First, the Crucible starring Winona Ryder, Paul Scofield, Joan Allen, Bruce Davison. In the 1690s New England United States, there's fear was witchcraft and of witches, and the religious community comes against them and brings them to trial. Based on the play and it's a good drama with good performances.
Next--- The Witch, a smart, intelligent horror film directed by Robert Eggers; it's on par with The Conjuring (one of my favorite movies of the past 10 years). I was also very curious about the subject matter and the period setting of the film.
In the film, set in the 1600s, a family is haunted by strange occurances, and the parents fear witchcraft. Some critics might say that the film is a slam on puritan paranoia. There's alot of creepy imagery and you get a sense that the parents' fear might be justified.
Kate Dickey (from Prometheus) plays the mom; her performance is good, but I felt very bad for what happens to her character at the end. The actor who plays the dad looks a little like the late Alan Rickman; Rickman may have been perfect for this role a few years ago.
I felt sympathy for the father, too, even though he could be interpreted as being too hysterical. When your children are threatened by evil spirits, I think any parent would go a little nuts.
I found the movie to be very thought-provoking, with many interesting concepts, but I feel I missed some important dialogue due to the heavy accents used by some of the actors (will need to watch it again on DVD at home with subtitles).
Additional articles about The Witch -
- Variety film review - here
- The Dispatch review, calls it "Puritan paranoia" - here
- The Vox article: Why satanists have given new horror movie The Witch their endorsement - here | review here
- Complex - Satanic temple after party - here
- Slate review and profile of Robert Eggers - here
- RogerEbert.com review - here
- Wired interview with the director - here