The Witch (2015 film)

The Witch
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Robert Eggers
Produced by
  • Rodrigo Teixeira
  • Daniel Bekerman
  • Lars Knudsen
  • Jodi Redmond
  • Jay Van Hoy
Written by Robert Eggers
Starring
Music by Mark Korven
Cinematography Jarin Blaschke
Edited by Louise Ford
Production
company
  • Parts and Labor
  • RT Features
  • Rooks Nest Entertainment
  • Maiden Voyage Pictures
  • Mott Street Pictures
  • Code Red Productions
  • Scythia Films
  • Pulse Films
  • Special Projects
Distributed by A24
Release date
Running time
 93 minutes[1]
Country
Language English
Budget $4 million[4]
Box office $40.4 million[5]

The Witch (stylized THE VVITCH) is a 2015 period supernatural horror film written and directed by Robert Eggers in his directorial debut. The film stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger and Lucas Dawson. The Witch follows a Puritan family encountering forces of evil in the woods beyond their New England farm, forces that may be either real or imagined.[6]

An international co-production of the United States and Canada, the film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2015 and was widely released by A24 on February 19, 2016. The film received positive reviews and was a box office success, grossing $40 million against a budget of $4 million.[5]

Plot

In 1630s New England, a difference in interpretation of the New Testament leads to William, a deeply devout Yorkshireman, being banished from a Puritan plantation, along with his wife, Katherine, and their daughter Thomasin, son Caleb, and fraternal twins, Mercy and Jonas. The family builds a farm by the edge of a large, secluded forest far from the Puritan settlement. Katherine soon gives birth to their fifth child, Samuel. Thomasin is playing peekaboo with Samuel one day when the baby abruptly disappears. A red-cloaked figure is seen running away through the woods carrying the baby, and later killing him and using his blood and fat to make a flying ointment, which she rubs over herself.[6]

Katherine, devastated, spends her days crying and praying, while William insists a wolf stole the baby. Even though Katherine forbids the children going to the forest, William takes Caleb hunting in the forest, where they lay a trap. He confides to his son that he traded Katherine's silver cup for hunting supplies. That night, Katherine questions Thomasin about the disappearance of her cup while implying Thomasin was responsible for Samuel's disappearance. After the children retire to bed, they overhear their parents discussing sending Thomasin away to serve another family to bring in income.

Early the next morning, Thomasin finds Caleb preparing to check the trap in the forest. She forces Caleb to take her with him by threatening to awaken their parents. Once inside the forest, their dog gives chase to a hare and Caleb follows on foot as the horse throws Thomasin off, knocking her unconscious. Caleb becomes lost in the woods and eventually stumbles upon the disemboweled corpse of his dog. He later discovers a moss-covered hovel. A seductive young woman appears at the door and lures Caleb towards her. Meanwhile, Thomasin awakens and reunites with her father, who is searching for her and Caleb. After returning home, Katherine violently confronts Thomasin about taking Caleb into the woods and, to save Thomasin, William reluctantly admits that he sold Katherine's silver cup.

That night, Caleb is found outdoors in the rain, naked and delirious from an unknown illness. Katherine suggests that her son's mysterious ailment is due to witchcraft and prays while bleeding him. The next day, Caleb suffers a violent seizure and expels a small apple from his mouth before dying. As Caleb nears death, his parents and Thomasin kneel reciting the Lord's Prayer, which causes great distress to the twins who insist they cannot remember the words and implore the others to stop. The twins then accuse Thomasin of witchcraft and, in retaliation, she reveals to the parents that the twins have had conversations with Black Phillip, the family's black goat. Enraged, William boards both Thomasin and the twins inside the goat house. After dark, the twins and Thomasin awaken to find a hideous naked old woman drinking a white goat's blood. Meanwhile, Katherine is overjoyed by a vision of Caleb and Samuel's return. She begins breastfeeding the infant which is revealed to be a black raven pecking at her bare and bloody breast.

