The Witch - The Complete Guide (Everything Explained)

Let's face it Beau is Afraid is going to be 10hrs+

Edit: The title song can be found here, performed by the wonderful Vespertilia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZzAOZpekus

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I love your humor in these videos on horror. "Stop, drop, open up shop", get your freake on etc

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I got the impression that when she confesses her sins and says she's broken every commandment in thought, that it's just a teenager being hyperbolic "yeah, yeah, I know, I'm terrible, I fucked up in every way you can fuck up;" not that she literally considered each commandment and confirmed—to herself—"yep, every single one..." it's still sinful, but it's just lazy confession... my mom used to make shit up when she had to confess as a young girl, just to satisfy the ritual... I think it just shows her teenaged tendency to question and to just be concerned and curious about other things besides her oppressive religious faith. She'd ultimately rather be doing something else. The sin isn't that she literally broke every commandment in thought or whatever, it's that she's not really confessing, she's keeping her heart hardened to her Lord thy God.

“I love The VVitch. One of my favourite movies, and always wanna see and hear more about it.”

“How fucking long?!”

3:03:50 shoutout to that BTS clip of Eggers getting frustrated at the kid actor whose whining about having to eat the bread lol. Comedy aside, this adds to the theory of Jonas being gluttonous, given Eggers absolutely needed the shot of him eating and reaching for food and was willing to push the actor to do so.

I'm four hours in and if he keeps telling me that the film is telling me to suspect thomasin of potentially doing something in the future, instead of her crazy parents, im gonna lose it. The entire purpose of the confession is her looking up in desperate approval to a God that she can't feel. She literally begs him to "show me thy light, show me thy mercy." Her entire character is that she wants more from everything that's around her. She wants more approval from her parents, more validation from God, and freedom in the eyes of her Christian people. To say that these are traits that weren't suspicion of any future wrongdoing is just weird speculation conjuring from a point of hindsight. Yes, she becomes a witch at the end. But on my first viewing, at no point in time, did I suspect that she had any agency in the horrible events of the movie.

I mean, come on, y'all. Have you never bent over backwards, said whatever you needes to say so that God might, in some magnificent stroke of luck, show himself to you just because you said the right words at the right time? Oooooh she plays upon his sabbath? Sometimes she thinks about breaking the commandments, but never does it? That means that we should be suspecting her as the film says. Sometimes an apple is an apple, sometimes a tree is a tree, and sometimes a desperate prayer confessing your own meager shortcomings to a invisible man in the sky in the hopes that he gives you the approval that no one in your life ever gives to you is just what it is. A prayer. Amazingly, in depth video, otherwise. Keep up the great work.

I think cooked a little to hard but for some reason it's a fantastic little thing to know

I was raised Baptist, and remember having similar questions about the afterlife of animals and the non-baptized as a child. I can say that even in modern times, we are not given anymore reassurance than Caleb was in the film. Original sin is a foundational concept of the practice and children are not well shielded from the more dark and depressing aspects of that. Even in elementary school I was told very directly that non-Christians would go to hell (I'm not a practicing Baptist and very much disagree with this theology).

7 hours!? This is actually insane.

46:10– Christianity was opposed to witchcraft because Christianity came out of Judaism, which had outlawed witchcraft several thousand years before. I’m only 45 mins in, so maybe it’s mentioned later, but I’m shocked the Witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28) hasn’t been discussed yet, nor was the “you shall not suffer a witch to live” quote attributed to its original source (Exodus 22:18). Christianity didn’t oppose witchcraft just because/misogyny/what have you. If anyone’s interested in a Biblical take on magic and demons, I’d recommend Michael Heiser.

The major problem with this excellent movie is that it fully embraces the supernatural. All the good intentions of the director (the more taboos, the more deviance, and the effect of repression on people, especially the young) are completely undermined by the fact that there's a freaking real witch in the woods who can fly. Once the witch is real, the family's reaction isn't the product of repression anymore. It's just a correct response to an actual monster, and so the whole psychological point falls apart.

2:07:06 If you prioritize yourself, your told you’ve made an idol/god of yourself above god and have broken the first commandment. I was accused of worshipping the television once.

I hate the explanation of ergotism for mass psychosis. Agrarians and subsistence farmers recognized moldy grain and would destroy it rather than eat something toxic and potentially die.

The far more likely explanation is that systemic oppression (as in puritanical or hyper conservative societies) generates unbelievable amounts of social strain which produces very strange pressure release valves.

>7 hour analysis that includes historical references since mesopotamian times of what would be a kind of satan adoration
>0.0 mentions of the synagogue of stan
>ch*ld eating was just invented by racist bigots to be xenophobic
>zero mentions of phoenicians, moloch and simon of trent
every single time

Here is how to get saved and be right with God, who loved us all, for eternal life(as anyone can get saved)!

:[)

1-Realize that all have sinned before God, in some way or another.



