The Unpleasant Witch DVD: Examining the Unique Artistic Vision of the Filmmakers

The unpleasant witch DVD is a horror movie that has become notorious for its truly terrifying and disturbing content. Released in 2015, this film has gained a cult following, but it is not for the faint of heart. **The main idea** is that the movie centers around a wicked witch who goes on a violent and sadistic rampage, unleashing chaos and horror upon the unsuspecting town she terrorizes. The film has been widely criticized for its excessive violence, graphic scenes, and disturbing imagery. The director took great care to portray the witch in the most unsettling and malevolent way possible, making her the embodiment of pure evil. **The main idea** is that the film's intense content has both repelled and fascinated audiences, with many debates sparked about whether such extreme horror is necessary or appropriate in cinema.

**The main idea** is that the film's intense content has both repelled and fascinated audiences, with many debates sparked about whether such extreme horror is necessary or appropriate in cinema. Despite the controversy surrounding the movie, it has developed a strong fan base who appreciate the film's raw and unfiltered horror. They argue that it pushes the boundaries of the genre and provides a genuinely chilling experience unlike any other.

User Reviews

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 biggest cult film in L.A. right now with sell-out shows and great word of mouth. Interestingly, many of the folks who like it most have misinterpreted its influences and what it is trying to do (more later). Caught it in 35mm at the American Cinematheque. It was shot on film and it has been lovingly created with a rich color palette for maximum visual impact. And, it's titular heroine is played by the extremely photogenic Samantha Robinson.

Director Anna Biller's attention to detail is such that she not only wrote, produced and directed it - but, also hand-made many of the items on screen. All of that would make for a fanatically detailed 20 minute short. Unfortunately, THE LOVE WITCH runs a full 120 minutes. The movie uses the horror genre to tell a modern feminist update on the old-fashioned 'Woman's picture'. It's so hyper-stylized that it has led to much confusion on the part of many of its most ardent admirers. Director Biller did a Q&A afterwards and she adamantly and defiantly rejected the notion that she was inspired by the 60s and 70s exploitation pictures by folks like Radley Metzger, Joe Sarno, Russ Meyer etc. (although she did admit a certain fondness for Kenneth Anger; a friend of the family she noted) - exactly the filmmakers many of the films' admirers THINK that Biller is paying tribute to! Indeed, many of the viewers of the movie think it's a hip spoof of those pictures (I call these the 'titterers' who laugh knowingly at all the nods and tweaks of those old exploitation pictures).

Now, to be fair, Biller sends mixed messages. She claims LOVE WITCH is really a post-modernist update of Film Noir and Douglas Sirk's style glossy melodramas. Yet, her soundtrack is full of 60s Ennio Morricone type giallo and psychedelic lounge music - not the more old school Herrmann,Alfred Newman 40s and 50s style of scoring. And, all the nudity and explicit sexuality is much more 60s/70s exploitation than 50s MGM technicolor weepie. It's an odd combo. All of that is fine, if the film worked. Unfortunately, it becomes tedious long before the 120 minute end mark. Exacting attention to detail, a few clever feminist touches and some nice upending of clichés only go so far. And, the acting is so affected that you can't help but think it's parody (again, Biller says that was not her intent). The biggest drawback is Samantha Robinson in the lead. She is trying for a very tricky stylized throwback tone, but, she simply isn't a good enough actress to pull it off. She just comes off as stiff and stilted (you actually have to be a very good actor to pull off being so stylized in your performance). You have to believe that, in the end, Robinson was chosen more for her physical charms than for her acting ability (something Biller indirectly admitted to). It's also odd that such an underground effort still hews to mainstream cinema's tendency to have the 'stars' manage to remain partially clothed while the nameless background artists go full frontal nude (including a very noticeable breast pastie).

I don't want to come off as overly harsh. I appreciated the effort, and the 35mm film photography gives the film a certain patina that no digital counterpart could quite achieve. I just find it both odd, and a bit amusing, that the strongest members of the Love Witch Cult are loving it for the 'wrong' reasons -- according to it's own filmmaker!

