We’ve had plenty of sequels, remakes, and found footage—but for my money, the most thrilling new horror films are the ones with their own distinct sense of style. That’s why I’m pumped for The Witch, which is set in New England 30 years before the Salem trials and looks both terrifying and gorgeous.
Below, you’ll find a brand-new trailer for writer-director Robert Eggers’ homespun yet sinister feature—which won the first-time helmer a Best Director Prize at last year’s Sundance Film Festival. Here’s a synopsis, too:
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.
In addition to that cute, probably Satanic little goat, you’ll note The Witch co-stars the excellent Kate Dickey (Prometheus, Game of Thrones’ Lysa Arryn) as the embattled family’s matriarch.
The Witch will be out February 19.