The 2015 independent horror film set in 1630s New England and following a Puritan family is The Witch. Its full promotional title is often styled as The VVitch: A New-England Folktale, and it was written and directed by Robert Eggers.
The story follows William and Katherine, who leave a Puritan settlement with their children after a religious dispute and establish a farm beside a dark forest. When their infant son disappears, the family’s isolation, fear, religious beliefs, and suspicion begin to tear them apart. Anya Taylor-Joy plays their eldest daughter, Thomasin.
Eggers drew on period folklore, religious writings, and historical accounts to recreate the worldview of 17th-century New England. The dialogue uses archaic language, and the film’s production design emphasizes historically grounded clothing, tools, architecture, and domestic life.
The Witch is sometimes confused with The Crucible because both involve Puritan New England and accusations of witchcraft. The Crucible, however, is a 1996 historical drama adapted from Arthur Miller’s play about the Salem witch trials, while The Witch is a fictional folk-horror story set decades earlier.