The Love Witch

This is a difficult one to review because it isn't really a horror. There's nothing scary about it and I can understand that a lot of geeks out there rejected this throwback to the sixties early seventies.

If you watch it in that perspective then you will like this a lot because the way the cinematography was done is clearly an ode to those days. In fact, the score, the editing, the lighting, the colour grading the way of acting and speaking, it's all done in a sixties style. Maybe for some clocking in at two hours is way too long for some and I can understand that because it's all talking and talking. But it do offers some 'magick' when the witches arrive. It's so beautifully done and it all looks like a real coven. The nudity, the rituals, everything.

So if you are into witchcraft then this is one to pick up. If you are into very old horrors with talking and talking it's your stuff. If you think you are going to see gore or even red stuff, forget it.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 1,5/5 Effects 0/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5

I dont think i would ever expect to see a movie made in 2016 to feel like it was shot in the 60s. Even the quality of the movie felt like i was watching a movie from 40 50 years ago. I don't know a lot about witchtcraft and i've never been really interested in that but i really loved the atmosphere and the visuality of the film. The cafe where they went to drink tea was my favorite location for sure, it was like a fairy tale. I think there was a lot of remarks about feminism. If i look at the story of the film i couldn't really get Elaine's story and the movie didn't really get to the point. I couldn't figure out Elaine's emotions towards the men she was with especially to Wayne. And the scene with her and Wayne in his house was unnecessarily long. But overall it was visually satisfying. I wont recommend people to watch it for the plot tho. The acting was not so great either except the british girl. But afterall you watch b-movies for their weirdness,right?

I fully appreciate the *look* of this movie, for starters. It's got the sheen of a late-60s/early-70s thriller mashed with an Italian giallo, minus all the blood and gore. It's very fab. And the performances, particularly by lead Samantha Robinson, are fantastic. Even the makeup deserves quite a bit of praise, it's so on point. Everything seems to be in place and just so, except for the plot. The surreal air that envelops the proceedings masks a fairly pedestrian plot, that of a witch who cast spells in order to find her true love, with the help of her cult, er, fellow witches, some of whom are routinely naked. Like I said, the movie has all the feel of a period piece, but there just isn't much there, and after a while the viewer may become as bored as I did. Which is unfortunate, given the level of effort and talent.

The Love Witch is Anna Biller's second feature film and my first time watching any of her works. The film is artistically spectacular - Costumes, shot making, colours, dialogue delivery - and original in scope. Biller commits to her genre (classic horror) and period-look (mid-sixties to early seventies, think "I Dream of Jeannie" or "Bewitched") and uses satire to turn the patriarchy on its head. It's a lot to try to accomplish in two hours. The film isn't without a few flaws. Sometimes the script is too thick and the pacing too slow, but overall, The Love Witch distinctively shines. Biller has a lot of promise as a director.

It´s been said, "The Love Witch" is technically brilliant. The imitation of older genre films is perfect. It´s not only the visuals, the scenery or the costumes, the sound design is just as good and every single character seems to be taken from another era. Even transitions from scene to scene are excellent. Anna Biller has a complete understanding of the movies she wants to emulate. It´s almost witchcraft.

From a feminist standpoint, it isnt´t subtle. I´m not sure if it should be taken entirely serious. I find it deceitully simple, though, and quite clever but it does at times seem taken from another era as well. The truth is i don´t get it completely. This film, feminist or not, is certainly feminine. The most feminine film I´ve ever seen. It´s a woman´s art, a woman´s idea, a woman´s everything. It´s absolutely drowning in estrogen.

The question is, if "The Love Witch" was actually a late 60s film would it be any good? I have no idea but I´m guessing it´s irrelevant. Revivalism is a crucial element. It uses older esthetics to prove a point now. The comedy works better in a 21st century context. It might be too long and slow, I´d recommend watching it in the morning, not a popular time to watch movies but a lot films work better that way, and this is definitely one of them.