The Noonday Witch
Directed by Jiri Sadek, Matej Chlupacek, Michal Samir
After her husband commits suicide, guilt-ridden Eliska hides what happened from her daughter Anetka and moves them out to a small village in the Czech countryside. When Anetka discovers the truth, it attracts a mythical witch who soon threatens to tear mother from daughter forever. A stunningly shot and severely scary example of the too-rare “Daylight horror” subgenre, NOONDAY WITCH is a must for fans of THE BABADOOK, UNDER THE SHADOW and STILL/BORN.
A mythical witch comes for a widowed mother and her young daughter.
Cast: Anna Geislerova, Karolina Lipowska
Member Reviews
An effectively chilling exploration of unresolved grief with folk horror atmospherics, all the more interesting for its sun-drenched setting, and anchored by excellent performances by Anna Geislerova and Karolina Lipowska as mother and daughter. Not the one if you're looking for action and gore, but very rewarding as a thoughtful, quietly frightening character study.
really good visuals
Dumbest fucking movie I’ve ever watched
It was a miss for me. Every time the movie started to amp up in any sort of action, it cut to another scene, leaving it feeling flat. I think it could have been an excellent folk horror about a witch, but there was no history or background explaining any of it, and again, it just cut to other scenes, so you never got much out of the current story either. I see the panic in terms of a mother's fear of losing her child, but that's all it really was. A mother's possibly hysterical fears, so you never were sure of how much was real and how much was her losing her mind over isolation, paranoia, grief, trauma, lack of finances, and sleep deprivation. So, for the very slow build-up, there's not much in horror or a conclusion. No need to watch it a second time.
Posted a review on here ages ago which appears not have uploaded....weird. From what I can remember this was beautiful and haunting with an ominous and disturbing visual style that pummels you on a visceral level. Elements like the church bell are 'recurring childhood nightmare' worthy and there are feminist social commentaries here which are vital to address in today's world.