Horror fans never agree with each other. 

And the culture around many recent horror movies seems to be: either you love something, or you hate it. Either the VVitch is the greatest film ever, or its the a boring pile of crap.

This is the inherent issue with the concept of "hype". Outspoken people will have an extremely positive reaction to something, rave about it, and set it up for others to be disappointed. I think this is an unfortunately unavoidable issue.

I'm very guilty of going to films with expectations. With the accessibility of the internet and the sheer number of opinions flying around, its very difficult to watch a film without feeling like you know everything about it beforehand. I mean, just look at the poster above. Even if you haven't seen this film you might be able to discern that this girl will become a witch. 

Films that are polarizing to audiences have a good change to be much more entertaining than films that everyone can agree is fine. Sure, some people were probably bored by The VVitch. But to others it roped them in with a grip of tension and atmosphere that is a marvel of horror filmmaking. 

In fact, the only criticisms I've heard about this film is that it was boring. But if you treat all that as buildup to a satisfying ending, then shouldn’t it be worth it? The ending of The VVitch is well earned, haunting, and feels perfectly appropriate for the film. 

I rarely talk about the technical aspects of filmmaking. I'm a story and character guy. I care more about how a film makes me feel, compared to how pretty I think it looks. But honestly, the best aspect of this film is its technical mastery. The music builds up the tension so effectively that it can make a scene about a girl staring at a rabbit something terrifying. The warm indoor lighting compared to the cold and dark scenes in the woods create a shifting otherworldly aspect to the film. 

I really like how the supernatural aspects are immediately accepted. In the woods near the family's house, there is a witch. The first thing she does is steal and kill a baby. But the film isn't about the family hunting and killing this witch; its about them unraveling into madness and desperation. 

The authenticity of this film makes the supernatural elements even more unnerving for me. Most of the dialogue was taken directly from historical accounts and old folktales. The actors all play their parts incredibly. Even the small children feel like they were plucked out of a different time. 

It also is a wonderful example of a horror film that understands how an image can be scarier if it lingers in our mind. For example: the scene where the mother is hallucinating that her dead son and baby are sitting in front of her. We don't know if this is a trick by the witch or just her going insane, and we tense up as she embraces her son and opens her robe to let her baby breastfeed. After the music builds up to the point where we feel physically uncomfortable, the scene cuts to a wide image of the mother sitting perfectly still, while a raven pecks mercilessly at her breast. It's a scene that makes us freeze up and just stare forward. We can see all the pain and misery inflicted on this family. And we're right there with her, as the film pecks apart our level of comfort.

That scene, along with several others made we whisper "Jesus Christ..." This is also a very relevant phrase for the film. But he is of no help here. The devil will laugh at you, before he stabs with you his horns. 

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