The Witch

We head into the theater again to catch the latest horror flick everyone has an opinion about: A “New England folktale” called The Witch.

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The Witch (2015)

Episode 25, 2 Guys and a Chainsaw

Todd: Welcome to another episode of 2 Guys and a Chainsaw. I’m Todd.

Craig: And I’m Craig.

Todd: Today’s film was The Witch. It’s out in theaters now. Craig and I thought we’d go have a look at it and come back to you today and let you know what we thought. Craig, did you read anything about this movie before you went to see it?

Craig: Really nothing at all. I mean, I kind of had a basic idea of the premise. I knew it was a period piece, set in colonial New England and that it dealt with a witch. Yeah. That’s about it. That’s all I knew. And I’d I’d read some kind no. I didn’t read them. I mean, I saw headlines praising it. I didn’t really see anything, and I didn’t read into it because I didn’t want to know too much going in, but it seemed like what I was seeing out there was positive response. So Yeah. Looking forward to it.

Todd: It it the headlines I’ve been seeing have been almost on the same lines of it was writing a little bit of the reception of the Babadook

Craig: Yeah.

Todd: And, It Follows. Both of those got these glowing, it’s not your typical horror movie Right. Reviews. And so that made me a little hesitant going in here because I know that both of those films, I was a little disappointed in. Were were you?

Craig: I well, you know, especially with yeah. I was. And I think especially with, the Babadook, I think the problem was that I had seen so much positive stuff about it that I had really high expectations. And I I thought I thought it was good. I just thought I don’t know if it’s really worth all the hype.

Todd: You know? I mean, it’s different enough. And this movie so I intentionally much like you, I guess, I intentionally stayed away from those thinking that maybe if I don’t read too much about it and get too excited about it, it will turn out to, you know, move me in a way that I’ve never been moved. And? And, you know, it was, I don’t know. The movie is pretty slow. If I had one fault, I would say maybe it was a little too slow. Although, I’m not sure that you could do this movie any other way. Extremely slow burn, very depressing.

Craig: Yeah. Really grim from from the beginning on.

Todd: Yeah. Well, we might as well dive into the plot, I guess. Yeah.

Craig: And the plot itself is pretty simple. I mean, you start out, I I guess, in a Puritan courtroom, town meeting house or whatever, and it appears that this man is being tried or or sentenced or or something. And, they say that he’s a blasphemer or he I isn’t It’s

Todd: very unclear.

Craig: It’s yeah. It’s totally unclear. And he’s defending himself saying, no. I’ve never spoken anything but the true word of God. I believe in God. You all have no right to judge me. You’re false Christians.

Todd: Yeah. He he throws it right back at them, basically.

Craig: Right. And, when it comes down to it, I guess they basically just say I don’t know. I don’t know if they you know, if he hit with

Todd: He almost volunteered that he would be willing to just leave.

Craig: Yeah.

Todd: And they were like, well, okay. If that’s what you wanna do, go ahead and do it. And so he they said you’re vanished from the community.

Craig: Yeah. And so he takes his family. He’s got his wife okay. So the the dad’s name is William. His wife’s name is Catherine, and they’ve got 5 kids. Two older kids, Thomas and a daughter Mhmm. Caleb, a son, and they seem to be around the same age maybe. Is Thomas and the oldest, you think?

Todd: It seems like it. Yeah.

Craig: But close in age. And then there are twins who are younger, I would guess, maybe, like, 8, something like that Yeah. And, a baby, Samuel. And the twins are, Jonas and Mercy. They, I guess, just go and establish their own little farm kind of on the outskirts of town. Like, at one point in the movie, the dad says it’s like a day’s, ride to town. So they’re out kind of in the woods on their own, and that’s it. I mean, the whole movie focuses on what happens with this family out here on their own...