the mania of the witch

this piece is a companion to how to build a housewife, part of the sisters to witches series.

I hadn’t watched The Witch (2015) when it first came out. In fact, last week, as I was finalizing my research on week 6 of the curriculum, it occurred to me that I should probably give it a go. It had been on my watchlist for a very long time (a decade!) and what better time to watch it than now, freshly immersed in everything witchcraft. _{(i say freshly though if i’m honest i’ve been into everything witchcraft for many many years. anyway!)}

As a horror film, it was pretty standard: a few jump scares, the gloomy New England atmosphere, the witch as the scary villain. But in terms of historical themes, the movie delivers a much stronger performance. Not only did Robert Eggers carefully craft a historically accurate cinematography (the costumes, the sets, the spoken English), he also did a magnificent job in portraying the witch-hunt mania gripping European minds of the Early Modern period.

(note: spoilers below)