“The Witch” Conjuring up Controversy

Want an authentic horror experience? How about watching a film endorsed by The Satanic Temple itself?

Maybe 10 years ago it might have been very, very different, but in a more accepting world, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. Take for example The Witch, a 2015 Sundance film that’s catapulted from its indie genre to become a favorite among critics and classic horror filmgoers alike. Even The Satanic Temple have stepped forward to give film studio A24 the “evil” thumbs up.  Making the film even more controversial, The Satanic Temple feels that The Witch is an invitation for a satanic uprising versus bigoted superstitions in a new era of unfettered inquiry and liberation.

So, why is the renowned bastion of Satanism declaring its love for the movie? Jex Blackmore,the national spokesperson for The Satanic Temple, has a lot to say. The fact that the plot of the movie centers around a patriarchy steeped in Christian tradition has a lot of holes in it, or that a lead female figure in a male-driven society is a rich plot in itself. The Witch is all about a teenage girl, one whose family thinks she’s a supernatural being; as horror films go, this almost certainly does not end well.

An interesting factoid is that A24 themselves called The Satanic Temple’s attention to how their film could be considered a “point of interest”. The studio even let the group host a screening or two, replete with rituals performed after the show ended. How did their perennial rival, Christian culture respond to this interesting endorsement? With little publicity, it seems. That, or until the mainstream gets ahold of the film and gives it a viral property. The churches have been keeping mum about boycotting pop culture in particular, and have concentrated more on tending to their own flock, reminding them about the dangers of consuming these types of content.

That being said, horror fans can sit back and watch The Witch deliver a “satanic experience”.

NOTE: Jex Blackmore claims she is not in league with the devil, and even goes so far as to say that the biblical Satan does not exist, instructing Christians: “To those Christians whose minds are enslaved by biblical mythology we say: Don’t waste your prayers on us.” Christian Post