THE WITCH IN THE WINDOW (2018)

Studio:      Shudder
Director:    Andy Mitton
Writer:      Andy Mitton
Producer:  Alex Draper, Andy Mitton, Richard W. King
Stars:     Alex Draper, Charlie Tacker, Arija Bareikis, Greg Naughton, Carol Stanzione

Review Score:

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Summary:

A father and son discover their renovations on a rural Vermont farmhouse strengthen the ghost of a witch who once lived there.

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

Simon picks up his difficult 12-year-old son Finn from his estranged wife Beverly. Simon takes Finn to a remote farmhouse in rural Vermont to help with renovations.

Simon and Finn meet Simon’s electrician neighbor Louis. Louis tells them about the house’s previous owner Lydia, who was rumored to be a witch who killed her husband and son. Lydia died in her chair while looking out of an upstairs window.

Simon and Finn begin hearing odd noises in the walls and briefly experiencing strange visions. Simon and Finn bond by discussing the boy’s issues at home while making repairs.

Lydia’s ghost appears in the chair by the window. Lydia frightens Simon and Finn into fleeing by screaming, “stay.”

Simon and Finn spend the night with Louis and his son. Louis tells Simon that he has seen Lydia’s ghost in the window, which causes him to experience sleepwalking spells, and warns that Simon’s repairs are strengthening Lydia. Simon counters with his belief that he can make the house good again, and admits that he purchased the property hoping to win back Beverly.

The next day, Simon puts Finn on a bus back to Beverly in New York. Simon returns to the house to resume his repair work.

Finn returns to the house claiming that he stepped off the bus as soon as Simon drove away. Although initially upset, Simon and his son reconcile as their bonding continues.

With Finn at his side, Simon takes a phone call from Beverly. Simon becomes terrified when Beverly tells him that Finn arrived safely and is at home with her.

The false Finn becomes Lydia and chases Simon outside. Simon runs to Louis, who tells Simon he is still inside the house.

Simon wakes up on the staircase to exit the house once more. From his car, Simon sees himself pounding on a window inside the house. Lydia suddenly appears in the passenger seat, causing Simon to take the place of his doppelganger inside the house.

Simon runs outside again. Lydia appears to Simon as Beverly. Lydia tells Simon he can either leave and return to his disappointing life or stay and take Lydia’s place, which would set Lydia free. Simon resolves to finish the renovations.

With his mind haunted by Lydia, Simon calls Beverly. Beverly tells him that Finn is having nightmares. Beverly also says she knows Simon hoped to win her back with the house, but she implies she isn’t willing to get back together.

Simon and Lydia look at each other as they sit in adjacent chairs in the window. Simon tells Lydia, “okay.”

Louis comes out of a sleepwalking trance to find himself in front of Simon’s house. Louis looks up to see Simon dead in the chair in the window.

Beverly and Finn arrive at the house following Simon’s funeral. Finn finds a note Simon left for him that reads, “It’s a good house again, if you want it. I haven’t left. I never will.”

Lydia is seen on a street in New York City.

Beverly and Finn decide to move into the house. Finn says goodnight to his father before going to bed. A faint knocking noise comes from the wall.

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Review:

Beverly has reached her wit’s end with the entire post-Trump world, but more specifically with her 12-year-old son Finn. With the onset of adolescence additionally amplifying angst, an incident involving unapproved online access has the boy growing up faster than his estranged parents would prefer.

Finn’s father Simon may have a temporary solution. Simon makes modest money flipping houses and his latest property in rural Vermont could use a second pair of hands to help with renovations. No one else knows it yet, but Simon secretly hopes to win back Beverly by building a new home for their broken family.

In between bouts of bonding and repair work, father and son learn from a neighbor that the falling farmhouse has a haunting history. Rumors whisper of Lydia, a reported witch who murdered her husband and son. Lydia died in a chair while looking out an upstairs window, but some say you can still see her ghost.

Odd noises and strange visions quickly convince Simon and Finn that the tale is true. Lydia’s ghost seemingly strengthens in step with how much healthier Simon makes the house. The witch in the window now forces the fractured father to choose between fixing figurative cracks, or risking much more to fulfill a fading wish.

Writer/director Andy Mitton, flying solo here after collaborating with Jesse Holland on previous features “Yellowbrickroad” and “We Go On” (review here), cuts his films from a similar cloth as Nicholas McCarthy and Mike Flanagan. Economical indie producing builds dread through discipline disinterested in unnecessarily theatrical tactics. Human elements take precedence over supernatural ones, planting core drama in relatable realism where relationships are more important than monsters. His is a strategically stripped style of vaguely dreamy smolder that suits “The Witch in the Window’s” subtle suspense quite well.

The centerpiece story of a frustrated father adjusting to seeing a difficult child in an evolving light mirrors many of “The Babadook’s” themes. If specifically discussing what this movie is “about,” it certainly isn’t the witch’s backstory or the haunted house. Those are only two tools for a more meaningful examination of understanding personal bonds and accepting limitations regarding anyone’s ability to influence them.

Alex Draper terrifically portrays Simon’s struggle with maintaining patience for Finn while trying to downplay his own detrimental despair. Charlie Tacker isn’t as consistently convincing as his son, but enough emotion exists in Tacker’s performance to charge their chemistry, even if the focus on Draper provides most of that spark.

An unobtrusive camera contentedly captures character exchanges in a natural manner, which ably balances occasions when dialogue reads as overly premeditated. Patient shots even back up several steps when the camera creeps too close to an intimate moment. Few cuts. Fewer close-ups. Andy Mitton’s focused direction and Justin Kane’s unfussy cinematography allows actors to authentically express themselves during wide-open interactions, giving the film a uniquely organic feel. That space makes contracted punctuations of tension pop with heartbreak as well as horror.

“The Witch in the Window” regularly works with mild metaphors without being blatant or stoking annoying ambiguity. If you happen to notice the board game hourglass fiddled between Finn’s fingers for instance, there’s a quick chin stroke there for you about time being in short supply. If it doesn’t catch your eye, or doesn’t ring a subconscious bell, no big deal. Recognizing parallels isn’t required to appreciate the story’s second side as a classically framed ghost story.

The movie’s emphasis on grounded moods shouldn’t imply that “The Witch in the Window” doesn’t deal in fear-filled atmosphere. It definitely does in the form of a patina of unease quietly draping over outward normalcy. Mitton’s M.O. merely moves attention toward engaging personality dynamics, then thrusts them into momentarily extraordinary circumstances that challenge those arcs to take action.

Having to draw your own conclusion can complicate the narrative’s ability to connect. Multiple endings also pinch awkwardness into the conclusion. However, its 75-minute runtime and limited frills make “The Witch in the Window” undemanding as an easily accessible exercise in eeriness. Its effectiveness at engineering that unsettling tone enriches the experience as emotionally intriguing entertainment.

Review Score: 75

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