The next day William finds the stable destroyed, the goats eviscerated, the twins missing and an unconscious Thomasin lying nearby with blood-stained hands. As Thomasin awakens, Black Phillip gores William before her eyes. William, dying, picks up an axe and contemplates killing the goat, but resigns himself to death and quotes from the Book of Job before being knocked into a woodpile. The commotion awakens the unhinged Katherine, who now blames Thomasin for the tragedies that have beset the family and tries to strangle her. Thomasin grabs a nearby billhook and kills Katherine in self-defense.

That night, Thomasin, in desperation, urges Black Phillip to speak to her. After several attempts at communicating with Black Phillip, a voice finally responds and initiates her into witchcraft, by convincing her to sign her name in his book. After discarding her clothing, Thomasin is then drawn into the forest with Black Phillip, where she discovers a coven of witches dancing around a bonfire. The witches begin to levitate and a laughing Thomasin joins them above the trees.

Cast

  • Anya Taylor-Joy as Thomasin
  • Ralph Ineson as William
  • Kate Dickie as Katherine
  • Harvey Scrimshaw as Caleb
  • Ellie Grainger as Mercy
  • Lucas Dawson as Jonas
  • Julian Richings as The Governor
  • Bathsheba Garnett as Witch
  • Sarah Stephens as Young Witch
  • Charlie as Black Phillip (goat form)[7]
  • Wahab Chaudhry as Black Phillip (voice, human form)
  • Axtun Henry Dube and Athan Conrad Dube as Samuel

Production

Development

Eggers, a native of New Hampshire, was inspired to write the film by his childhood fascination with witches and frequent visits to the Plimoth Plantation as a schoolboy. After unsuccessfully pitching films that were "too weird, too obscure", Eggers realized that he would have to make a more conventional film.[8] He said at a Q&A, "If I'm going to make a genre film, it has to be personal and it has to be good."[8] The production team worked extensively with British and American museums, as well as consulting experts on 17th-century British agriculture.[9]

Eggers wanted to film the picture on location in New England but the lack of tax incentives meant he had to settle for Canada.[8] This proved to be somewhat of a problem for Eggers, because he could not find the forest environment he was looking for in the country.[8] They had to go "off the map", eventually finding a location (Kiosk, Ontario) that was "extremely remote"; Eggers said that the nearest town "made New Hampshire look like a metropolis".[8]

The casting took place in England, as Eggers wanted authentic accents to represent a family newly arrived in Plymouth.[10]

Filming

In order to give the film an authentic look, Eggers shot only "with natural light and indoors, the only lighting was candles". Eggers also chose to stylize the film's title as "The VVitch" in its title sequence and on posters, stating that he found this spelling in a Jacobean era pamphlet on witchcraft, along with other period texts.[11]

In December 2013, costume designer Linda Muir joined the crew, and consulted 35 books in the Clothes of the Common People in Elizabethan and Early Stuart England series to plan the costumes. The costumes were made with wool, linen, or hemp. Muir also lobbied for a larger costume budget.[12]

Music

Mark Korven wrote the film's score, which aimed to be "tense and dissonant", while focusing on minimalism. Eggers vetoed the use of any electronic instruments and "didn’t want any traditional harmony or melody in the score", and so Korven chose to create music with atypical instruments, including the nyckelharpa and the waterphone. He knew that the director liked to retain a degree of creative control, so he relied on loose play centered on improvisation "so that [Eggers] could move notes around whenever he wanted".[13][14]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, on January 27, 2015.[15][16] The film was also screened in the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, on September 18, 2015.[17][18]

A24 and DirecTV Cinema acquired distribution rights to the film.[19] The film received very positive reactions in advance screenings, so the studios decided to give the film a wide theatrical release in the United States, on February 19, 2016.[20][21]

Home media

The film was released on Blu-ray and digital HD on May 17, 2016 in the USA.[22] The discs' extras include outtakes, audio commentary, a documentary—The Witch: A Primal Folktale, which summarizes the cast and crew's making of the film—and a 30-minute question-and-answer session filmed in Salem, Massachusetts featuring director Eggers, lead actress Anya Taylor-Joy, and historians Richard Trask and Brunonia Barry.[23]

