The Looming Terror of THE WITCH (2015, dir by Robert Eggers, USA) by Jared Watson

It lurks in the shadows. It hides under the bed. It's out for blood. It's coming, but what is It? Is it a tangible force or is it a figment of our imagination? Could it be a monster out to get us? Are we scared of It when we shouldn't be or should we be scared of It when we aren't? What is It? More importantly, why is It so terrifying? I put forth that IT is uncertainty, the fear of the unknown.

Halfway through the second millennium Anno Domini, Witchcraft was the It on everyone's minds. Anything that The Church couldn't explain was designated to be Witchcraft, from pagan belief, to the independence of women. This resulted in tens of thousands of people being executed across Europe and America for the crime of practicing It.

Robert Eggers' 2015 seminal film, The Witch, explores this phenomenon as Thomasin, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, is suspected of being a witch. The film tells the story of a New England family of settlers, who are banished from a Puritan Plymouth Colony due to differences in religious views. They struggle to survive as rot overtakes their crops. William, the family patriarch, fails at hunting and trapping, and the newborn Samuel disappears suddenly. Since the disappearance happens under Thomasin's watch, she is slowly blamed more over time for much of the misfortunes befalling the family.

The Witch takes It from the woods, and brings It into the home, as the family blames Thomasin for committing acts that she has never even thought about committing. The symbolism of Witchcraft becomes the strongest when her mother, Katherine calls her a slut and accuses her of seducing her father and brother. After being accused of something enough sometimes it's just easiest to give in and consult the It that is in the stable.

What’s in the stable is a goat named Black Phillip that the younger children in the family swear communicates with them. When the film finally careens to its shocking climax, the filmmakers finally answer the question: was the IT family hysteria or actually the presence of the Devil and his witches. The answer results in one of the most shocking final scenes of the last 10 years. And it somehow brilliantly ties together the twin themes of psychological blame/panic/hysteria and the presence of something actually supernatural.

Jared Watson is a passionate cinefile and moviemaker. You can read and watch more by Jared at: Ridgeviewdrive.com and @darkjackwolf