The Witch
Evil takes many forms.
The Witch (2016)
Production
Budget
$4 000 000
Revenue
$40 423 945
Director
Scenario
Composer
Producer
Actors
Anya Taylor-Joy
Thomasin
Ralph Ineson
William
Kate Dickie
Katherine
Harvey Scrimshaw
Caleb
Ellie Grainger
Mercy
Lucas Dawson
Jonas
Julian Richings
Governor
Bathsheba Garnett
The Witch
Short description
In 1630s New England, William and Katherine, a devout Christian couple, leave their plantation and settle with their five children on a small farm at the edge of a vast, untamed forest. Their newborn son vanishes while in the care of his older sister Thomasin, the crops fail, and the family's animals turn violent. Grief and suspicion set the household against itself, and the children's accusations fall on Thomasin, while something malevolent is believed to dwell among the trees.
The Witch is Robert Eggers' first directed feature, followed by The Lighthouse, The Northman, Nosferatu and Werwulf; Eggers also wrote the screenplay. Anya Taylor-Joy plays Thomasin, with Ralph Ineson and Kate Dickie as the parents, Harvey Scrimshaw as Caleb, and Ellie Grainger and Lucas Dawson as the twins Mercy and Jonas. The production, mounted by Pulse Films, RT Features, Parts and Labor and Maiden Voyage Pictures, cost about 4 million USD and took roughly 40 million USD worldwide.
On IMDb the film holds 6.8/10 from around 51,000 votes, and on TMDB 7/10 from 7,885 votes, while a critics' rating stands at 7.8/10 from 340 reviews, so reviewers rated it noticeably higher than the wider audience did.
What's left behind the scenes
- Filming took 25 days.
- The filmmakers intended to include more scenes with a goat nicknamed Black Philip, but the animal proved insufficiently trained, and the idea had to be abandoned.
- According to screenwriter and director Robert Eggers, he did not tell Harvey Scrimshaw how to play Caleb in the most challenging scenes. He was guided by Ralph Ineson, who played William. At the time, Eggers himself did not have children, while Ineson had two, so he knew how to interact with them and observed on set how difficult it was for Eggers to explain to Scrimshaw exactly what was required.
- The Church of Satan, a public and religious organization, supported the film's production and organized several screenings. Its representative, Jex Blackmore, spoke highly of the film, calling it "an impressive example of delving into the essence of Satanism," which, in his opinion, would be beneficial for modern society and religious discussions within it.
- Robert Eggers' directorial debut in a feature film. Before this, he had only made short films and once wrote a screenplay (for this very film). Without informing him, editor Louise Ford passed the screenplay to producers Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy, with whom she was working at the time. Learning about this, Eggers was horrified because he considered the screenplay raw, but it turned out that the producers liked it. They only suggested that Eggers simplify the screenplay's structure, which initially was divided into five parts, each told from the perspective of a family member. It took four years to secure funding for the project.
- The word “VVitch” in the film's title is spelled as it was in the early 17th century, the period in which the film is set. At that time, the letter “W” (today the word “witch” is spelled that way) had not yet become widespread.
- The scene of Caleb's death (played by Harvey Scrimshaw) and the reaction to it by Mercy and Jonas (played by Ellie Grainger and Lucas Dawson, respectively) are based on surviving records of the Salem witch trials, which allowed for testimony about spectral evidence. Witnesses claimed to be tormented by the spirit of a witch taking the form of a bird or animal, or even a person. These torments manifested as pinches, needle pricks, bites, scratches, someone sitting on a person’s chest preventing them from breathing, choking if they tried to pray, and inducing fits (as all of this is shown in the film).
- The film is based on the short story of the same name by A.P. Chekhov.
- Writer Stephen King, often called a master of horror, admitted that watching the film terrified him.
- The film was shot in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio. This format specifically makes the house seem more cramped and the trees taller. Additionally, it allowed the entire family to be captured in a single frame.
- According to director Robert Eggers, he was most often asked if any inexplicable events occurred during the filming of the movie. Eggers always answered this question negatively.
- This was the first film in Anya Taylor-Joy’s career where her last name appeared in the credits.
- Director Robert Eggers revealed in an interview that of all the animals involved in the film, the rabbit was the best trained, and that it was also easy to work with the raven and the horse.
- The film owes a significant portion of its dialogue and plot twists to surviving written records from the 17th century.
- Witches are said to speak Enochian, a language created by the English mathematician, geographer, astronomer, alchemist, and astrologer John Dee (1527-1609).
- The film was shot in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio, which is a rather rare screen format (the height of the frame is reduced for projection with a short-focus lens onto a large screen). This format is precisely what makes the house seem more cramped than it actually was, and the trees—taller. Furthermore, it allowed the entire family to be captured in a single shot.
- Filming of the movie was organized on the stage of a theater in the estate of A.P. Chekhov in Melikhovo.
- The film was shot primarily using natural lighting.
- Anya Taylor-Joy was the first actress Robert Eggers auditioned when casting the film.
- The film owes a significant part of its dialogue to surviving written records from the 17th century.
- During the period depicted in the film, it was widely believed that a witch was unable to recite the "Our Father." This explains the characters' reaction to the inability of the characters played by Ellie Grainger and Lucas Dawson to finish the prayer.
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