10 Best Horror Movies Set In The Past
2. The Witch
Set in the 1630s, The Witch plays host to two huge cinema debuts - the arrival of director Robert Eggers and the first time on the big screen for actor Anya Taylor-Joy.
Taylor-Joy plays Thomasin, a young girl in an English family kicked out of a Puritan settlement. Whilst living in the woods, the family (which also includes Game of Thrones alum Ralph Ineson and Kate Dickie) are stalked by... a witch!
Should have seen that coming.
When a baby is kidnapped and killed within the opening act of a movie, you know you're in for a hell of a ride. Things only get worse for the family, as the tension mounts and they begin to turn on each other.
Eggers directs the film beautifully, capturing the stunning scenery whilst always grounding his shots in the characters fears. There's a reason he's gone on to do more great things and why he's taken Taylor-Joy with him.
Extremely atmospheric, utterly harrowing, and darkly creative, The Witch displays all the fears that people at the time actually had about the concept of sorcery.
Except in this world, they're real.
*Spooky noises*