Set in the wetlands of Georgia, Fairfax Pictures’ newest cinematic collaboration with Regal Cinemas for Black History Month is The Geechee Witch: A Boo Hag Story. The horror movie dives into the folklore of the Gullah people, an African American ethnic group who predominantly live in the lower regions of the US. One of the more fantastical aspects of this heritage is the mythical creature known as the Boo Hag, which sucks the breath or soul out of its unknowing victim. While the person is put into a deep, trance-like sleep filled with haunting dreams, the witch — akin to a vampire of sorts — will gallivant around, mimicking the human and fooling others.
Here, the story revolves around a woman named Leah (Tryphena Wade) and her husband, Asa Robbins (actor Stephen Cofield), who move from their cozy and lavish life in New York City to Asa’s deceased mother’s home in the backwoods of Georgia. Not much time goes by after the mother’s funeral when things start to go bump in the night and Leah begins to suffer from blackouts and nightmares. Only after some deathly close calls and mysterious findings does our main character learn about the legend of the Boo Hag and plan her defenses to fend off the beast. Unfortunately, the disconnected characters who lead The Geechee Witch don’t do the film any favors.
Scenery and Cultural Influence Help The Geechee Witch
The Geechee Witch: A Boo Hag Story
2.5/5
Release Date February 2, 2024
Director Jeremiah Kipp
Cast Tryphena Wade , Nikelola Balogun , Stephen Cofield Jr. , Basil Wallace , Ernestine Johnson
Runtime 88 minutes
Main Genre Horror
Writers J. Craig Gordon , Phoenix Higgins , Jason Walter Short
Pros
- Some great performances
- Impressive, immersive production designs and locations
Cons
- Disjointed dialogue
- Scares don’t often succeed
Within the first ten minutes of Kipp’s latest showing, a sense of trust is developed between the viewer and the camera through the realism of the culture and scenery being depicted. The featured couple arrives at their destination through the use of a riverboat. From a distance, tall and thick forests cover the background, creating an intense feeling of isolation. On top of that, they are then seen entering the property on the back of a pickup truck that is totally enveloped on both sides by these same encroaching trees.
Within the ten-minute introduction, viewers are then treated with another memorable visual in the form of a traditional Gullah funeral process. Those close to the deceased (Asa’s mother) dance and sing around her grave. For as short as this sequence is, this moment of subtly unnerving spookiness is mesmerizing. Scenic detail in all of its various forms, is definitely where The Geechee Witch thrives. While not so subtle, the introduction of a green moss-covered cabin later on in the movie is a testament to this. A very specific kind of color grading also happens to compliment the movie’s eerie tone. When this specific small area is utilized, the movie’s isolated feeling comes into full focus.
The Boo Hag and Broken Character Dynamics
Fairfax Pictures
Unfortunately, most of the conversational dialogue that takes place in The Geechee Witch ends up dragging the film down because of its nonsensical, disjointed flow. At one point, the doctor diagnoses Leah with a concussion but then says immediately afterward that she’s going to be fine. Leah’s own husband accuses her of how bad she is for how much she’s constantly trying to seduce him, but the audience has only seen her as a woman who’s being tormented by a haunted house, so those insults don’t make sense.
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He also tells her that he loves her more than once and looks like he’s about to be a more caring character towards her (he can clearly see that she’s having blackouts and forgetful episodes) but he just ends up leaving the house for extended periods of time due to work. More so, there is little to no chemistry between the cast members who make up the Robbins couple. Yes, there is presumably tension in that marriage even before the movie starts, but in the more positive moments, the supposed romance doesn’t even provide a temporary sense of relief from the feeling of impending doom. The few shots of scrapbook pictures of them in New York and negative pregnancy tests don’t create that either.
Man vs Monster Redeems The Movie
There are some things that save The Geechee Witch from outright failure though. In the rare appearance of substantial dialogue, Leah makes it clear that she is not the type of person who kills. The small but significant difference between humans and monsters keeps this movie alive to the end. The path to the conclusion then becomes a lot more open-ended and interesting. Finally, Balogun deserves her accolades as the otherworldly, fictitious antagonist. Her stunted and broken movements at times (in order to mimic a monster) bring more to the presence of The Geechee Witch than anything that special effects can muster. If only director Kipp kept her far away from the camera, as being so close sometimes ruined the illusion of this entity being anything more than a person in an underdeveloped Ghillie suit.
Fairfax Pictures
Other positives are Basil Wallace’s performance as the intelligent but cryptic elder, the main character’s stance on morals, and Nikelola Balogun as the Boo-Hag. Wallace seems to have an aura while in the role that puts whoever he’s interacting with at ease. Whether it’s with Wade, Daniel, or anybody else, he brings a sense of gravity to the film’s emotional components. Acting for over twenty years, it’s obvious his experience brought some much-needed nuance to the scenes. His character also had the most fleshed-out backstory, which always helps.
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While the ending of this story relies on one too many horror tropes, viewers will ultimately leave The Geechee Witch: A Boo Hag Story somewhat satisfied because the small but unique aspects are just enough to mesmerize from the bigger problems.
From Fairfax Pictures and Regal Cinemas, The Geechee Witch: A Boo Hag Story is in theaters Feb. 2, 2024.
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