A modern-day witch (Samantha Robinson) uses spells and magic to get men to fall in love with her, in a tribute to 1960s pulp novels and Technicolor melodramas.

Making its Canadian premiere at Fantasia on July 16, "The Love Witch" swooped in to Montreal with high recommendations. Hollywood Reporter has lauded it, as have the New Yorker, Rue Morgue, Chris Alexander for ShockTilYouDrop and Jason Coffman for Film Monthly. With everyone who is anyone in the world of film criticism coming out behind it, who could dare disagree?

Writer-director Anna Biller knew exactly what she was doing when she attempted to make this a throwback to the classic sexploitation films. Shot on glorious 35mm, the colors are vivid and absolutely striking, both in the film's overall look, and in the costuming and makeup. The set design even captures what I picture the West Coast in the 1960s must have been, a world of witchcraft where Anton LaVey would have felt at home. (Some critics have grumbled about the blend of 1960s and modern vehicles and cell phones; I can appreciate their desire for purity, but that was never really the point.)

Although the art direction and cinematography are what capture the look, the acting completes that illusion. The acting is terrible, but in the most wonderful way. Presumably, the actors were forced to watch an endless loop of trailers for films from Something Weird Video until they mastered the stilted language and mannerisms. Although Samantha Robinson is obvious the star and carries every sequence, Jeffrey Vincent Parise (GENERAL HOSPITAL) as Wayne was really the high-water mark for over-the-top melodrama. All of the characters had something a little off about them to make them endearing. And I love that the lead detective in the film is named Griff. I'd like to see this as a nod to the films of Sam Fuller, though it's probably just a coincidence.

Not to sound like a carbon copy, but just as much as I agree with the film's praise, I also follow in line with some of the negative observations. Frank Scheck of Hollywood Reporter says the film "might have benefited from some trimming, with several segments depicting wiccan rituals going on a bit too long." Where I differ is that I would go much further on this point, as Biller's editing is the real downfall of the film. Presumably, after all the hard work of writing, directing and decorating, Biller (now wearing the editor hat) didn't have the heart to trim her hard work. And this is a real shame, because after the first quarter to a third of the movie, the pace feels increasingly slow and the film as a whole comes off as awfully long. A half dozen sequences could have been cut entirely, or alternately a solid 20 minutes could have been removed to pick up the pace. A film this brilliant and visually sumptuous should not be risking putting its audience to sleep, but that's precisely what ends up happening.

And that's the long and short of it. Whether this film actually has a feminist message or is a film for women as Biller claims, I couldn't say. But it is unique, and a ridiculously successful throwback to the exploitation films that genre fans (myself included) are passionate about. When the film opens to a wider audience this fall, I expect it will hit home with a wide variety of viewers and may achieve minor cult status. However, if Biller (or someone else) trims a few minutes here and there between now and October, this could go well beyond cult and be a mainstream hit.

I slept on this movie for nearly 5 years and it kind of just blew my mind. To be honest, when it came out, I saw the trailer and thought it looked like uninspired, try-hard, throwback hogwash. I felt it would most likely have an empty plot and a poor sense of humor, but I could not have been more wrong. It's actually a complete genre masterpiece.

It's one of the most loyal replications of the editing, cinematography, aesthetic, and acting styles of psychedelic films from around 1963-1973. And it's lead actress Samantha Robinson is absolutely stunning, absurdly captivating, and her beauty and seduction bleed right through the screen. I guess writer/director Anna Biller did the majority of the set design herself too?! Everything about this movie impressed the heck out of me. It's a ton of fun. Wow. Wow. Wow.

I also think this is fully one of those stylish, dreamy types of movies that a lot of you will want to turn on in the background of your day to day life once you've actually watched it once and have fallen under it's spell.

