Set in the 16th century New England, “The Witch” is a movie that follows a Puritan family trying to find a new home after being exiled from their plantation. They find salvation in a new place to call home in the middle of the woods, but evil forces plan to foil their paradise.

“The Witch” stars several new actors such as Anya Taylor-Joy (Atlantis), Kate Dickie (Prometheus & Game of Thrones) and Ralph Ineson (Kingsman: The Secret Service & Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part One and Part Two).

The cast gives several edge of your seat  performances that creates a believable atmosphere for the movie’s 16th century New England setting, giving it the support to come to life with amazing props and clever set design that makes you feel that you are in 16th century America.

This film is a slow burn; it is riddled with minute but meaningful details that are essential to understanding the full weight of the plot. This sets “The Witch” apart from many mainstream horror movies in multiple ways. Scary moments are usually accompanied by a dramatic musical build up and then a short pause, causing the audience to feel safe until the villain appears to catch or kill a character. Contrary to this usual structure of a horror film, “The Witch” takes its time with tension, which makes you anticipate a significant moment in the film, only to be left hanging. The film’s scary moments are scattered and messy, causing them to lengthen the audience’s attention span. A moment in particular was when the witch had casted a spell over the mother to make hallucinate her greatest fantasy and turned it into her worst nightmare

Overall, this is a different type of horror that may not appeal to all horror fans, but if you come to this movie with a open mind and view it mainly as a period film, rather than horror, you’ll be in for a treat. “The Witch” is an unsettling movie with extremely shocking moments and an exceedingly eerie score. The  terrifying ending up leaves the the audience to decide its mean.

Overall: B+