Since 2014’s The Witch, a string of similar films has made their way through festival circuits and theaters across the nation. Gwen, originally premiering in 2018 but put out on VOD this year, caught my eye when I came across an article linking it to those such movies. In a rural Welsh village, teenage Gwen, her mother, and her younger sister wait for their father to get back from war while trying to continue their daily farm lives. But the longer he is gone, the more dark and sinister acts seem to befall the farm.
Gwen is a beautiful film, plain and simple. With autumn air so crisp you can smell it, and fireplaces so cozy you feel at home in their home, Gwen and her family are instantly characters we feel for. It’s truly a highlight of this film, as with other “elevated horror” movies. And I think the story pairs well with the scenery. I’d have to agree that Gwen’s tone is very similar to The Witch (sorry, it’s hard not to compare the two), but I’d also throw in a little bit of It Comes at Night. Without giving anything away, we have a tough time distinguishing between grim omens and very real threats from townsfolk. We don’t know who to trust, and who is doing their part to help or hinder. In this way, we are put into Gwen’s shoes and left to figure this out ourselves. But it’s all for naught in the end — we all know what happens to old-timey witches, or those that are thought to be one.
While there weren’t necessarily any jump scares or overt loud noises, we do feel an ever-growing eeriness. Suspense is at work here as Gwen protects her sister from the evils of the outside world and, eventually, her increasingly mad mother. Gwen is being forced to grow up and atone for her family’s sins.
There are fanciful dream sequences, brutal animal deaths, and some questionable actions that make you wonder if all of this is for real. And though we’re playing an eternal guessing game, it doesn’t distract from how fascinating Gwen is. At no point did I feel angry with the back and forth with talk of magic and witches. If anything, it made me want to watch more — by the end of the film, I wished there was a part two so I could continue the story.
Gwen certainly follows in the footsteps of other elevated pieces, and that’s not a bad thing. The filmmakers took the best parts from other works and put them together to make this. If you’re not a fan of slow burns, this may not be for you. But if you like suspense, moodiness, and witches curses, you’ll leave Gwen feeling satisfied.