Romans 3: 10+23 (KJB)

10. "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:"

23. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”



2-Realize that God loved us, even with us all being wicked sinners in his sight, enough to allow Jesus to pay the full price for our sins.



Romans 5: 8-9 (KJB)

8. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

9."Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."



3-Confess unto God asking to be forgiven of your sins by this free gift of forgiveness, given freely to whosoever does so.



1 Corinthians 15: 1-4 (KJB)

1."Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2."By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.”

3."For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;”

4."And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”



Romans 10: 9-10+13 (KJB)

9. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

10."For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

13."For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."



4. Otherwise you will have to pay the wages for any/all of your sins, on your own, which is to face Gods eternal judgment, of you burning forever in hell, to not be able to sin before God ever again.



Hebrews 9: 27-28 (KJB)

27."And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:"

28."So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”



Revelation 21: 8 (KJB)

"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”



Romans 6: 23 (KJB)

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”



-Lastly An example of what to pray to God to get saved and forgiven of your sins.

“Dear God, I am a sinner and need saving.

I know I’m not good enough to get to heaven and I need you to save me.

I need the righteousness of your son, Jesus Christ.

I believe that Jesus is the Lord, who died, was buried and resurrected so that his precious blood can wash away my sins.

I trust in him alone to save me.

Nothing else.

Not my good works or anything else.

Only Jesus.

I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Brilliant watch, thanks so much!
And all 7 hours worth it for "Samuel Jam" : )
PS
I had never heard the name Thomasin before. (Doubting) Thomas + Sin = ... ?

Thank you for this incredible digest of The VVITCH, historical details which are worthy of viewing and all. I'm going through a sort of hell, an erasure of self and, man, the algorithm came through for me. Your analysis contained an incredible, unintentional support structure and it is so appreciated. Regardless of my personal happenings, this was an incredible endeavor. Thank you for all of your labors in delivering such fair assessments, which included pockets for your own self-skepticism, which is always appreciated.

Funny enough, I only have one thing I feel driven to comment on right now. 7:20:25 "The Hidden Faces." I agree with something I believe you said earlier: thoughtful productions include elements on the screen with intention and careful purpose, those of which generally serve the plot, themes, or character-driven narratives. Because of the lack of ritualistic nods to "faces" and direct manifestations of Satyrs, I think hidden faces could just be a top of the hat to The Exorcist Aster may have decided needed to be there for giggles, or it's entirely coincidental.

Satan himself presents as certain apparitions and physical figures. To your point, in this movie, magic is a real force, not symbolic, metaphor, or make-believe (although, of course, those tactics are employed to communicate themes but magic itself is not the aforementioned). Every magical being exists. A sudden allusion to Satyrs just seems like a red herring. It doesn't serve or bolster any arguments the movie makes and even if we did want to argue that, okay, Satyrs do play roles within much of the symbolism, how do the hidden faces either compliment or add to any point that the other symbols need?

Nothing. It would be a spooky face for the sake of a spooky face in a movie where literalism is the primary vehicle and that is purposefully overpowering.

Humans are pattern-recognizing machines and we programmed to see faces. We don't want the Big Bad Witch of the Wood to eat us, afterall. That's why some photos morph into a face if you look at them just right. Or if glass shatters in a specific way, you may see Jesus offering you salvation through Bitcoin.

It's life imitating one's history. That's a beautiful thing and often highly personal. But within the context of telling a story, if The Thing doesn't serve or compliment the above, it's either a mistake, coincidental, product placement, or you're watching a something George Lucas shat out. :D

I would LOVE to see you do a deep dive like this on Egger's Nosferatu.

I have been a Christian all my life, and in the last couple years I have been committing to a deeper examination of my faith ; and I have to say that my faith has strengthened in that examination. This video is a hard watch for me, though; because yes, the predecessors in my faith committed horrid atrocities , and no one wants to look to closely at the ugly side of something they believe in. But something being hard to listen to doesn't mean it didnt happen, and refusing to acknowledge such things just means lying to oneself about them. That being said, historical presentations of Christianity also tend to lean in only one direction and that is the dark side of the Church back then without really mentioning the good that was done by Christianity. So thank you for that. It doesn't undo the evil that was done, nor does it excuse it. But even so it is still a pleasant change to see a twofold examination, even if the primary subject of discussion still revolves around the negative aspects of the Curch at this time. TLDR , thank you for acknowledging the positive side of Christianity in this video, it is appreciated even though the negative aspects did happen and the criticism is valid.

As an ex Christian turned witch, I have more appreciation for the movie than when I first saw it as a Christian. I saw it through the lens of, well, a Christian and therefor not privy to what it was actually saying about the demonization of women empowerment shown through witchcraft. I’ve only just begun this video but if you haven’t watched the YouTube channel ESOTERICA, highly recommend it! He have very in-depth videos on the occult and magick as well as delving into the social happenings of the time of when various practices were happening!

