{"id":16592,"date":"2021-04-01T17:30:08","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T21:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/?p=16592"},"modified":"2021-03-31T22:52:33","modified_gmt":"2021-04-01T02:52:33","slug":"weird-and-wonderful-director-spotlight-robert-eggers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/2021\/04\/01\/weird-and-wonderful-director-spotlight-robert-eggers\/","title":{"rendered":"Weird and Wonderful: Director Spotlight — Robert Eggers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Robert Eggers may only have two feature films under his belt, but he is one of the most exciting filmmakers on the rise. Despite only being 37 years old, he has already received numerous awards, and his films have been well received by critics and audiences alike. Prior to filmmaking, Eggers began his career as a theatrical director and designer in New York. He transitioned to film production in 2009, and served as production designer for 16 films. As soon as he took the plunge and made his directorial debut, he took the horror genre by storm.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many people, myself included, have credited Eggers for ushering in the return of arthouse horror to the masses. <\/span>His films masterfully blend history and myth with an overwhelming sense of dread.<\/span> Paranoia, madness, and isolation are the true horror that plagues the human mind, and Eggers\u2019 films <\/span>The Witch <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>The Lighthouse <\/span><\/i>are proof that no era is free from these terrors.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Witch <\/i><\/b>(2015)<\/b><\/p>\n

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I stand by my belief that <\/span>The Witch <\/span><\/i>is quite possibly the strongest directorial debut of the 2010s. Inspired by his childhood in New England and a long standing interest in witches, Eggers\u2019 2015 period horror film is a portrait of Puritan fear in 17th century America. Then-unknown Anya Taylor-Joy stars as Thomasin, the oldest daughter of an English settler family recently banished from their colony. Already the scapegoat of the family, two of her siblings disappear and the remaining two accuse her of witchcraft. Life escalates into a nightmare as her parents William (Ralph Ineson) and Katherine (Kate Dickie) fall deeper into their religious fear and paranoia.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eggers performed extensive research to achieve the film\u2019s historical accuracy. Costume designer Linda Muir created costumes with materials used at the time, and Eggers hired carpenters to build a historically correct house for the set. At some points, it\u2019s genuinely hard to understand what is being said due to the historically correct accents used by the actors, especially for William. The meticulous detail thoroughly impressed and entertained me. I was fully enveloped in the world, which made the ending all the more chilling. If not for the witchcraft, this film could be a 16th century slice of life. However, the power of witchcraft consumes these settlers’ lives, testing their faith in God and each other. The ominous and sometimes graphic depictions of this power kept me hooked through the film’s menacing conclusion.<\/span><\/p>\n