Reception

Box office

The Witch grossed $25.1 million in the United States and Canada and $15.3 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $40.4 million.[5]

In North America, pre-release tracking suggested that the film would gross $5–7 million from 2,046 theaters in its opening weekend, trailing fellow newcomer Risen ($7–12 million projection) but similar to opener Race ($4–7 million projection).[24] The film grossed $3.3 million on its first day and $8.8 million in its opening weekend, finishing fourth at the box office behind Deadpool ($56.5 million), Kung Fu Panda 3 ($12.5 million) and Risen ($11.8 million).[25]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 91% based on 301 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "As thought-provoking as it is visually compelling, The Witch delivers a deeply unsettling exercise in slow-building horror that suggests great things for debuting writer-director Robert Eggers."[26] Metacritic reports a weighted average score of 83 out of 100, based on 46 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[27] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C–" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it a 55% overall positive score and a 41% "definite recommend".[25]

Writing in Variety, Justin Chang commented that "A fiercely committed ensemble and an exquisite sense of historical detail conspire to cast a highly atmospheric spell in The Witch, a strikingly achieved tale of a mid-17th-century New England family’s steady descent into religious hysteria and madness."[28] Yohana Desta of Mashable stated that The Witch is a "stunningly crafted experience that'll have you seeking out a church as soon as you leave the theater".[29] Peter Travers, in his Rolling Stone review, gave the film 3 1/2 stars, and wrote of The Witch: "Building his film on the diabolical aftershocks of Puritan repression, Eggers raises The Witch far above the horror herd. He doesn't need cheap tricks. Eggers merely directs us to look inside."[30] Stephanie Zacharek summarized the movie in Time as "a triumph of tone", writing that "Although Eggers is extremely discreet—the things you don't see are more horrifying than those you do—the picture's relentlessness sometimes feels like torment."[31] Gregory Wakeman, writing for CinemaBlend, rated it five stars, writing that "[its] acting, lighting, music, writing, production design, cinematography, editing, and direction all immediately impress. While, at the same time, they combine to create an innately bewitching tale that keeps you on tenterhooks all the way up until its grandiose but enthralling finale."[32] Ann Hornaday wrote in The Washington Post that the film joins the ranks of horror films such as The Exorcist, The Omen, and Rosemary's Baby, saying that The Witch "comports itself less like an imitator of those classics than their progenitor... a tribute to a filmmaker who, despite his newcomer status, seems to have arrived in the full throes of maturity, in full control of his prodigious powers."[33] Jay Bauman of RedLetterMedia named the film his favorite film of 2016, labelling it "a masterpiece".

However, some critics as well as audiences were less pleased with the film; Ethan Sacks, of the New York Daily News, wrote that while the film does not suffer from the cinematography, acting, or setting, early on it "seems that The Witch is tapping a higher metaphor for coming of age...or religious intolerance...or man's uneasy balance with nature...or something. It doesn't take long into the film's hour and a half running time, however, to break that spell."[34] Critics have noted that the film has received backlash from audiences regarding the film's themes and slow approach to horror;[35] Lesley Coffin criticized A24, saying it was "a huge mistake" to market The Witch as a terrifying horror film:

Not because it doesn't fit into the genre of horror, but because of the power of expectations. The less you know about this movie the better your experience will be, but everyone who saw it opening weekend probably walked in with too much knowledge and hype to really get as much out of it as they could have if the film had the veil of mystery.[36]

HitFix writer Chris Eggertson was critical of mainstream Hollywood; he said that The Witch "got under [his] skin profoundly", though he argued that it "did not have the moment-to-moment, audience-pleasing shocks that moviegoers have become accustomed to thanks to movies like Sinister and The Purge and Paranormal Activity and every other Blumhouse and Platinum Dunes title in the canon."[37]