Basel - it's pronounced with a long a sound - Baaasel

What Americans don’t understand is that we don’t drink pedowater swill. The Québécois, doubly so. Prairie boy here - we love ya Quebec

You seen Mandy ?

3:51 “the audience score is slightly lower”
Someone get this man a dictionary, I don’t think he knows what slightly means 😂

Something I noticed with the juxtaposition of the two shots of Thomasin praying/talking with Black Philip is the lighting. The prayer scene is shot with a cold, blue light that makes Thomasin look pallid, wan, almost like a corpse. There’s no life, no vigor to her delivery. It’s earnest, but doesn’t feel like she’s looking forward to salvation in Heaven.

Contrast that with the Black Philip scene, in which there’s a warm, rich light illuminating her, and we finally get some emotion, some anticipation from Thomasin.

I see that as the lighting helping communicate how stifling Puritan life was for her and how letting go of the repression finally allows Thomasin to be a living person with feelings and desires. In another inversion of Christian themes, Thomasin was dead in Christ and made alive by the Devil.

Why is it always women who are majority into historically evil things?

I don't know how anyone could watch the VVitch and come away thinking this film is a positive portrayal of witchcraft

So what made Samuel valuable as an ingredient to the witch was the fact that he was unbaptized--then his disappearance and all the strife and paranoia that followed is in a large part on the father's hands, for getting his whole family ostracized in his pride--who is going to baptize the baby, now that they're all heretics? Even if the witch never attacked, that's still condemning him to hell if the child died from any number of causes of child mortality in the wilderness before they could find someone to baptize him

Watching this a year later makes me think that the last scene with Caleb was basically him acting out Katherine’s sex dream about Jesus.

In many hours of content, I had yet to have a theory of reference that Novum hasn't already thought, dissected, and explained beautifully... until today! During the Black Philip song, the line about eats the lions in their den, I think that's also a secondary inversion of Christian imagery, specifically of the lion and the lamb. In the Christian metaphor of the lion and the lamb, both animals represent Jesus in two different aspects - as a king (lion) and as the sacrificial innocent (lamb). By painting an image of Black Philip eating a lion, we see the devil supplanting the lamb (sin over innocence) and also eating the lion (the devil essentially consuming the king of salvation). I think that line is basically a huge meta commentary on what Black Philip is doing at the farm.

@5:24:45 "Little boy....you seem to, really love Christ. No, but I mean, you seem to be in love with Christ...."

It’s rather fascinating because at no point watching this film did I ever suspect Thomasin, and neither did my mother when we watched together…I’d in fact never even considered that you were supposed to or that anybody would.

Which I’m not decrying or trying to insult; I can absolutely see how and why one would especially if they are more familiar with horror as a genre and maybe less familiar with…being a teenage girl, lol. But for me the story always hit first and foremost as one of an innocent girl persecuted and abused by those who are supposed to love and protect her because of their own failings and insecurities. A family torn apart by circumstances which they project onto her out of pride and malice.

Also I can def second how familiar the language feels…I’m not from Yorkshire but I am from the midlands and you hear many similar things. ATJ does an incredible job, I could believe it was natural

I hate the twins; brats & fakers.

Not sure if the video mentions this but I like how Thomasin’s name has “sin” in it so I’ve always taken that as maybe a little foreshadowing. Could just be coincidence but maybe not.

Do you use AI art?

Outstanding video!

I find it realy sad that I cant link the stomping sound to the mortar and pestle of the witch. Since it would realy work well late in the film, in painting any image of the twins beeing converted into flying ungent without showing it.

Anya Taylor Joy is just so cute in this film.

I must say that I feel most of the interpretations you make i believe are also intended by Robbert Eggers but are not actualy well conveight to the viewer.

I disagree with the rules of puriest religion doing nothing but creat burden. They give purpose, guidelines for life and as any believes do, save us from "Belanglosigkeit". Its a great german word i think

I will say，Calib is nit segregated from children his age because of his relgiion but because of the prideful decision of his father

I agree with you that it was probably Eggers intention to make the viewer distrust Thomasin, to make us understand why she decides against family and her community. but i truly never did doubt her. So I feel the film doesnt work because of this but because of good performances, its stunning accurace to the time, and good depiction of dire witches within that.

If the main theme of the movie is puritan restrictions forcing a dligently adhering girl into the very thing christians dredd, i serently dident conciously understand this while watching the film

I wish the movie had put more emphasis on the struggle between the family and the wilderness. Which is a much more real threat then just a witch, but I guess a second theme for the movie might have been overloading.

I feel one critisicm i have when I compare strictly historically accurate films to say the heightful eight from is that quentin tarantino flashes his characters out more, rather then just making them a timeperiod accurate landmark merely alongsite the accurate housing, the accurate woven bin and accurate wooden fences. Which ironicaly makes me feel more in that historical timeperiod when watching Tarantino because I can connect to the characters more and them beeing more believable fellow human beeings.