There have only been a handful of directors whose first films have captured the cultural zeitgeist like Robert Eggers' The Witch (2015). The film, which stars Anya Taylor-Joy in her breakthrough role as Thomasin, is set in the early 1600s in New England. It follows a Puritan family, all of whom speak in Early Modern English, who have dealt with an ominous threat in the woods just outside of their home. One day, after the family's baby, Samuel, goes missing, the family starts to tear themselves apart. Who has stolen Samuel and tormented their family? Is it a witch? An outsider? Or another nefarious character?
As the family learns more about their situation, they discover that a witch has taken an interest in them -- and in Samuel. Eventually, the family discovers that the witch has killed Samuel to make a flying ointment, understandably devastating them. Later, the witch visits the family, causing a wave of violence, death, and destruction to sweep through their lives. At its core, the film deals with isolation, religious zealotry, and religious concepts like original sin.
The success of Eggers' film was certainly unique. A film from a then-unknown production house (and director), told in a dense and difficult form of English, and with a budget of only $4 million rarely happens. The Witch is a powerful example of good marketing and an effective, unsettling film combined to make a critical and financial success. The film earned more than $40 million and is considered by critics to be one of the best horror films of the 2010s. Writes Steven D. Greydanus of The Catholic Digest: "The stakes are real. The Devil is real. All roads do not lead up the mountain. Some lead to the heart of darkness, to the depths of a witch-haunted wood." He later rated the film an "A."
