Ghouls On Film Presents The Witch (2015).

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This Samhain we look back on the generations of subversive folk cast out by society, labelled as witches, and consider what witchcraft means today, through an immersive screening of Robert Eggers ‘The Witch’ (2015).

In his feature directorial debut, Eggers explores the ever-relevant repression of women through the story of a puritan family in 17^th Century New England, in a landscape often associated with the historic Salem Witch Trials. Our teenage protagonist, Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy) struggles against religious expectations and the fanatical beliefs of her family, and her rebellion against these ideas slowly leads to the collapse of this small and isolated family unit. Like so many great horror films, the line between reality and fantasy (or nightmare) blends, and the consequences of Thomasin’s embrace of demonic forces soon becomes evident…

This immersive screening of ‘The Witch’ will be dripping in pilgrim glamour, so make sure you get those All Hallows Eve costumes on, because it is time to celebrate the best holiday of the year; Halloween.

Prior to the screening, musicians Aoife O’Reilly and Catriona Gribben will be performing a short set of traditional Irish folk music. The film will then be introduced, with a brief history of witchcraft and folklore, outlining how modern depictions of witchcraft on film project current social anxieties onto the feminine body. This screening will include printed material with original illustrations alongside a brief history of witchcraft for each audience member.

Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?

Black Phillip, The Witch (2015)

Ghouls on Film is a monthly feminist horror film club, showing films that challenge the representations of women within the genre. Expect cult classics, independent releases and rare lesser-known films that explore how women can find agency in the world of horror.

Screening as part of In Dreams Are Monsters: A Season of Horror Films, a UK-wide film season supported by the National Lottery and BFI Film Audience Network.
indreamsaremonsters.co.uk