Let's be realistic.

Best movie ever!

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Wow, scary and disturbing. Had no idea what to except, acted superbly by all the actors young and old. Very atmospheric through out.

At its roots, the horror genre attract us because it forces us to face our personal demons: this kind of terror coming from facing unknown monsters that are metaphors of our daily life struggles or fears strangely intrigues us. When horrors deal with religion though, they usually just use it as an excuse to make horned demons appear pretty much everywhere but The Witch is extremely different: we barely see any monster, violence is kept at a minimum and the terror usually comes in form of a terrible sense of unease. When this New England family is banished and forced to live in exile amidst the woods, we immediately see that their journey is doomed. The younger child, Samuel, disappears and it doesn't take long before each family member starts blaming each other until accusations of witchcraft and demonic possession arise. Not too differently from Carpenter's The Thing, The Witch focuses on the personal relationship between the cast members and their feeling of un trust that the father tries to sedate through prayers and sermons. The Witch rarely gives some answers, it keeps the viewer constantly wondering why some things happen, whether someone in the family has signed a path with the Devil or some evil force has simply decided to put its hands on the Abbot family. The more we watch, the more we're inclined to think someone in particular attracted the Witch of the Woods and we're left wondering until the bodies start piling up. The Witch isn't a movie for everyone though: the slow pace doesn't always help building up the suspense and more in general the screenplay asks the viewers to be patient and wait for the final climax. Those who are up to it though, will enjoy one of the creepiest and amazing horror movies of the past years.

This is not a horror movie in any ordinary sense. This is an exploration of the witches fable, and a movie that works on many levels, and one nice piece of art at that. However, it is not terribly engaging though by no means it is boring either. It lacks true horrors and is underrated for that reason - it is not a cheap flick, but a work of love, love for the all thing TRUE about the puritan witch thing of the New England of the 17 century. It is a tale about a tale, and a very real making of a tale, that cost lives, about prejudice and worldview and the more one thinks about it, the better it seems. So yes, it is a good movie, for the thinking man, it is not striking but it is telling, well researched and most realistic portrayal of a mindset that created so much mythology and folk tales, from Brothers Grim, to Disneyland to the grim realities of the Salem whitchunts. It is carefully crafted, executed with love and precision, and has more substance than most horror movies. But it should not be mistaken for a horror movie - it does not quite work as one - it is a movie that explores its subject on much deeper levels.

This movie sucked. It had so much potential and then wasted it. I hate movies that ruin it with the ending. I hate loose ends and this movie had quite a few. Yuck.