Rent Mark of the Witch (2014)

Spoilers follow ... - Mark of the Witch review by NP

Paulie Rojas stars as Jordyn, a delicate young orphan celebrating her 18th birthday. This celebration opens up a journey of apparent demonic possession as Jordyn attempts to learn the truth about the mother who abandoned her all those years ago.

The very stylised slow-motion imagery and set-pieces contain some eerie moments, such as glimpses of a hooded figure watching Jordyn as the chemists where she works, but the onslaught of further jaunts into the supernatural threaten to become tediousness because of their determination not to progress the narrative in any way.

I love films that strive to do something different to tell a familiar story. I am also very fond of certain ‘arthouse’ films. ‘Mark of the Witch’ ticks both of those boxes, but unfortunately soon becomes dull viewing, with a plethora of threatening predictions directed towards Jordyn. Jason Bognacki deserves kudos for his immersive directional skills, and whilst I embrace the fact that arty films such as this dwell more on style than substance, his script for this might have benefitted from a few more actual incidents rather than a relentless see of beautiful looking obfuscation.