Evil takes many forms. A24 has conjured up the third and seemingly final trailer for Rogert Eggers’ minimalist horror film The Witch, building upon the relentless atmosphere of previous trailers and on this occasion, playing peek-a-boo with our nerves.
Ditching a lavish budget and the CG-laden scares it entails, the director’s much-anticipated genre piece is rooted in the New England wilderness of the 1600s where, after being cast out from the church, a rural farmer sets about building a new life on a plot of land for him and his family. But what he doesn’t realize is that his newfound home is situated on hallowed ground, evoking the wraith of an ancient, malevolent spirit.
Much like the teasers that have come before, today’s snippet is an excellent vertical slice of the thriller, opening with shots of calm and serenity before gradually culminating in deeply disturbing horror. Favoring a less-is-more approach, if The Witch boasts a similar pacing throughout its runtime, we just may need to play peek-a-boo ourselves come February 19 – only keeping our hands clasped firmly over our eyes. Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger and Lucas Dawson round out the cast.
The Witch is set to haunt theaters – and our dreams – on February 19. In the interim, you can peek between your fingers at the latest trailer up above. Or if you’re feeling particularly curious, you can get the jump on Eggers’ low-key horror by consulting our review.
In this exquisitely made and terrifying new horror film, the age-old concepts of witchcraft, black magic and possession are innovatively brought together to tell the intimate and riveting story of one family’s frightful unraveling in the New England wilderness circa 1630. New England, 1630. Upon threat of banishment by the church, an English farmer leaves his colonial plantation, relocating his wife and five children to a remote plot of land on the edge of an ominous forest – within which lurks an unknown evil. Strange and unsettling things begin to happen almost immediately – animals turn malevolent, crops fail, and one child disappears as another becomes seemingly possessed by an evil spirit. With suspicion and paranoia mounting, family members accuse teenage daughter Thomasin of witchcraft, charges she adamantly denies. As circumstances grow more treacherous, each family member’s faith, loyalty and love become tested in shocking and unforgettable ways.