The Book of the Witch

Verdict on The Book of the Witch Recap

The movie follows a security guard who is haunted by something from her past. She is investigating a supernatural connection which leads her down a path and confronting the same entity which haunts her.

Best Parts

The movie uses the haunted soul hunting for answers to drive the story forward. We get two people who are alone in the world and must overcome their demons to solve the problem. Along with the witches' presence being more open and haunting, it makes things feel more terrifying in places.

Worst Parts

The location is strange with a large part of the movie being set in a large, abandoned building in the middle of the city. It works at times but also can feel a bit more out of place too.

Final Thoughts -The Book of the Witch creates a compelling mystery.

The book of the witch is a modern tale of witch craft, and the search for longevity.

Beyond the low budget (which is maximised exceedingly well), the minimal cast (who perform their roles well beyond the levels you'd expect), the cinematography (which makes such incredible use of natural and artificial light) and the locations (which smack of horror), the witch herself, a period personification of the Salem type witches you instantly imagine, but scary and evil as you would want, this is a film, masterfully told and I am so excited to see what this team produces next.

If you haven't caught this film yet, I, obviously, highly recommend it.

I watched a very interesting film the other night called The Book of the Witch (2024) written and directed by Joshua Sowden through Self Esteem Productions. It's a very original movie with some fantastic acting.

What works: The acting was very good! @krishnasmitha and Danny Parker-Lopes worked very well together as co-workers in the movie. Smitha was very persuasive in her roll as a witch hunter. Another thing I really liked about the movie was that it took your stereotypical witch-pointy hat and all-and made it into something terrifying and believable. You initially look at @onlyalicat in her role as the witch and initially think it's cheesy but she pulls it off in a really terrifying way. The acting is what made this movie also effective.

What doesn't work: I felt like the movie stalled a little right before its cool climactic ending. I wish the movie had gone a more into the witch's origins (the mythology behind the story was very cool) but maybe a more about what drove Smitha's character. Those ideas were explained effectively enough but I think it was a little more room to expand. Overall though, those are small issues I have but they don't hurt my overall positive review.

The Book of the Witch is a great movie for anyone who loves movies about witches! The acting is quality, the "showing, not telling" approach was very good, and the witch herself was very terrifying!

The Book of the Witch - A Silhouetted witch in a desert landscape dragging the body of a man into an abandoned building laying the man out upon a pentagram, the witch places her book upon the altar and turns the page and begins to read in a ominous voice, setting the tone for our film. Were introduced to August and Victoria a security team hired to watch over a building, both seeming like loners, one dealing with loneliness and the other the death of her mother and her botched medical death. Flash backs of death, Victoria begins to see and hear things that August finds unbelievable but being his only friend, he finds himself concerned with her wellbeing, following her into the desert where they avoid the witch and steal her grimoire. Were left with a show down against an age-old witch and the pain of loss and incapability of helping ones loved one. Atmospheric desert imagery to city landscapes and liminal spaces, eerie scenery in confined spaces, The Book of the Witch cinematography alone is eye pleasing make sure to Check it out on Amazon Prime video.

Starts with an absolutely horrific and terrifying witch where the story is set into motion, slow building of tension throughout followed by a satisfying end to the nightmare. Especially liked the coloring of the movie, kind of grainy, dark, sandy... ominous.

For only a few locations, and small cast, the Director keeps you in it with interesting shots and angles. The story is not super easy yet not too hard to decipher. The two main actors bond together well as their relationship is developed in the opening scenes and you can tell they care for each other which makes the fear of something horrible happening to one of them that much more devastating. Overall a good job.