[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

MARK OF THE WITCH (the new one, not the old one) – Looking for a few cheap thrills and a story line you can really relate to? You'll roll your eyes at this one. Made by people whose only reference points can possibly be The Three Mothers trilogy, Inland Empire and a Jess Franco box set, 'Mark Of The Witch' clearly don't give a f*ck about character driven narrative. What it does give f!ck about are visuals. 'Mark of the Witch' is basically a slew of images, some of which are related enough to hint at a story. The majority are filmed in that saturated but gauzy look which is the arch-signifier of 'arty and dream-like'. I'm exaggerating, a bit, and there is a plot, sort of. Young Jordyn is celebrating her 18th birthday (just an aside, but she looks about thirty) when her aunt / guardian whoever stabs herself in the stomach, proclaiming “it is time”. Later transpires “it is time” for Jordyn's mother, who is a powerful witch, to reincarnate herself through Jordyn (or something). Cue lots of sequences of Jordyn looking scared, or acting out of character, or warding off possession, or some weird shit. 'Mark of the Witch' has attracted some really negative reviews which unfortunately speak more of the short sightedness of some 'fans' than the shortcomings of this film. As an experience, the film will absolutely frustrate viewers who demand nothing other than straightforward genre fare, but for those more into imagery and surrealism it's an interesting proposition, and I do recommend it though it's not entirely flawless. There are shifts of tone which often occur when, for example, a convincingly 'seventies' haze gives way to intrusions of crude CGI – couldn't work out whether this was intentional, but it was certainly grating to look at. Also, given its ambitions to shaft the rule book and go all trippy, it could've been a bit more elaborate with its imagery. And it's repetitive and a bit smug. But then, so am I.

Frankie, is this the Mark of the Witch to which (ahem) you refer?

I wasn't sure as B_E confused me by saying he'd seen it a couple of years ago as it's only just come out i think. Maybe he was referring to the 70's film.