21 thoughts on “Witchy Wednesday: The Witch (2015)

  1. Haven’t seen it, but the first picture is terrifying enough: Display of judgy old white men is scary!
    (and I’m sure I’ll be in trouble because the hat on the left makes me want to giggle. Yes, I know it’s period accurate… still giggling)
    And witches were often about boobs… And black kitties. Women of taste, obviously.

  2. We watched The Witch just after finishing up American Horror Story Roanoke so, yeah, my skin is still crawling. In between sqwees of delight over the costuming, I was shifting in my seat over the spooky stuff. I’m not a horror film fan, I laughed through Texas Chain Saw, but The Witch was an exception. It definitely keeps the hair on your neck twitching plus it’s a feast for the eyes. The landscapes, the costuming, the storyline, the acting, all thumbs up, but especially the costuming. It actually inspired me to make my Scottish Games peasant wear by hand.

  3. I read that the production team also built most of the set using historical tools and techniques, and that the majority of the dialogue was taken from journals, trial records, and other documents from the period. A lot of care and consideration went into this film.
    The slow unraveling of the family was so well done that there were moments I almost forgot that there was indeed a witch in the woods.

    1. Yes, this! The family going back & forth under the strain, it was excellently played. I kept thinking ‘well that’s what happens when you’re a bunch of religious zealots, moving to a new country, with nothing, out in the middle of nowhere!’ It felt very realistic & also frickin’ creepy.

      1. Exactly. It’s hard to remain a supportive, cohesive family unit when you’ve all been taught since birth that you are inherently sinful just by existing.
        Puritans.

  4. It was amazed at how good the costuming was, it made the back-in-time creepiness of it all even creepier. Not an era I’d ever set my time machine for! :O

  5. I loved all the archaic language throughout, which I read somewhere was taken from contemporary documents.

  6. SPOILERS

    I just wish there were some bts shots of black Phillip’s human costume–I read an article discussing how they dressed him, but I can’t find any pictures anywhere! (Extra sad because Wahab Chaudry is definite MCM material.)

  7. I saw the VVItch , and I was genuinely impressed by the accuracy of this film! I especially liked the daughter”s gradually growing but still subtle bit of cleavage, and the little brother definitely noticing! The title font was especially clever because the W’s in the 17th Century looked like 2 V’s put together.

    1. Yeah, the brother staring at his sister – reinforcing their strict religious upbringing conflicting with natural curiosity, & sowing seeds of dissent among the family. Such a good point!

  8. Oh, I loved this movie so much. This is such a great example of how real care and research into the accuracy of costumes and set pieces can really draw you into the story.

  9. Historically the 1630s were not the height of new world witch hysteria. Salem happened in 1692, There was a similar but less noted outbreak in Connecticut circa 1647, But the costumes do fit the 1630s time period.

  10. I adore this movie! A much better version of the Village. M. Night Shamalyn can take a few lessons in how to build suspense and have a coherent narrative.
    Historically, in the 1630’s there was a large witch hunting hysteria in Scotland which would/could have spilled over to the colonies. At this time King James wrote Daemonologie, which explained how to find and hold a trial for suspected witches. Fun fact, during the 1590’s New Brunswick Witch Trials, the first woman accused was named Gillis Duncan. I bet we know where Diana Gabledon found the name.

  11. It’s outstanding. I watched it with a fellow first person interpreter/New England witchcraft historian, and we squeed throughout. Both of us are currently performing in an original immersive theatre piece set in 17th century New England, and the film persuaded the director to use accurate coif ties because I was so excited over them! For historical precision, however, I would like to note that the peak of witchcraft persecution in Old England is 1590-1600, and in New England it’s technically the 1660s though there were nasty episodes earlier and, most famously, later. Anyway, the film’s a gem, and does a superb job of depicting the contemporary belief system in an authentic and entertainingly horrific way.

  12. I luuurve the costumes in this movie! Not generally a fan of 1600s fashion, but I think this film promptly changed my mind.

  13. This is one of my absolute favourite horror movies to come out in the past decade or so. The way it’s presented, the acting, atmosphere, and especially the accurate details on the costuming made me just fall in love with it. The writer/director spent several years researching the time period and all the superstitions that the people of the time had so the quality of the final product isn’t too surprising. Glad you ladies dig it, too!

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