's debut at the Toronto Film Festival earlier this year but premiered nationally on Halloween Day. The Halloween day release would prove appropriate for this crime thriller, but more on that later. The film just left my local theater but if you have a discount theater or Alamo Drafthouse theater you may still be able to catch it. The film proved to be a character departure for the clean cut Gyllenhaal. It would prove to be one of his most bizzare, and memorable roles.

"Nightcrawler" tells the story of a lonely psychopath who is looking for some direction in life. Louis Bloom, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, is a bizarre unhinged introvert who is desperately searching for a purpose. He steals fence chain and mugs people to get by, but he is clearly searching for something more. Something that could prove more profitable. After being rejected when trying to get a conventional job, it's not until witnessing a car accident that Bloom gets his idea. Bloom witnesses a car accident and as the police try to save the victim from the flaming vehicle, a cameraman looms over the accident. The man films the victim screaming and almost burning up, without a bit of remorse. This gets the of attention of Bloom who begins to question the man. He finds out the cameraman (played by Paxton) is what the journalism world refers to as a "Nightcrawler". He listens to police scanners and tries to arrive at incidents in time to film the gory outcomes. It's a rather despicable job by most peoples standards, but Bloom is intrigued.

After being inspired by the local crew, Bloom sets out to start his own "Nightcrawler" operation. He starts off stealing a bicycle and trading it in for a camera. He attempts to film some local accidents, but ultimately fails due to inexperience and poor equipment. It's not until Bloom captures a rather gruesome death that he gains momentum. He sells the gruesome footage to a local news producer, played by Rene Russo. Russo encourages him to bring in more footage like that to get more money. This leads Bloom down a dangerous path of a bizarre nature. Bloom progressively evolves into an even bigger psychopath who has a fancy for filming the dead. Like all psychopaths Bloom finds a way to be charismatic and uses that to get what he wants. Bloom hires a helper named Rick who he immediately exploits. Rick is down on his luck and basically homeless, so he is easily manipulated.

After continuing to film gruesome events, Bloom's stock begins to rise. Bloom upgrades his equipment and continues to up the ante. Bloom blurs the lines of morality and journalism with every thing he films. The news producer also continues to encourage him, despite knowing the sadistic nature of what she's paying for. There is another producer who objects to the whole thing, but he doesn't have any pull and immediately gets shut down. A massive real life commentary on how news and professional journalism works. It brings to light a dark side of the media that people don't like to think about.

With his increasing popularity Bloom turns into an egotistical monster. It's quite the sight to behold. There is some amazing monologues from Gyllanhaal. The interactions between Gyllenhaal and Russo are chilling. There is also a moment when Bloom stares at himself in the mirror and shatters it in frustration. Saying that his character is unhinged is the understatement of the year. As with most movie psychos, this makes for great cinema. It actually reminds me a lot of Robin Williams in "One Hour Photo", mixed with Christian Bale in "American Psycho".

I was pretty underwhelmed with Bill Paxton's role in the film but I was very impressed with Riz Ahmed. Bloom's assistant Rick was a pretty likable character, and you could see how someone in his situation could be manipulated by someone like Bloom. You can't help but root for the guy to get out of the situation before he is corrupted. Russo plays the heartless News Producer very well. There is some great stuff between her and Gyllanhaal, highlighted by a disturbing sexual situation that I won't spoil. Overall the cast works together smoothly, but it is definitely the Jake Gyllenhaal show!

The film says a lot about the current state of journalism, and that's the scariest thing about it. It's no shock to anyone who watches FoxNews,CNN,Access Hollywood, E! News, local news, etc. that sex and violence is what sells. In this case, it focuses on the violence. It's all about the saddest thing that happened that day. In some cases the news actually exploits death and unfortunate events. People get paid thousands of dollars to report and film this kind of thing. There is also something to be said for the growing popularity in the past decade of paparazzi. Whether it's the death of Princess Diana or the idea that someone like Kim Kardashian is famous enough that people flock to her while she is grocery shopping. The Bloom character sees all of this, and sees dollar signs. He is able to make a cold separation and rake in the dough. That is absolutely psychopathic, but totally realistic. I wouldn't be surprised if many journalists are equally as twisted. That's what makes this film particularly scary and effective.

The cinematography in the film is quite impressive. It displays the lonesome ambient tone of the film that fits Bloom's character. You also get a sense of that hip "DRIVE" feeling anytime Gyllanhaal is out driving at night. There is some great driving cam footage with some impressive car mount cameras. I remember noting to the person I went with that some of the car shots had to be very difficult to get. The camera view is a switch between first person POV to normal style, which can be a bit jarring. That style proves effective in the last act of the film when there is a gigantic car chase. It feels like a rollercoaster at some points.

Lastly I'd like to talk about Gyllenhaal's performance. Gyllenhaal brought a new kind of character to the table, at least for him. He often plays the hero or the protagonist, so it was cool to see him as a villain. Gyllenhaal also lost 30 pounds for this role, just to look extra creepy. Gyllanhaal also reportedly shadowed real life Night Crawlers in preparation for the role. He goes the extra mile to fulfill the role and it shows. He plays the perfect long gangly creeper. If anything I was left wanting to see MORE of this character and his story. The ending of the film is quite up in the air, and leaves you wanting more. I would suggest everybody check this one out, and see for yourself. "Nightcrawler" was a excellent film and I would highly recommend it.