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Author Topic: TV/Film: The Witch  (Read 3314 times)

Castus

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The Witch
« on: February 28, 2016, 07:38:00 pm »
So I went to see The Witch today. It was good. Damn good. Really damn good. Very steeped in the Christian folkloric tradition of New England witchcraft. Satan, skyclad, flying ointment, hares and goats as symbols. For those of you who have seen it or heard of it... what do you think? It draws on an image of Witchery which is formed entirely by Christian conceptions, but uses that to effectively turn those conceptions on their head. I found it tense, frightening, and disturbing.

Also, are there any traditions specifically which draw from a more classical European or early New Englander image or type of witchcraft?
« Last Edit: May 07, 2019, 05:22:35 pm by RandallS »
“Castus, meanwhile, goes straight for the bad theology like one of those creepy fish that swims up streams of pee.” — Darkhawk

“Believing in the Lord means you are connected to me no matter when you are poor, sick, or struggling in a relationship. I am always with you. I want you to believe that. The future is uncertain, and much suffering awaits. However, the mission of the believer is to live life doing their best, no matter what the circumstances.” — Ryuho Okawa

Emma Eldritch

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Re: The Witch
« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2016, 07:54:28 pm »
Quote from: Castus;187325
So I went to see The Witch today. It was good. Damn good. Really damn good. Very steeped in the Christian folkloric tradition of New England witchcraft. Satan, skyclad, flying ointment, hares and goats as symbols. For those of you who have seen it or heard of it... what do you think? It draws on an image of Witchery which is formed entirely by Christian conceptions, but uses that to effectively turn those conceptions on their head. I found it tense, frightening, and disturbing.

Also, are there any traditions specifically which draw from a more classical European or early New Englander image or type of witchcraft?

 
I had been waiting for that movie to come out for months. I read the interview with the director in Rue Morgue and was just like, "oh HELL yes."

I finally saw it yesterday and I loved it. I was actively leaning forward in my seat and grinning like a maniac.

As for traditions that draw from classical images of witchcraft, my understanding is that Traditional Witchcraft and Sabbatic Craft do just that. It's something I've been learning a lot more about lately because it feels much more comfortable to me than a lot of other paths.

Probably the most in-depth review of the film's folklore aspects I've seen so far was over at New World Witchery, where they definitely know their shit. (Spoilers in the review.)

Also... Black Phillip has his own twitter.


(On a side note, I keep reading blogs that say, "it's not really a horror movie." Bitch, please. This is what a good horror movie IS - unsettling to the core. Horror is not all garbage possession movies and slashers. /rant.)

HarpingHawke

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Re: The Witch
« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2016, 11:06:10 pm »
Quote from: Mama Fortuna;187326
I finally saw it yesterday and I loved it. I was actively leaning forward in my seat and grinning like a maniac.

 
I really want to see it, but nobody will come with me. I mean, I could go alone, but I am the proud owner of two very overprotective parents (and, y'know, seeing movies with other people can sometimes be fun).
"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self." - Hemingway

Emma Eldritch

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Re: The Witch
« Reply #3 on: February 29, 2016, 12:58:00 am »
Quote from: HarpingHawke;187332
I really want to see it, but nobody will come with me. I mean, I could go alone, but I am the proud owner of two very overprotective parents (and, y'know, seeing movies with other people can sometimes be fun).

 
Well, up here in the frozen wasteland it's only rated 14A, so technically it's less hardcore than Deadpool. I dunno if that would make your folks feel better or not. (Side note: the stripclub in Deadpool is right by my office.)

Do what I used to do and call your friends utter wusses until one of them gets annoyed enough to go with you! (I may have been an asshole as a teenager.) Or you can just wait for it to go to video on demand or whatever streaming service you prefer.

HarpingHawke

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Re: The Witch
« Reply #4 on: February 29, 2016, 01:53:05 am »
Quote from: Mama Fortuna;187339
Well, up here in the frozen wasteland it's only rated 14A, so technically it's less hardcore than Deadpool. I dunno if that would make your folks feel better or not. (Side note: the stripclub in Deadpool is right by my office.)


Oh, it's not that it's hardcore. They just don't want me going alone. :whis:

(and coooool; Deadpool was *amazing*)

Quote
Do what I used to do and call your friends utter wusses until one of them gets annoyed enough to go with you! (I may have been an asshole as a teenager.) Or you can just wait for it to go to video on demand or whatever streaming service you prefer.

 
I might just wait, honestly. Making sarcastic commentary about movies, even good ones, is a pastime I can't indulge in a theatre.
"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self." - Hemingway

Morag

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Re: The Witch
« Reply #5 on: February 29, 2016, 02:42:15 am »
Quote from: Mama Fortuna;187339
(Side note: the stripclub in Deadpool is right by my office.)

 
We laughed really hard when they didn't bother to hide the strip club name, and Ogre remarked he hadn't been there since the last Santa pub crawl.
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Emma Eldritch

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Re: The Witch
« Reply #6 on: February 29, 2016, 10:41:42 pm »
Quote from: HarpingHawke;187343
Oh, it's not that it's hardcore. They just don't want me going alone. :whis:


Aww, lame.

Quote
I might just wait, honestly. Making sarcastic commentary about movies, even good ones, is a pastime I can't indulge in a theatre.

 
I do that, too!

Emma Eldritch

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Re: The Witch
« Reply #7 on: February 29, 2016, 10:42:19 pm »
Quote from: Morag;187345
We laughed really hard when they didn't bother to hide the strip club name, and Ogre remarked he hadn't been there since the last Santa pub crawl.

 
Right now on the side marquee it reads "Captain Deadpool was here." I should really take a photo before they take it down.

Cabal

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Re: The Witch
« Reply #8 on: May 19, 2016, 01:48:20 am »
Quote from: Castus;187325
So I went to see The Witch today. It was good. Damn good. Really damn good. Very steeped in the Christian folkloric tradition of New England witchcraft. Satan, skyclad, flying ointment, hares and goats as symbols. For those of you who have seen it or heard of it... what do you think? It draws on an image of Witchery which is formed entirely by Christian conceptions, but uses that to effectively turn those conceptions on their head. I found it tense, frightening, and disturbing.

Also, are there any traditions specifically which draw from a more classical European or early New Englander image or type of witchcraft?
Finally saw the film last night. I thought it was decent. Pretty much about the Witch nightmare of the puritan's come true. Notreally scay, but very intense, and intresting!
"In Hell, everybody loves popcorn."

hraefngar

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Re: The Witch
« Reply #9 on: January 06, 2017, 08:01:45 am »
Quote from: Castus;187325
So I went to see The Witch today. It was good. Damn good. Really damn good. Very steeped in the Christian folkloric tradition of New England witchcraft. Satan, skyclad, flying ointment, hares and goats as symbols. For those of you who have seen it or heard of it... what do you think??


The Devil had the best line in the whole film.  Dost thou wish to live deliciously?  As a former Satanist I got a kick out of it!  

I'm not sure how much the average movie goer in the theater was able to discern, but there was a definite feminist subtext. The girl grows up in patriarchal Puritan New England, under the ministrations of parents who do not seem particularly bright or even sane, and spends her life toiling in service to her family. At the end, once she is free of all that, she is metaphorically and literally elevated into gleeful new heights! ;)

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