Horror authors Stephen King and Brian Keene both reacted positively towards the film; King tweeted significant praise for the film, stating, "The Witch scared the hell out of me. And it's a real movie, tense and thought-provoking as well as visceral",[38] while Keene, on social media, stated "The Witch is a gorgeous, thoughtful, scary horror film that 90% of the people in the theater with you will be too stupid to understand."[39] Jason Coffman expressed his "frustration" toward viewers who felt The Witch was "boring", saying

[T]hese detractors have targeted [these] films that work within the genre but are also examples of how genre cinema can explore concepts and themes in ways that less fantastic stories cannot. In short, the rejection of these films appears to people outside of horror fandom as a rejection of cinema as an art form.[40]

Religious

Julia Alexander of Polygon states that The Witch "asks people to try and understand what life would have been like for a family of devout Christians living in solitude, terrified of what may happen if they go against the word of God".[41] In The Atlantic, Alissa Wilkinson stated that many films featured at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival—The Witch, along with Last Days in the Desert, Don Verdean, and I Am Michael—reveal a "resurgence of interest in the religious" and described The Witch as "a chilling circa-1600 story of the devil taking over a devout, Scripture-quoting family".[42] Eve Tushnet commented in an article in TAC, which was also published in First Things, that The Witch's view of witchcraft is "not revisionist" and further states that the film is "pervaded by the fear of God. There are occasional references to His mercy but only as something to beg for, not something to trust in".[43][44]

A review by Adam R. Holz on Plugged In, a publication of the conservative Christian organisation Focus on the Family, heavily criticised the film, stating that

William is absolutely devoted to leading his family in holiness and the ways of the Lord, which should be a good thing. But the fruit of William's rigorous focus on dogmatic piety isn't a lifting of burdens, which we're told should happen in Matthew 11:30, or a joyful celebration of living life to the fullest, as is referenced in John 10:10; rather it is deep fear and morbid meditations on hell, damnation and the forces of spiritual darkness.[45]

Josh Larsen of Think Christian, however, offered a Christian explanation of the conclusion of the film, stating that in "encountering evil, the family in the film veers wildly back and forth between 'triumphalism' and 'defeatism,' two theological extremes" and "in refusing to allow for grace, they become easy pickings for the witch".[46]

Nevertheless, Todd VanDerWerff of Vox stated that

A24 could have just as easily courted the approval of, say, theologians who have a fondness for Calvinism. The Witch takes place in Colonial America, and it unfolds from the perspective of period Christians who genuinely believe the woods around their tiny farm contain some sort of evil, supernatural being—and are ultimately proved correct.[47]

