When an English farmer and his family move away from civilization to a remote plot of land on the edge of an ominous forest – witchcraft, black magic and possession immediately becomes their future struggle. Directed by Robert Eggers, The Witch is a terrifying new horror film, which will now haunt theaters sooner than expected.

A24 revealed today that The Witch will now hit theaters nationwide on February 19, 2016, a week earlier than its original release date. In addition, a fresh new trailer for the film will terrify viewers next Tuesday, and we’ll be sure to embedded it on Yell! Magazine once it’s available.

The Witch stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger, and Lucas Dawson. It premiered to great acclaim at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival — winning the Best Director Prize in the U.S. Narrative Competition.

There is evil in the wood and it’s almost time to let it out! Robert Eggers’ unsettling debut feature, The Witch, is going to be unleashed on February 26th, 2016, courtesy of A24 Films.

The chilling new horror film, which was very well received at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year – winning the Best Director Prize in the U.S. Narrative Competition – earned the director a shot to pen and helm the remake of F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu. That’s right! The Witch was so terrifyingly great that Studio 8 producers are confident Eggers can deliver all the goods in the remake to one of the most highly regarded horror films in history that’s still effectively eerie to this day.

The Witch stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger, and Lucas Dawson. If you missed the official trailer, you can check it out right here.

About The Witch

New England, 1630. Upon threat of banishment by the church, an English farmer leaves his colonial plantation, relocating his wife and five children to a remote plot of land on the edge of an ominous forest — within which lurks an unknown evil. Strange and unsettling things begin to happen almost immediately — animals turn malevolent, crops fail, and one child disappears as another becomes seemingly possessed by an evil spirit. With suspicion and paranoia mounting, family members accuse teenage daughter Thomasin of witchcraft, charges she adamantly denies. As circumstances grow more treacherous, each family member’s faith, loyalty and love become tested in shocking and unforgettable ways.

Synopsis: New England, 1630: William and Katherine lead a devout Christian life, homesteading on the edge of an impassible wilderness, with five children. When their newborn son mysteriously vanishes and their crops fail, the family begins to turn on one another.

The film premiered in January at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim, and was acquired by A24 Films for a 2016 theatrical release. Now, Canadians will get its first screening treatment for The Witch next month at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), which runs from September 10–20, 2015.

Due to the success of The Witch at Sundance, Eggers second feature film will be the remake of F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu, which he is set to write and direct.

Enjoy the trailer folks and spread the word!

Pre-order Witches here.

When I first found out One-Eyed Doll, a gothic punk duo out of Texas, created an entire concept album entitled Witches I was entirely excited. My excitement waned a little once I found out the album was about the Salem Witch Trials (easily the least exciting ones throughout history), but, regardless, my historical buff muscles popped out of my brain and dove right in.

The sound of Witches fits in what I think about music. Drummer Junior Swell stated that the album has a bit of a “forest metal vibe,” and he could not be more spot on. “Ember” starts off the album with a groove that would fit the girls of Salem dancing in the forest, igniting the album’s thick guitars and eccentric drums. Upon an immediate stop “Prayer” enters the mix with mandolins and strings, almost in direct contrast to the heavy song before it. The folk atmosphere helps drive home the mysterious nature of witches, and in this case the album.

In terms of the concept, anyone who has read the direct manuscripts from the trials and journals of the people involved will recognize some of the lyrics. This is because Kimberly Freeman, vocalist and guitarist took many of the lines from the trial documents. Songs focus on the different people involved and how/why they let the trials go as they went.

Sonically the music is mixed and performed very well. “Remember” is an introspective symphony of blended instruments, “More Weight” is a quick-paced punk anthem and “Witch Hunt” is a Gothic piece that could find its way into a Tim Burton movie. All of the various influences shine in their own way, creating a fun album from beginning to end that not only tells a story, but it establishes just how creative One Eyed Doll are.

Being only three episodes into the first season of Salem, the series appears to be a home run with fans, leading WGN America to officially renew it for a second season.

Salem, a series based on the real Salem witch trials that took place in 17th century Massachusetts, will have 13 new episodes in 2015 with production expected to begin on the episodes later this year. If you haven’t started watching Salem, you can quickly catch up right now before Season 1 ends in a few weeks, or watch the full season trailer below to get an idea of the show to see if it sparks an interest for you.

The next episode of Salem is titled “Survivors” and will air on May 11th, it stars Janet Montgomery, Shane West, and Seth Gabel.

About Salem

Set in the volatile world of 17th century Massachusetts, Salem explores what really fueled the town’s infamous witch trials and dares to uncover the dark, supernatural truth hiding behind the veil of this infamous period in American history. In Salem, witches are real, but they are not who or what they seem. The show, which centers on an epic romance wrapped around this explosive revelation, delivers a bold new vision of Salem — and an even bolder new vision of witches.

I’m not sure who forgot every 10 seconds that they’d already used the “flashing the image (or 2 images) really fast over and over” technique, but they did it 5 times in this trailer. I know that modern horror trailers are extremely fond of looking like a View-Master that you’re clicking through really fast, and of ending every single clip with a musical “BOOM” to let us know that whatever words are coming next (usually something like “…is FEAR”) are super fucking important, but it’s old at this point. These aren’t poor jump scares that need a crashing sound to improve them. These are images that you’ve shown us for about a second, images that have made their presence known, and now you’re just turning them into a flipbook. Sorry. A spooooookkkyyy flipbook.

That said, I’m looking forward to this series. While some of the shots look like background sets from Xena: Warrior Princess, I think, with the proper amount of seriousness, there could be some really cool stuff here. They have enough dudes with requisite facial hair to corner the Game of Thrones market for a little bit, and we all love a good Silent Hill-esque girl with a weird insanity mask on.

Salem premieres on Sunday, April 20th, at 10p/9c.