Overview
A family's faith is tested as they confront the darkness lurking in the wilderness.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- foreboding
- oppressive
- austere
- late night horror viewing
- halloween night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as an exceptionally atmospheric, historically detailed, and mature work of psychological folk horror, though some found its relentless pacing and archaic dialogue demanding.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film places a Puritan family in 1630 New England and builds supernatural terror from period religion, superstition, and folklore.
The isolated homestead and impassible forest constantly frame the family as vulnerable to forces beyond their control.
The family's devout Christian worldview turns ordinary failure and supernatural events into accusations of sin and possession.
The production emphasizes Puritan clothing, speech, customs, and material life in seventeenth-century New England.
Films like The Witch, and why
The Exorcist
Like The Witch, it uses religious extremism, supernatural dread, and a historically grounded setting to create psychological horror.
The Omen
Both films portray a family threatened by an unseen evil while emphasizing atmosphere and spiritual terror over cheap shocks.
Rosemary's Baby
Shares themes of female repression, occult influence, and domestic paranoia within a tightly controlled horror narrative.
The Wicker Man
A similarly austere period horror film centered on isolation, superstition, and an oppressive natural environment.
Movie Details
- Director
- Robert Eggers
- Release Date
- 2016-02-19
- Runtime
- 92 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (7902)
Cast
- Anya Taylor-Joy
- Ralph Ineson
- Kate Dickie
- Harvey Scrimshaw
- Ellie Grainger
- Lucas Dawson
- Julian Richings
- Bathsheba Garnett
- Sarah Stephens
- Daniel Malik
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Witch about?
- An isolated Puritan family’s faith, intimacy, and sanity erode under the shadow of an ancient evil in the wilderness.
- What is The Witch like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Witch as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Witch violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Witch as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Witch?
- Critics broadly praised the film as an exceptionally atmospheric, historically detailed, and mature work of psychological folk horror, though some found its relentless pacing and archaic dialogue demanding.
- Which films are like The Witch?
- Films with a similar feel include The Exorcist, The Omen, Rosemary's Baby, and The Wicker Man.
- How long is The Witch?
- The Witch runs 92 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Witch?
- In United States, The Witch streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.
