The Witch [Blu-ray]

Product Information

I never caught The Last Witch Hunter on its initial theatrical release. Judging by the initial reaction I dodged a bullet. Perhaps my expectations were too low, but visiting it for the first time I must say it wasn't as horrible as I was imagining. Sure, Vin Diesel's stone-like presence isn't great for a film like this, and sure the information surrounding his abilities as a witch hunter are murky. Yet, there's enough there to hold interest, which is more than I thought would be possible. Note: moving away from the projector to the Philips to compare HDR10 and Dolby Vision layers, we get a slightly darker overall image in the DV layer but very little other significant differences between them. There’s a touch more colour saturation in the sky at that shot previously mentioned at 3 minutes from the DV layer and in some comparison photos taken (not with appropriate equipment it must be said), the DV layer had a slightly cooler look it - although to the eye and in motion, these differences were for the vast majority of the time negligible. The designed muted and desaturated colour scheme renders any real differences to these two HDR variants almost moot. Second Sight Films are bringing out The Witch 4K UHD + Blu-ray Limited Edition this month in the UK. Harvey Scrimshaw: Highlights include his apprehension about doing some of the horror scenes (like kissing an older actor), auditioning with Ralph and Anya, working with Robert Eggers, rehearsing the possession scene in a hotel, the movie’s many bugs and why he missed the premiere. (7 minutes)

Apart from 4K picture upgrade which is nice, is that alone enough? Well this new release does comes with plenty of extras that aren’t found on the blu-ray original release. Strange and unsettling things begin to happen -animals turn malevolent, crops fail, one child disappears and another seems to become possessed by an evil spirit. With suspicion and paranoia mounting, daughter Thomasin is accused of witchcraft. who were confronting something more than simply an unknown land. The film benefits from an austere but seemingly historically accurateA primal folktale: A selection of interview clips with Eggers and cast members, which were shot at the time. Introduces the themes of the film along with a discussion of the period and how the actors understood their characters. (10 minutes) even outright signs of graphic gore (there are a few disturbing images in the film, but they're relatively restrained, at least within the context of There’s also a short Q&A from a BFI screening of the film and a 2015 featurette, but one of the most interesting extras is the short film Brothers by Eggers, which was made before production of The Witch as a proof of concept that Eggers could make something with children that had a similar feel – kids in the woods – if not something identical. There is also a book included with new writing on the film that was not included for review. It’s a shame there isn’t more from the production side of things, including the music. Just getting the actors and Eggers involved seems like a bit of a missed opportunity. One thing about all the special features is that none of them are subtitled, which is hugely disappointing. I’m not going to mark it against the final score, but this is something that needs improvement. A gorgeous film, an arthouse folk horror full of beautiful imagery and sounds, comes with a brand-new director overseen Dolby Vision color grading in one of Second Sight’s oh-so collectible 4K limited edition sets. This is highly recommended. The Witch (Limited Edition) is out on 4K Ultra HD Combo in the UK 25 July 2022 from Second Sight Films

That said, there is most definitely a psychological element to what plays out after Samuel's disturbing disappearance. The family The most interesting aspect of the movie is its mythology. After Kaulder's curse, he becomes a witch hunter. A secret religious sect has been tasked with keeping him safe while he works in conjunction with the witch counsel. His job is to hunt down the bad witches and bring them in for justice so witches can live in harmony with humans. For as long as I can remember — or more specifically, since first discovering Avery Crounse's 1983 underrated Eyes of Fire— I've found horror tales surrounding early American settlers and smalltown British villagers of the 17th or 18th Century to be the most terrifying and scariest to ironically enjoy. The stories always center around the fear of the unknown or a dark entity lurking in the forest, the occult and pagan traditions, and even cannibalism. As with most folk horror, it’s not often it can be called ‘terrifying’ or even ‘scary’. But its dread-dripped atmosphere, and its spiralling sense of desperation turning into inevitability, unsettles and oppresses like few genre films of recent times. Unafraid to embrace its supernatural sensibilities – there’s little doubt as to what is actually going on - Eggars stays the course and has complete faith in his cast to provide the hook into the ambience and mood of the film, instead of any plot complexities or contrivances.

The Final Assessment

Anya Taylor-Joy: Highlights include how a chance encounter resulted in her getting work as a model, and how this led to her getting The Witch as a first script. There’s some good content about the relationship between herself and her character, and how her acting techniques vary from her co-stars. (13 minutes)

Scream Factory’s 4K Ultra HD Collector’s Edition release of Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a 2-disc set, featuring the film on Ultra HD on Disc One and on Blu-ray on Disc Two. The second disc is sourced from the same new 4K transfer and features all of the Ultra HD’s audio and subtitle options. Each disc features the following extras: DISC ONE (UHD) UHD re-releases, I'm simply providing my original review. Also please note that the 4K UHD disc ports over the same audio and supplements as Curbing the story in favour of thematic cohesion means the film will not be for everyone. Indeed, I can see many an impatient punter giving up and thinking it a bore. Yet for those that like to immerse themselves in a layered piece it’ a hugely rewarding in its joint appreciation of horror and human frailty. Importantly The Witch also carries the distinction of being the first classic of 2016. As per the 2015 release, It Follows, it’s obviously premature to label it a contender for scary movie of the year. Yet if this doesn’t make people’s top five horror movies of 2016 it’ll only be because of how damn good everything else is. Blu-ray as a supplement, it's probably instructive to remember that many of the first settlers to come to the New Land were in fact Puritans. Many if not most of us who grew up in the United States were inundated with probably unrealistic views of the pioneers who initially settledperhaps ironically) give the film a rare feeling of authenticity, as if some long ago banished history had suddenly sprung to life and been offering much in the way of hue. While the gray and blue tones that I mentioned in my review of the 1080p Blu-ray version are still very much in begins to fray, and suspicions arise, leading to a weird, almost hallucinatory, ambience where Katherine's increasing hysteria may or may not