Thursday, August 4, 2016

Which witch?

In the lead up to Halloween, I thought I'd write about a few of my favourite scare watches of 2016! It's been a genre I've always loved. We've seen good witches, bad witches and just down right scary witches! From watching "The Blair Witch project" back in 96, wanting to research more fan theories after viewing it, to the southern "voodoo" witch, made famous from "The Skeleton Key" starring Kate Hudson, through to American Horror story's season 3 - Coven, the last decade has produced some creepy and comical tales of the witch. I'll be talking though about 2 tales of seriously freaked out witches sure to make your skin crawl. If you are looking for something to beef up your halloween scare, then read on!

The Conjurring - 2013, Warner Bros


Reading about the history of this interesting horror movie concept, the plot of the Conjurring was actually written 14 years prior to it actually being made. It's based on a "true" story from the 1970's making viewing of this film all the more spooky. Ed and Lorraine Warren studied and taught students about the afterlife and demonic possession. As well as this, they were hands on in assisting people with "paranormal" situations. Lorraine being a recognised psychic used her gift to try and talk to surrounding sprits (good and bad) and Warren was there to try and trap those unwanted ghosts so that they could never harm or scare their tormented again.
Lorraine and Ed Warren - The Conjuring
You meet the Perron family. A family of 7 (they have 5 daughters) buy an old farmhouse in Harrisville Rhode Island. The year is 1971 and they soon learn the sordid history of the house which they now own and the horrible witch which haunts every square inch of the grounds. This film has huge scares pretty much from the onset and I regard it as one of the best horror films to come out in the last few years. You learn of a few trapped spirits trying to help the family, help the children but the witch has other plans for their mom Carolyn Perron. Add demonic possession to the mix and you have an all out jump off your couch cinematic experience! Give it a watch this Halloween season.


The Witch - Rooks and nest entertainment/A24


For a film which had originally a 3 million dollar budget, The Witch grossed an excellent takings after opening of 40 million. Featured initially at the Sundance film festival, this American / Canadian piece really takes the original raw fundamentals of the horror/supernatural genre and beautifully executes these to give a tale of scare and woe. Set in the historical period of 1600's when the original settlers came to the America's and settled in "New England", it shows the exile of a young family who had challenged the word of the new testament. Being highly religious back then, many folk based their livelihoods on what god and the land could produce for them. They wander far deep into the woods to build their own farm but the land is sour and returns no yield or corn.

Thomason - The Witch
Thomason, the teenage young daughter senses a danger in the woods preceding their small wood shack and the family's fears are confirmed when her baby brother goes missing out of plain sight. Her mother becomes distraught with grief and the other children venture into the woods to try and see whether they can find him. Thomason takes off into the woods with her slightly younger brother who has twitches of teen romanticism going on, and eventually he does meet his fate by being tempted by the evil female entity which has cursed the forest.

The music through out this film contributes to 70% of the suspense and scare factor, with the score being eerily beautiful and haunting all in the same breath. Again, demonic and possession are featured later on in the film with all members of the family descending into chaos. Without spoiling the ultimate ending, I urge you if you are a horror film fan to give this film a watch. It embodies every horror element precisely, from lighting, fear, through to anticipation of what we cannot see. Some of the forest scenes and the honesty of the child actors really makes this film one of my top scare watches this year.









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