The Witch

The Witch (2016)

Timing: 1:32 (92 min)

6.999/10
7580

5.23/10
3065

0/10
0

All about film

Video 16

Photo 222

Actors and characters

Release date

2016-02-19

Country

Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Brazil

Production

Pulse Films, RT Features, Parts and Labor, Maiden Voyage Pictures, Very Special Projects, Rooks Nest Entertainment, Scythia Films, Code Red Productions, Mott Street Pictures

Genre

Horror, Mystery, Drama, Fantasy

Budget

$4 000 000

Revenue

$40 423 945

Website

http://a24films.com/films/witch/

Director

Robert Eggers

Actors

Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger, Lucas Dawson, Julian Richings, Bathsheba Garnett, Sarah Stephens, Daniel Malik
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Robert Eggers

Producer

Lars Knudsen, Jay Van Hoy, Rodrigo Teixeira, Jodi Redmond, Daniel Bekerman, Chris Columbus, Eleanor Columbus, Alexandra Johnes, Thomas Benski, Lucas Ochoa

Operator

Jarin Blaschke

Composer

Mark Korven

Artist

Audition

Jason Knight, John Buchan, Kharmel Cochrane

Editing

Louise Ford
All team (124)

• The film was shot primarily using natural lighting.
• The film owes a significant portion of its dialogue and plot twists to surviving written records from the 17th century.
• Filming took 25 days.
• Writer Stephen King, often called a master of horror, admitted that watching the film terrified him.
• Director Robert Eggers revealed in an interview that of all the animals involved in the film, the rabbit was the best trained, and that it was also easy to work with the raven and the horse.
• The film was shot in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio, which is a rather rare screen format (the height of the frame is reduced for projection with a short-focus lens onto a large screen). This format is precisely what makes the house seem more cramped than it actually was, and the trees—taller. Furthermore, it allowed the entire family to be captured in a single shot.
• The Church of Satan, a public and religious organization, supported the film's production and organized several screenings. Its representative, Jex Blackmore, spoke highly of the film, calling it "an impressive example of delving into the essence of Satanism," which, in his opinion, would be beneficial for modern society and religious discussions within it.
• According to director Robert Eggers, he was most often asked if any inexplicable events occurred during the filming of the movie. Eggers always answered this question negatively.
• Anya Taylor-Joy was the first actress Robert Eggers auditioned when casting the film.
• This was the first film in Anya Taylor-Joy’s career where her last name appeared in the credits.
• The filmmakers intended to include more scenes with a goat nicknamed Black Philip, but the animal proved insufficiently trained, and the idea had to be abandoned.
• Witches are said to speak Enochian, a language created by the English mathematician, geographer, astronomer, alchemist, and astrologer John Dee (1527-1609).
• The film is based on the short story of the same name by A.P. Chekhov.
• Filming of the movie was organized on the stage of a theater in the estate of A.P. Chekhov in Melikhovo.
• The film owes a significant part of its dialogue to surviving written records from the 17th century.
• The film was shot in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio. This format specifically makes the house seem more cramped and the trees taller. Additionally, it allowed the entire family to be captured in a single frame.
• The word “VVitch” in the film's title is spelled as it was in the early 17th century, the period in which the film is set. At that time, the letter “W” (today the word “witch” is spelled that way) had not yet become widespread.
• According to screenwriter and director Robert Eggers, he did not tell Harvey Scrimshaw how to play Caleb in the most challenging scenes. He was guided by Ralph Ineson, who played William. At the time, Eggers himself did not have children, while Ineson had two, so he knew how to interact with them and observed on set how difficult it was for Eggers to explain to Scrimshaw exactly what was required.
• Robert Eggers' directorial debut in a feature film. Before this, he had only made short films and once wrote a screenplay (for this very film). Without informing him, editor Louise Ford passed the screenplay to producers Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy, with whom she was working at the time. Learning about this, Eggers was horrified because he considered the screenplay raw, but it turned out that the producers liked it. They only suggested that Eggers simplify the screenplay's structure, which initially was divided into five parts, each told from the perspective of a family member. It took four years to secure funding for the project.
• During the period depicted in the film, it was widely believed that a witch was incapable of reciting the 'Our Father'. This explains the reaction of the film's characters to the inability of the characters played by Ellie Grainger and Lucas Dawson to finish the prayer.
• The scene of Caleb's death (played by Harvey Scrimshaw) and the reaction to it by Mercy and Jonas (played by Ellie Grainger and Lucas Dawson, respectively) are based on surviving records of the Salem witch trials, which allowed for testimony about spectral evidence. Witnesses claimed to be tormented by the spirit of a witch taking the form of a bird or animal, or even a person. These torments manifested as pinches, needle pricks, bites, scratches, someone sitting on a person’s chest preventing them from breathing, choking if they tried to pray, and inducing fits (as all of this is shown in the film).
• During the period depicted in the film, it was widely believed that a witch was unable to recite the "Our Father." This explains the characters' reaction to the inability of the characters played by Ellie Grainger and Lucas Dawson to finish the prayer.