The Witch

Top Ten Movies of 2016

2016 was a movie year with interesting dichotomies.  On the one hand, many studio films and sequels fell flat (particularly over the summer).  On the other hand, it was a fantastic year for independent cinema, surprise original genre hits, and social/political documentaries.  For me personally, it was the first year I attended the Sundance Film Festival, and managed to see a personal best 75 films released this year.  Of those films, here were my favorites (presented here as [spoiler-free] unless otherwise noted).
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‘The Witch:’ A Puritan Morality Tale

Unlike most films of its genre, ‘The Witch’ gets its scares from being quietly unsettling rather than relying on jump scares and surprises for its audience.  The movie is marketed as a horror film, and rightly so; many of the images and situations are deeply disturbing.  Surprisingly though, the film is also one of the most realistic period pieces I’ve seen in years.  I’ll be diving into later plot details of ‘The Witch,’ so [spoilers] ahead. (more…)