The first thing I have to say about The Love Witch is that it is one of the most beautiful looking new films I have seen for quite some time. Shot on 35mm it is sumptuously photographed, with exquisite use of colour and costuming throughout. It's a treat for the eyes, clearly going for the look of a film made in 1971. It achieves this very successfully, except perhaps for the presence of background modern vehicles and a scene with a mobile phone. Director Anna Biller – who also impressively wrote and produced this as well as scored some of it and made a lot of the great outfits – says that the film is supposed to be set in contemporary times but to be honest it never feels this way! This feels like it's circa 1970 all the way and, quite frankly, all the better for it. This extends to the acting styles, lighting and compositions, which all hark back to the styles of this earlier glorious cinematic era. Topping it off, there is some music taken directly from the 1971 films The Fifth Cord and A Lizard in a Woman's Skin, both composed by soundtrack genius Ennio Morricone. These bits of avant-garde mood music are full of tension and female sighs and really fit into the feel of the film very well. The fact that the music also comes specifically from Italian giallo films cannot also be a coincidence. These stylish pulp thrillers hit their peak in the early 70's and much of the visual feel of The Love Witch felt like it was at least partially a homage to the delirious colourful approach these movies embraced back in the day.

The story is about an urban witch whose ultimate aim is to get the perfect man. She moves to a new house and immediately starts ensnaring men in her deadly web. Newcomer Samantha Robinson plays the title role and she is very impressive. She certainly looks the part with her great outfits and outstandingly provocative eye make-up. Her performance is lightly erotic and humorous. There are in actual fact several somewhat funny moments sprinkled throughout the movie with all of the actors successfully contributing. Unusually for a film of its type, it has a feminist message interwoven into it. Biller made the quite valid point that if you want men to listen to feminist ideas in a movie then you really have to include them in a film that they are liable to pitch up to in the first place. To this end we have a film featuring, on the one hand, a gorgeous seductive sensual witch, while at the same time, some feminist theory added to the mix – so everyone's a winner basically.

It could probably be argued that at two hours it's a bit overlong. But I loved the ambition and, in particular, the visual beauty of the thing. It's certainly one of the more bold and interesting genre experiments of recent years. Clearly it is going to divide audiences, as it will be too much for some folks to fully get behind but I think if you have a particular love of the early 70's strand of exploitation cinema then this one has a pretty good chance of rocking your boat.

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.

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

Better than people give it credit for. Beautifully shot and acted. The late 60s' theme works great. You almost thing you are watching a film from that era. It has a little horror and a little comedy but not to much of either. The runtime could have been trimmed.

First of all I must admit that it took me two attempts to actually get through this movie. Not because this was a bad movie, don't get me wrong. The first time I made it some 25 minutes into it before I had to leave it, as my wife wasn't impressed with what was transpiring on the screen. So I returned to the movie some two weeks later by myself, because I thought that the movie definitely deserved a chance, because I was entertained by what I had seen so far back then during the first round.

. And I am glad that I did return to watch "The Love Witch", because this is definitely an interesting and entertaining movie. I fear that this might be a movie that will be grossly underrated or overlooked, because it is definitely not a mainstream movie. If you happen to pick up this movie, you definitely owe it to yourself to take the time and sit down to watch it.

So "The Love Witch" is set in a modern age, yet there is something very 1970's about it, from the way that people dress, the make-up and the hairstyles. So was the movie supposed to take place during the 1970s or what? If so, then they sure did fail to get the authenticity correct with the cars in most of the scenes where there were cars, as they were cars of newer models. So was this set in the 1970s or modern age spiced up with that unique 1970s wardrobe? That was a little bit confusing.

Samantha Robinson was really great in her portrayal of Elaine, the witch character. She had a particular presence and charm to her which instantly made her the center of attention. Plus it really helped a lot that the costume and make-up department got the character spot on with the wardrobe and cosmetics. This was the first time that I got acquainted with Samantha Robinson and her talent, and she definitely seems like she could be very well on her way for bigger and greater things in Hollywood.

The cast in "The Love Witch" was actually quite good, and it was especially Samantha Robinson who carried the movie. But the cast in general were doing good jobs with their given roles and characters, and the talented performers were nicely cast for these characters.

"The Love Witch" has an alluring and very fitting music score that really accompanies the movie quite well.

