Arjun’s review published on Letterboxd:
interesting folk horror setting with a pretty eerie atmosphere, the horror is always lingering even if isn't clear but this again is really just too dependent on it's atmosphere to lure the viewers in which has worked for me with several films but this one really takes time for it to get actually investing, there are some great specific few scenes but everything in between is just tedious to sit through.
props to eggers for his work behind the camera though for what it's worth and the production design is also great + i also really like it's critique on patriarchy and religion....the problem however is that i don't care for any characters here even though i'm interested in what it's trying to say but seeing puritans talking in accents for the entire runtime is boring as fuck and i get that the point is to criticize that exact thing but it's still dull as hell, none of this is to suggest that this is bad, i quite like (and much prefer) eggers second feature The Lighthouse so naturally i admire the craft and this has enough good qualities for me to not dislike it but even so it didn't quite work for me personally.
PS: the setting of the film sort of reminded me of a much better (and a personal favourite) film - The Village and if you know me....you know i never shut up about that movie but the similiarities mostly boil down to the idea of something in the woods and I do realise they're vastly different films thematically but i couldn't shake the feeling that i could've been watching that instead.
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