Accolades

List of awards and nominations
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Austin Film Critics Association December 28, 2016 Best First Film The Witch Won [48]
[49]
Breakthrough Artist Award Anya Taylor-Joy Nominated
Boston Society of Film Critics December 11, 2016 Best New Filmmaker Robert Eggers Won [50]
Bram Stoker Awards April 29, 2017 Superior Achievement in a Screenplay Robert Eggers Won [51]
Chicago Film Critics Association December 15, 2016 Best Art Direction The Witch Nominated [52]
Most Promising Filmmaker Robert Eggers Won
Critics Choice Awards December 11, 2016 Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie The Witch Nominated [53]
Empire Awards March 19, 2017 Best Horror The Witch Won [54]
Best Female Newcomer Anya Taylor-Joy Won
Fangoria Chainsaw Awards October 2, 2017[55] Best Film The Witch Won [56]
Best Actress Anya Taylor-Joy Won
Best Supporting Actor Ralph Ineson Nominated
Best Score Mark Korven Nominated
Golden Tomato Awards January 12, 2017 Best Horror Movie 2016 The Witch Won [57]
Golden Trailer Awards May 4, 2016 Best Horror "Family" Won [58]
Best Horror TV Spot "Life" Nominated
Best Sound Editing in a TV Spot "Paranoia" Won
Gotham Awards November 28, 2016 Breakthrough Actor Anya Taylor-Joy Won [59]
Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award Robert Eggers Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards February 25, 2017 Best First Screenplay Robert Eggers Won [60]
Best First Feature The Witch
London Film Critics' Circle January 22, 2017 Young British/Irish Performer of the Year Anya Taylor-Joy (also for Morgan and Split) Nominated [61]
London Film Festival October 18, 2015 Sutherland Award Robert Eggers Won [62]
New York Film Critics Online December 11, 2016 Best Debut Director Robert Eggers Won [63]
Online Film Critics Society January 3, 2017 Best Picture The Witch Nominated [64]
San Diego Film Critics Society December 12, 2016 Breakthrough Artist Anya Taylor-Joy Nominated [65]
[66]
San Francisco Film Critics Circle December 11, 2016 Best Production Design Craig Lathrop Nominated [67]
[68]
Saturn Awards June 28, 2017 Best Horror Film The Witch Nominated [69]
Best Performance by a Younger Actor Anya Taylor-Joy Nominated
Seattle Film Critics Society January 5, 2017 Best Picture of the Year The Witch Nominated [70]
[71]
Best Director Robert Eggers Nominated
Best Cinematography Jarin Blaschke Nominated
Best Costume Design Linda Muir Nominated
Best Youth Performance Anya Taylor-Joy Won
Harvey Scrimshaw Nominated
Best Villain Charlie and Wahab Chaudary (as Black Phillip) Nominated
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association December 18, 2016 Best Horror/Science-Fiction Film The Witch Won [72]
Sundance Film Festival February 1, 2015 Directing Award Robert Eggers Won [73]
Grand Jury Prize Robert Eggers Nominated
Toronto Film Critics Association December 11, 2016 Best First Feature The Witch Won [74]
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association December 5, 2016 Best Youth Performance Anya Taylor-Joy Nominated [75]
Best Art Direction Craig Lathrop Nominated

