It can be easy to dismiss hyperbolic reactions to come out of Sundance. Too many times the ecstatic buzz surrounding a movie that debuts in Park City is just a reaction to seeing something that isn’t just a generic maudlin little indie drama. That, however, doesn’t seem to be the case with The Witch, the horror film written and directed by Robert Eggers. The first trailer for The Witch, which brought Eggers the Best Director award at Sundance, doesn’t divulge much in the way of plot, opting instead to tease the uneasy horror that grips a town of New England Puritans.
The Witch stars Anya Taylor Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger, and Lucas Dawson. Unfortunately, we’ll all have to wait until 2016 to have the living hell scared out of us, as The Witch doesn’t have a set release date aside from the vague 2016. That gives us plenty of time to say our prayers.
The official synopsis for The Witch:
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.