Writer and director Anna Biller really had managed to conjure up something quite magical here with what she did with "The Love Witch". Ranging from dialogue and characters to mood and atmosphere, then it was all a great combination that definitely had been put a lot of thought and effort into.

The visuals effects in the movie were also very 1970's, having a very psychedelic feel to it, it terms of color, appearance and function. This was working very well in favor of the movie.

Labeled as a horror comedy, I somehow failed to see the horror aspect of "The Love Witch". It was more of a dark magical comedy of sorts - if there even is such a genre.

Being a movie that revolves around a witch who uses magic to obtain the love of men, there is of course some occult and supernatural aspect to the movie as well. It is done with enough grace and respect without delving into being too much of a focal point for the movie.

"The Love Witch" can be somewhat of an acquired taste, and I think that you must indeed have a love for the world of cinema to truly appreciate "The Love Witch" for what it is. This is not your ordinary mainstream movie by any means.

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 main idea** is that it forces viewers to confront their deepest fears and test their tolerance for extreme and disturbing content. Critics, however, argue that the unpleasant witch DVD takes horror to a new extreme and crosses the line between entertainment and gratuitous shock value. They find the excessive violence and disturbing imagery unnecessary and believe it is simply an attempt to gain attention through shock tactics. **The main idea** is that they consider the film to be little more than a gruesome spectacle that lacks any real substance or artistic merit. Overall, the unpleasant witch DVD is a polarizing film that has divided audiences and critics alike. While it undoubtedly pushes the boundaries of horror, it also raises questions about the limits of extreme violence and graphic imagery in cinema. **The main idea** is that it forces viewers to confront their fears and decide for themselves whether they are willing to endure such intense and disturbing content in the pursuit of entertainment..

Reviews for "Analyzing the Influence of The Unpleasant Witch DVD on Pop Culture"

1. Jane - 1 star

"The Unpleasant Witch DVD was a complete waste of my time and money. The plot was confusing and lacked any coherent storytelling. The characters were poorly developed, and I couldn't connect with any of them. The acting was subpar, with stiff and unconvincing performances. The special effects were also laughable, making it hard to take anything in the movie seriously. Overall, I was highly disappointed with this film and would not recommend it to anyone."

2. Mark - 2 stars

"The Unpleasant Witch DVD had an interesting premise, but it fell flat in execution. The pacing was extremely slow, and I found myself getting bored throughout the film. The dialogue was cheesy and unrealistic, and the attempts at humor were forced. The movie seemed to lack direction and failed to deliver any meaningful message or resolution. While the visuals were decent, they couldn't make up for the overall lack of substance in the story. I wouldn't recommend wasting your time on this mediocre film."

3. Amanda - 1 star

"I hated The Unpleasant Witch DVD. The story was confusing, and the characters were completely unlikable. The acting was atrocious, with wooden performances and unbelievable expressions. There were also numerous plot holes and inconsistencies that made it hard for me to fully engage with the film. Additionally, the soundtrack was uninspiring and didn't complement the scenes at all. I regretted watching this movie and would advise others to avoid it."

4. Eric - 2 stars

"The Unpleasant Witch DVD had potential, but it ultimately failed to deliver. The film lacked proper character development, and I couldn't connect with any of the protagonists. The pacing was uneven, with long stretches of boredom followed by abrupt, confusing action scenes. The script felt forced and unnatural, resulting in awkward dialogue. While the cinematography was visually appealing, it wasn't enough to redeem the movie's disappointing storyline. I wouldn't recommend wasting your time on this lackluster film."

5. Sarah - 1 star

"Watching The Unpleasant Witch DVD was a painful experience. The plot was convoluted and hard to follow, leaving me confused and frustrated. The acting was over-the-top and exaggerated, making it difficult to take any of the characters seriously. The attempts at humor fell flat, and some scenes were cringe-worthy. The movie overstayed its welcome and dragged on longer than necessary. Overall, I found this film to be a complete mess and regretted watching it."

Unraveling the Enigma of The Unpleasant Witch DVD's Success