We have to wait until 2016 to see The Witch in theaters, but A24’s already trying to get the attention of horror fans with a creepy trailer for Robert Eggers’ directorial debut. The Witch premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival where it earned Eggers the Best Director Prize in the U.S. Narrative Competition. The R-rated horror film starring Anya Taylor Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger and Lucas Dawson earned high praise from critics at the festival, with Variety’s Justin Chang calling it a “gripping historical horror-thriller.” Guardian’s Jordan Hoffman says “its focus on themes over plot is what elevates it to something near greatness” while The Hollywood Reporter’s Todd McCarthy says writer/director Eggers has created a “special feel and ambiance” with his rookie effort.
The Plot:
Set in New England circa 1630, The Witch follows a farmer who get cast out of his colonial plantation and is forced to move his family to a remote plot of land on the edge of an ominous forest rumored to be controlled by witches. Almost immediately, strange and unsettling things begin to happen-the animals turn violent, the crops fail, and one of the children disappears, only to return seemingly possessed by an evil spirit. As suspicion and paranoia mount, everyone begins to point the finger at teenage daughter Thomasin. They accuse her of witchcraft, which she adamantly denies…but as circumstances become more and more treacherous, each family member’s faith, loyalty, and love will be tested in shocking and unforgettable ways.
Watch the trailer:
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