Impact

Issue #6 of the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina comic book series reveals the origin story of Salem, the feline familiar of Sabrina Spellman, which is partially inspired by the film.[76]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Witch (15)". British Board of Film Classification. February 18, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  2. ↑ "The Witch". Screen Daily. January 24, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  3. ↑ "News Releases". Telefilm Canada. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  4. ↑ FilmL.A. (May 2017). "2016 Feature Film Study" (PDF). FilmL.A. Feature Film Study. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 "The Witch (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Wickman, Forrest; Eggers, Robert (23 February 2016). "All The Witch's Most WTF Moments, Explained: A Spoiler-Filled Interview With the Director". Slate. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  7. ↑ Abramovitch, Seth (March 2, 2016). "Black Phillip: The Real Story Behind the Breakout Goat From 'The Witch'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Anielski, Ryan. "How Robert Eggers Combined History and Childhood Horrors in 'The Witch'". Indiewire. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  9. ↑ Bitel, Anton (March 11, 2016). "Voices of the undead: Robert Eggers on The Witch". British Film Institute. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
  10. ↑ Smith, Nicola (March 18, 2016). "New Hampshire Director Sifts His Home Soil". Valley News. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  11. ↑ Bloom, Jessica. "Designer-Turned-Director Robert Eggers Discusses His Horror Film 'The Witch'". Format Magazine. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  12. ↑ Ankenbauer, Sam (27 May 2016). "Dressing The Witch: An Interview with Costume Designer Linda Muir". Bright Lights Film Journal. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  13. ↑ Barkan, Jonathan (26 February 2016). "We Interviewed Composer Mark Korven About His Terrifying Score for 'The Witch'". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  14. ↑ Fusco, Jon (16 September 2016). "How Mark Korven Avoided the Temptations of Temp Music to Score 'The Witch'". Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  15. ↑ Office, Press (December 8, 2014). "Sundance Institute Announces Films in Premieres and Documentary Premieres for 2015 Sundance Film Festival". Sundance.org. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  16. ↑ "The Witch". Sundance.org. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  17. ↑ Punter, Jennie (August 18, 2015). "Sandra Bullock's 'Our Brand Is Crisis,' Robert Redford's 'Truth' to Premiere at Toronto". Variety. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  18. ↑ "The Witch". TIFF.net. Archived from the original on January 24, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  19. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (January 24, 2015). "Sundance: A24, DirecTV Buy Robert Eggers' 'The Witch' (Updated)". TheWrap.com. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  20. ↑ Lang, Brent (February 17, 2016). "Box Office: 'Deadpool' Still a Juggernaut; 'The Witch' Generating Heat". Variety. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  21. ↑ D'Alessandro, Alexander (February 19, 2016). "'Deadpool' Destroying Rivals With $56M Weekend; 'Risen' Burning 'Witch'". Deadline.com. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  22. ↑ "The Witch". DVDsReleaseDates.com. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Review: 'The Witch' Blu-Ray Adds Historical Context To One Of The Most Unique Horror Films In Years". Tech Times. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  24. ↑ "'Deadpool' Still Cool In Weekend 2 With Superhero Set To Pass $200M – Box Office Preview". deadline.com.
  25. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony. "'Deadpool' Strong With Second Weekend Of $55M; 'Risen' Takes $11.8M, 'Witch' At $8.7M". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  26. ↑ The Witch at Rotten Tomatoes
  27. ↑ The Witch at Metacritic
  28. ↑ Chang, Justin (January 23, 2015). "Sundance Film Review: 'The Witch'". Variety. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  29. ↑ Desta, Yohana (February 18, 2016). "'The Witch' is a film so f*cked up, Satan would see it twice". Mashable.com. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  30. ↑ Travers, Peter (February 18, 2016). "'The Witch' Movie Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  31. ↑ Zacharek, Stephanie (February 16, 2016). "'The Witch' Movie Review: A Supercreepy New England Folktale". Time.com. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  32. ↑ "The Witch Review". Cinemablend. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  33. ↑ Hornaday, Ann. "17th-century horror film 'The Witch' creeps you out long after credits roll". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  34. ↑ "'The Witch' casts a spell on critics though it's not good". NY Daily News. February 17, 2016. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  35. ↑ "Is The Witch Really a Horror Movie?". MoviePilot.com. February 18, 2016. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  36. ↑ Coffin, Lesley (February 22, 2016). "The Witch Review: Beware of High Expectations". The Mary Sue. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  37. ↑ Eggertsen, Chris (February 22, 2016). "Why do so many horror fans hate The Witch?". Hitfix.com. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  38. ↑ MrDisgusting (February 16, 2016). "'The Witch' Scared the Hell Out of Stephen King!". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  39. ↑ Keene, Brian [@BrianKeene] (February 21, 2016). "THE VVITCH is a gorgeous, thoughtful, scary horror film that 90% of the people in the theater with you will be too stupid to understand" (Tweet). Retrieved April 26, 2016 – via Twitter.
