The debut from director Robert Eggers is a chilling 17th century horror, the dark story of a family of devout Christians in a growing state of despair after a series of devastating events. Eggers creates a superbly ominous atmosphere, a sense of dread amplified by the welcome restrictions of a period setting. There are hints of John Carpenter’s classic The Thing in its paranoia and isolation, but this is less a thriller than a chilling look at religion and faith, a traumatizingly effective drama wrapped in supernatural overtones. Dripping with terrifying imagery, The Witch: A New-England Folktale is beautifully shot, impressively original and entirely disturbing.