Horror History: Robert Eggers’ THE WITCH Premiered in 2016

The Witch

On this day in horror history, Robert Eggers’ The Witch with Anya Taylor-Joy opened in theaters back in 2016. The film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in January 2015. A24 released it wide in 2016.

Set in 1630 New England, the film tells the tale of a farmer and his family who are enveloped in panic and despair when their baby suddenly. The family blames Thomasin, the oldest daughter who was watching the boy at the time. With suspicion and paranoia mounting, twin siblings Mercy and Jonas suspect Thomasin of witchcraft, testing the clan’s faith, loyalty, and love to one another.

Ralph Ineson co-stars with Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger, and Lucas Dawson. Bathsheba Garnett joined them along with Sarah Stephens. Wahab Chaudhry rounded out the cast as the voice and human form of Black Phillip.

RELATED: THE WITCH Bloopers Bring Laughs to the Terror

The film grossed $8.8M in its opening weekend. It finished fourth at the box office behind Deadpool ($56.5M), Kung Fu Panda 3 ($12.5M), and Risen ($11.8M). It grossed $25.1M domestic nd $15.3M elsewhere for a worldwide total of $40.4M.

The film sports a 90% approval rating over on Rotten Tomatoes. The Critics 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.

How much do you love The Witch?

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