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Film: The Witch in the Window
Year: 2018
Director: Andy Mitton
Writer: Andy Mitton
Starring: Arija Bareikis, Alex Draper and Charlie Tacker
Review:
For this film, I decided to check it out as it was part of a challenge that I was out to complete for 31 Days of Halloween. I tried to come in knowing as little as possible to not have any kind preconceived notices. The official synopsis for the film is when Simon (Alex Draper) brings his twelve year-old son, Finn (Charlie Tacker), to rural Vermont to help flip an old farm house.
There is a complicated situation for this film. We have a married couple of Beverly (Arija Bareikis) and Simon. Their marriage is falling apart because Simon is constantly moving somewhere to flip houses. This really bothers Beverly. Their son Finn ends up figuring out how to find things on the internet that he shouldn’t have seen so his mother is punishing him. Simon has a house in Vermont that he is going to renovate and his son is coming with him. Beverly is concerned that he is flipping it, but Simon assures her that he isn’t.
Finn is quite moody and Simon calls him out on it. We learn that is due to Finn looking up to his father, but he is disappointed at things he has done. He feels he is being punished so he isn’t as receptive as he should be. Simon is a laid back guy and allows him to vent, but also lets him know that he could make the best of his experience.
When they arrive at the house, I’m not going to lie my anxiety shot through the room. It doesn’t waste any time getting creepy. When they pull up, I saw a woman in the upstairs window looking out. She is Lydia (Carol Stanzione). Her back-story is filled into us later when the electrician shows up to the house, Louis (Greg Naughton). She died in the house, looking out the window and sat there for some time before she was found.
I don’t expect this to scare everyone, but for me, I’m terrified when there is someone standing behind and I don’t see them. I found myself looking behind characters to see if I notice this woman in the background. This is actually one of my favorite aspects of this film, because it made me feel creeped out. I also thought when Lydia comes after the characters it was also quite freaky. She are aspects where it felt like It Follows in that she is walking slowly, like she knows no matter what she will get them.
Going from that, this film has an interesting twist that happens. There are aspects where you don’t know what is real or what is a dream. It is kind of a loop and people are talking to those that they aren’t sure if it is real as well. I did like this woman has an effect on people that breaks their lives down. It also has to deal with the house, which is interesting.
Something I didn’t care for though was the shift the film had in tone. I was creeped out in the beginning, but then it becomes Simon trying to cleanse the house. It becomes more of a drama and the fear that I had started to die away. I thought it hurt the tension that the film was building as well. I don’t think it needed to be cut out, but I just think that they needed to keep the creepiness that was being used earlier in the film. I don’t mind the ending, but it was a little bit too happy for how I felt it was going.
Acting in the film was pretty solid though. I felt for Draper and what he is telling his son. It was actually kind of disheartening at things that were revealed by him as well. He actually brings up things that I feel could possible match me if I was in his situation. His inadequacies were real. Tacker was fine, but he did get on my nerves a bit. I liked that he is hoping that there was someone murdered in the house, because that is something I would have wanted. It also creeps him out, which again would match me. There was something about how he goes about things though when the tension is building that I just didn’t care for with him. Naughton was good as the neighbor who knows the back-story. We also see him breaking down as he deals with it. I thought Bareikis was also fine in her role as the mother. Stanzione is also really creepy as the witch in the film.
There really wasn’t a lot in the way of effects for this film as well. I do think we got some tricks with the camera where someone isn’t there, but then will appear when someone passes in front of something. I don’t really recall any CGI or really any practical effects fr that matter. The make-up on Lydia helped to make her look creepy though. I did think that the film was shot quite well. The shots were framed beautifully and it drew your eyes when you know there are things that are hidden in the background.
Now with that said, this film I thought was pretty solid. I’m glad that I came in knowing as little as I did because it helped to temper my expectations. There is an interesting story and the aspect of the woman just watching them creeped me out quite a bit. I thought it was also interesting the concept they introduced on how to cleanse the house. I did think there were some issues with the pacing though. This comes mostly from the shift in the tone from horror to drama in the second half of the film. I don’t mind ramping up the drama, because what Simon is dealing with and trying to do. The acting and how the film was shot was good. The score of the film really didn’t stand out, but it also didn’t hurt the film. I think that this film is above average and worth a viewing.
My Rating: 7 out of 10