The Love Witch — Matt Latham

DieDieBooks publishes books about scary movies written for horror fans by horror fans who approach their work from a smart, personal, and critical perspective. Each DieDieBook covers a different horror movie and is written by a different author, bringing a range of idiosyncratic worldviews and approaches to the material. 

In an age when studio films, straight-to-streaming releases, and television have become so homogenized as to be indistinguishable from one another, a fiercely independent filmmaker named Anna Biller reached back to classic techniques and thematic concerns to create an instant classic. With The Love Witch, Biller made a radical statement about how far off the path modern filmmaking approaches have taken contemporary cinema. In showing us what we've lost, Biller shows us what is still to be gained.

When filmmaker Matt Latham saw The Love Witch, he fell in love with Biller's style, approach, and story sensibilities. His fascination with the film bordered on obsession, which he now unpacks and analyzes in this exploration of how the film's distinct style reinforces its deceptively complex themes. Love and seduction have never been more horrifying—or so rewarding.