HERE BE WITCHES 07 • The Witch (2015) with Chloë Wicks

In this episode of our witch series, we take on Robert Eggers' The Witch (aka The VVitch: A New England Folk Tale). Set in 1630s New England, English settler William and his family—wife Katherine, daughter Thomasin, son Caleb, and twins Mercy and Jonas—are banished from a Puritan Colony over a religious dispute. William and Katherine try to lead a devout Christian life on an isolated and borderline barren farm. When their newborn son mysteriously vanishes and their crops fail, the family begins to turn on one another. Rumours of a witch in the woods are plenty, tensions rise high, and fingers start being pointed at their eldest daughter, Thomasin. The film is deliciously ambiguous, and Anna is joined by filmmaker Chloë Wicks to discuss her first viewing of it and why it stuck, Robert Eggers' research-heavy approach to naturalism and dialogue, the ambiguity of the characters, its feminist reclaiming, the different archetypes of the witch and the seductive voice of Black Phillip. ***  The Final Girls are a UK-based film collective exploring the intersections of horror film and feminism. We will be focusing this first series of our podcast on exploring all things witchcraft on film. Each episode, we will dive deep into films and TV shows that we can’t necessarily screen. Each episode, we’ll be joined with special guests to dissect and discuss a film or show, its legacy and the way witches are represented. Find out more about our projects here: thefinalgirls.co.uk Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow Anna on @annabdemented and Olivia is on @livihowe Our special guest this episode is Chloë Wicks, follow her on @chloehwicks