“The Witch - A New England Folktale” by Robert Eggers (2015)

Last night I saw the most unusual movie, something that I am still not 100% sure was enjoyable experience and although at first my initial reaction was one of the dismissal and even annoyance, it did crept under my skin so here I need to sort my impressions before I make up my mind is it masterpiece or awful. The more I think about it, the closer I am towards the first option because it is rare that the movie provoke such a strong reaction - we are mostly accustomed to approach movies as light entertainment so when something like this comes along, it is rare thing indeed.

Isolated from the world, alone in the wilderness of New World, puritan family slowly sinks into religious madness and paranoia. 

In lesser hands, this could have been disaster but director Robert Eggers stylishly and painstakingly recreates long gone world and atmosphere of times when everyday life was completely absorbed in religion and questions of sin and God’s mercy. Collaborating with experts from Museums and historians, Eggers goes so far that his characters not only wear according costumes but actually talk the way people did centuries ago. Acting is indisputably excellent - both parents are chilling as they try to protect the family absolutely alone, with nobody to help them except prayers, although this is one of movies where I am not sure about using kids because it left me traumatised just watching it. The supernatural part of the story bothered me a little bit because it forces the viewer to accept it as a fact and this is the point that might divide the audience - in my opinion, you will have problem with this as long as you don’t take it not as Horror but as a documentary-style recreation of times. Perhaps danger could have been suggested or just imagined, but Eggers had different vision and he expect us to take every known detail from fairy tales (little hut in a dangerous wood, etc, etc) as something strong, powerful and real - so its actually combination of Fairy Tale and psychological Horror. It definitely has something from original Brothers Grimm touch in it, the way their stories were before they got cleaned up and expurgated from scary parts. Its a complete artistic success and one of the best nightmares I have ever seen.