The film is subtitled ‘A New England folk tale’ but this isn’t one you’d want to hear around a camp fire or indeed around goats.
We open with Chris Finch (great rep.) being expelled from a township in 1620’s America. The rift is either over religion or the Swindon lot not taking to him; that much isn’t explained. The town council are all in puritan garb and it’s likely that Finchy has fallen foul of their dress code.
He and his wife and their four kids are herded out of the safety of the fenced village and are left to make their own way in the world. Things seems to start off OK, as we rejoin them a year or so later with a new born son, Samuel, and a sizeable farm holding next to a dark and foreboding forest. Like ‘The Village’ the forest is a no go area, but a failed harvest means that may have to change.
Finchy’s hand is forced when Samuel disappears after a game of ‘peek-a-boo’ with his eldest daughter Thomasin. The family plan to hunt for the child but we the viewer have already seen him spirited away and killed by a witch who uses the unbaptised infant’s blood for some mad ritual.
Things don’t get much better for the family as their corn rots, the goat’s milk turns bloody and their eggs are slightly off. Added to the mix is the loss of their dog, horse and son Caleb. Caleb and Thomasin tried to find some grub for the family but it ended badly when Caleb stumbled onto the Witch’s home. She looked lovely to begin with but as is often the case she became an old hag up close. Sadly Caleb was lured in as we’d seen him ogling his sister's chest previously, and the witch was very busty.
Caleb is returned to the family a day later, but naked and spewing up apples. It’s like that Ibiza holiday all over again. The family start to turn on each other - is there a witch in their midst? The accusations fly and home truths are revealed. Are they all as virtuous as they may have signalled? Can they survive this onslaught and will it be done before Chasers opens?
I liked this spooky and nihilistic tale of seemingly good people being pulled apart by supernatural forces. Basically they didn’t have a chance from the off with the Witch’s powers and the family’s blind faith making for a deadly mix.
It was a bit off putting at first that ye olde English was spoken throughout but you soon get to grips with it. Finchy and Kate Dickie as Mum and Dad were great as was Harvey Scrimshaw playing Caleb. I was less taken with Anya Taylor-Joy in the pivotal part of Thomasin, who was a bit too clean and pretty amidst all the plight. Maybe that’s your clue!
There were some genuinely disturbing scenes especially towards the end, when the family’s goat Black Phillip starts to make his move. There were a lot of images that will stay with you and some were the stuff of nightmares.
I’m not sure what we learned with this film but ‘stay out of the woods’ would seem like sage advice!
The Tag Line - Talk to Me! 78%
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