The Witch (Canada/USA: Robert Eggers, 2015)

  

The Witch (Canada/USA: Robert Eggers, 2015: 90 mins)

Aloi, Peg. "Watching The Witch with Two Actual Witches." A24 Films (October 27, 2020)

Bastién, Angelica Jade.  "The Feminine Grotesque #3: Something Wicked – On Robert Eggers’ The Witch." Vague Visages (March 3, 2016)

Buckley, Chloe Germaine. "Witches, 'Bitches' or Feminist Trailblazers? The Witch in Folk Horror Cinema." Revenant #4 (March 2019): 22 - 42. ["Witches have a long history in horror cinema but their status (feminist heroine or patriarchal monster?) continues to be the subject of critical debate. Barbara Creed’s seminal analysis notes that the witch is invariably represented as an old, ugly, crone. Elsewhere, Linda Williams’s suggestion that women and monsters share an affinity in horror film and pose a threat to vulnerable male power, has lead recent critics to consider depictions of the witch as offering a challenge to patriarchy. This article considers the genealogy of the witch in cinema through her depiction in folk horror, culminating in an analysis of Robert Eggers’s 2016 film, The Witch. Examining the debate around the feminist potential of the witch, the article concludes that she offers critics and viewers of horror cinema a troubling ambiguity that serves neither liberal nor conservative politics. The ambiguity of the witch means she can pressed in the service of competing discourses. Moreover, we cannot read the image of the witch independent of her origins in Early Modern history, nor of political and cultural contexts of these early decades of the twenty-first century. These contexts include the rise of the ‘Men’s Rights’ movement, a post-feminist backlash against women in authority, the creation of mainstream media platforms for misogynist ideas and rising economic and social inequalities that have disproportionately affected women. In these contexts, the figure of the witch looms large and ambiguity in itself is not necessarily subversion. As one reviewer of The Witch notes, the audience will see what they want to see."]

 Bushi, Ruth. "The Witch Explained (2015): The Horrors of True History." The Haughty Culturalist (March 23, 2022) ["Religious extremism, misogyny and madness stoke fears of the supernatural in The Witch, a folk tale rooted in horror and history."]

Fisher, Burton and Martin Kessler. "The Witch." Flixwise (January 24, 2017) ["Martin’s discussing Robert Eggers’ 2016 debut feature, The Witch, with Bay Area English Professor, Burton Fisher. Listeners will recall that The Witch was one of Martin’s favorite films of 2016. Here he gets a chance to elaborate on why this film stands apart from other recent supernatural horror flicks. Plus, he and Burton explore the various influences that helped Eggers shape The Witch’s cinematic world, including puritan folklore and the works of Andrei Tarkovsky."]

Graham, Bill, Brian Roan and Amanda Waltz. "The Witch." The Film Stage Show #176 (February 22, 2016)

Greene, Heather. "The Witch (2016)." The Wild Hunt (February 21, 2016)

Grossman, Pam. "The Witching Hour." (Posted on Vimeo: 2014)

Hall, Jacob. "An Atheist, a Catholic, and a Satanist Walk Into a Screening of The Witch." /Film (February 22, 2016)

Hauke, Alexandra. "The Wicked Witch in the Woods: Puritan Maternalism, Ecofeminism, and Folk Horror in Robert Eggers’ The VVitch: A New-England Folktale." Gothic Nature #2 (March 2021): 37-61.

Haydon, Chris. "The Witch - The Art of Terror." (Posted on Youtube: August 7, 2016)

Hollinger, Ryan. "The Witch: Explained." (Posted on Youtube: March 17, 2016)

Jones, Matthew. "Politicizing the Horrific: How American Anxieties Play Out on Screen." Philosophy in Film (March 25, 2017)

Juzwlak, Rich. "A Journey To the Center of The Witch, Salem, and Criticism." The Muse (February 26, 2016)

Koresky, Michael. "A Few Great Pumpkins X: The Witch." Reverse Shot (October 25, 2015)

"Listen to Mark Korven’s Frightening Full Score For The Witch." The Film Stage (February 26, 2016)

Sims, David. "The Witch Mines the Quiet Terror of the Unknown." The Atlantic (February 19, 2016)

Subisatti, Andrea and Alexander West. "Season of the Witch: Witches in Film Part 3, The Witch (2015) and The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)." The Faculty of Horror #60 (March 25, 2018) ["The past few years have seen the figure of the witch become a cultural touchstone for progressives and conservatives alike. From the resurgence of astrology, tarot, and natural healing methods to feminist rallying cry, the witch has never been more inclusive or divisive. Through analysis of two recent films, Andrea and Alex examine the witch’s new meaning in contemporary Western society, and why she remains a symbol of subversive feminism."]

Thomas, Leon. "The Witch - Renegade Cut." (Posted on Youtube: June 6, 2016)

Walsh, Brendan C. "Colonising the Devil's Territories: The Historicity of Providential New England Folklore in the VVitch." Revenant #5 (March 2020)  ["This article contextualises the historical and demonological beliefs prevalent in the early modern setting of The VVitch.[3] It argues that early modern folklore is invoked in this film to convey the experiences and worldview of the New World Puritans, illustrating how Robert Eggers has used fantastical source material to achieve a certain historical authenticity. This focus on the ‘historicity’ of the New World setting, as it was established in early modern demonological tracts, is central to the construction of The VVitch. Eggers states that he spent almost five years researching material for the film, poring over early modern texts in order to effectively recreate the historical tone of the era (Rife 2016). The closing text of the film communicates that it ‘was inspired by many folktales, fairy tales and written accounts of historical witchcraft, including journals, diaries and court records. Much of the dialogue comes directly from these period sources’. This array of sources, taken from different English, New England, and even broader Continental textual formats, are used to craft a seemingly authentic piece of Puritan folklore. As such, Eggers employs early modern folklore and English Protestant demonological traditions in The VVitch to reconstruct the formative years of the New England colony and to establish a historical window into the ‘supernatural reality’ of the Puritan worldview. Eggers clarifies that ‘because witches don’t exist today, I felt it was essential to create an utterly believable 17th century world where witches really did exist’ (Young 2016). The VVitch thus provides insight into how folklore (specifically supernatural folklore) can be adapted by writers and directors to encapsulate an authentic historical tonality within the folk horror cinematic subgenre."]

Weston, Hillary. "Into the Woods: An Interview with The Witch’s Robert Eggers." The Current (February 19, 2016)

Weston, Kelli. "The Witch: Suffer the Little Children." Reverse Shot (October 30, 2020)