Director: Robert Eggers
MPAA Rating: R
Run Time: 92 Minutes
Purchase: Amazon
This product was provided free for the purpose of this review.
One of my absolute favorite horror films released this year is Robert Eggers’ stylish and startling The Witch, a bleak nightmare about a family of Puritans moving into the New England forest, only to draw the ire of a nearby witch who kidnaps their youngest child.
The film is exquisitely shot, with cinematography from Jarin Blaschke, and while it remains firmly planted in the horror genre, make no mistake, this is not your standard flying broomstick, black cat, pointy hat style of film. it manages to deliver pinpoint accuracy in its depiction of 17th century life, with an astounding attention to detail, further adding to the brooding atmosphere. The film is an absolute must-see and what better way than to check it out on glorious Blu-ray?
A24 and Lionsgate have released The Witch on Blu-ray and digital HD and right out of the gate I’d recommend picking this one up, if only to have the film itself in your collection.
Special features included on the disc include a 30-minute Q&A, a making of featurette, a design gallery, and trailers for some other features including another one of my favorites of the year, Green Room. The Q&A was shot after a screening in Salem, and features the director, lead actress Anya Taylor-Joy, and several historians. While many of the questions are not actually questions and more of a gush-fest as so many Q&As tend to be, there is a solid amount of behind the scenes information given about the historical accuracy of the film, the shooting location, and the various folk tales that Eggers drew inspiration from.
The making of featurette is your standard behind the scenes look at the film, shot mostly during production, and provides some interesting tidbits about how the film was created. Of particular note was the discussion on Black Phillip, the malevolent goat, and how difficult it was working with him.
One welcome feature is the design gallery, a slideshow of various concept drawings and costume designs crafted for the film, allowing us to see just how meticulous the crew was when recreating this time period. Images like this are usually only obtained through oversized coffee table books so I would thankful they were made available on the disc.
Another selling point for me, and I know this is silly, is the box art. Rather than going the Hollywood route and featuring the floating heads of the cast on the cover we just have an ominous side profile of Black Phillip, the same that was used on the theatrical poster. If only there wasn’t that damn blue bar across the top exclaiming it was a Blu-ray it would be perfect.
The digital copy can be redeemed through Ultra Violet, a service I’ve had mixed results with, but it’s still a nice touch to have some Black Phillip on the go.
This is a solid home entertainment release for a fantastic film, and while the special features aren’t as robust as I would like (are they ever?) this is Blu-ray is still an easy recommend to make.