  40. ↑ Coffman, Jason. "This is why we can't have nice things: "The Witch" and horror fandom's gatekeepers — CineNation Podcast — Medium". Medium.com. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  41. ↑ Alexander, Julia (February 17, 2016). "The Witch review: A terrifying tale of depravity". Polygon. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  42. ↑ Wilkinson, Alissa (March 18, 2015). "Can Indie Filmmakers Save Movies About God?". The Atlantic. Retrieved February 23, 2016. Last Days in the Desert was the obvious “Bible film” at this year’s Sundance. But the festival’s lineup revealed a resurgence of interest in the religious: In Don Verdean, an affectionately satirical comedy, Sam Rockwell stars as a “Biblical archaeologist” who becomes a pawn in a war between two rival local ministers. The Witch, a pristine horror debut from writer/director Robert Eggers, is a chilling circa-1600 story of the devil taking over a devout, Scripture-quoting family. I Am Michael, executive produced by Gus Van Sant, tells the true story of Michael Glatze (played by James Franco), a former gay activist who denounced homosexuality and became a Christian pastor. Other films like Z for Zachariah and Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl subtly draw on questions and motifs that animate Biblical narratives and questions.
  43. ↑ Tushnet, Eve (February 26, 2016). "Out in the Fields with God". The American Conservative. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  44. ↑ Tushnet, Eve (March 4, 2016). "First Links — 3.4.16". First Things.com. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  45. ↑ "The WitchMovie Review (2016)". Plugged In. 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  46. ↑ Larsen, Josh (February 24, 2016). "Should Christians be afraid of The Witch?". Think Christian. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  47. ↑ VanDerWerff, Todd (February 18, 2016). "Why satanists have given new horror movie The Witch their endorsement - Vox". Vox. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  48. ↑ Anderson, Erik (December 15, 2016). "Austin Film Critics Association (AFCA) Nominations: The Handmaiden Lands Top Mentions, Trevante Rhodes Double Nominated". AwardsWatch.com. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  49. ↑ Miller, Neil (December 15, 2016). "2016 Austin Film Critics Awards Nominees, 'Moonlight' and 'Arrival' lead the way in AFCA's 2016 nominations". Medium.com. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  50. ↑ Shanley, Patrick (December 11, 2016). "'La La Land' Named Best Picture by Boston Society of Film Critics". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  51. ↑ "2016 Bram Stoker Awards Final Ballot". Horror World. 23 February 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  52. ↑ "The 2016 Chicago Film Critics Association Award Nominees". Chicago Film Critics Association. December 11, 2016. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  53. ↑ "La La Land Leads with 12 Nominations for the 22nd Annual Critics' Choice Awards". Critics' Choice. December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  54. ↑ Nugent, John (19 March 2017). "Three Empire Awards 2017: Rogue One, Tom Hiddleston And Patrick Stewart Win Big". Empire. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  55. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-12-14. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  56. ↑ "The 2017 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards Winners and Full Results!". FANGORIA®. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  57. ↑ "Golden Tomato Awards - Best of 2016". Rotten Tomatoes. 12 January 2017.
  58. ↑ "The 17th Annual Golden Trailer Award Nominees". GoldenTrailer.com. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  59. ↑ Cox, Gordon (October 20, 2016). "Gotham Awards Nominations 2016: 'Manchester By The Sea' Leads with Four". Variety. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  60. ↑ Warren, Matt (November 22, 2016). "2017 Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations Announced!". Independent Spirit Awards. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  61. ↑ "'Moonlight' and 'Love and Friendship' Lead London Film Critics' Circle Nominations". Variety. December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  62. ↑ "59th BFI London Film Festival award winners" (Press release). BFI. 2015-10-26. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  63. ↑ "'Moonlight' Named Best Picture by New York Film Critics Online Association". The Hollywood Reporter. December 11, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  64. ↑ "20th Annual Online Film Critics Society Awards Nominations". Online Film Critics Society. December 27, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  65. ↑ "2016 San Diego Film Critics Society's Award Nominations". December 9, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  66. ↑ "San Diego Film Critics Society's 2016 Award Winners". December 12, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  67. ↑ Flores, Marshall (December 9, 2016). "San Francisco Film Critics Circle Nominations!". AwardsDaily.com. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  68. ↑ Nordyke, Kimberly (December 12, 2016). "'Moonlight' Named Best Picture by San Francisco Film Critics Circle". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  69. ↑ McNary, Dave (March 2, 2017). "Saturn Awards Nominations 2017: 'Rogue One,' 'Walking Dead' Lead". Variety. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  70. ↑ "The 2016 Seattle Film Award Nominees". Seattle Film Critics Society. December 21, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  71. ↑ ""Moonlight" Awarded Best Picture by Seattle Film Critics Society". Seattle Film Critics Society. January 5, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  72. ↑ "2016 StLFCA Annual Award Nominations". St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association. December 12, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  73. ↑ Umstead, Ben (31 January 2015). "Sundance 2015 Award Winners". Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  74. ↑ Vlessing, Etan (December 12, 2016). "'Moonlight' Named Best Film by Toronto Film Critics". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  75. ↑ "The 2016 WAFCA Awards Nominations". December 3, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  76. ↑ Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #6, July 2016.
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