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The Witch: Revenge (2024) – A Sinister Symphony of Folklore, War, and Feminine Fury
In cinema, horror often serves as a mirror—distorting reality just enough to force us to confront truths we’d rather avoid. The Witch: Revenge, a 2024 Ukrainian horror film directed by Andrii Kolesnyk, is one such mirror—unforgiving, unrelenting, and undeniably brave.
Set amid the harrowing backdrop of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, this film isn’t just a supernatural tale. It’s an allegory, a cultural battle cry, and a visual love letter to ancestral roots. Wrapped in witchcraft and bloodshed, it is, at its core, a deeply political and personal story of grief and reclamation.
⭐ Final Rating: 8.7/10
- Director: Andrii Kolesnyk
- Starring: Tetiana Malkova, Taras Tsymbaliuk
- Runtime: 1h 44m
- Languages: Ukrainian (with subtitles)
- Streaming: Available on Netflix
Plot Overview: When Love Is Torn by War
The narrative centers on Olena, a woman portrayed with astonishing intensity by Tetiana Malkova. Once a powerful witch from the town of Konotop, Olena had forsaken her magic to live a peaceful life with her mortal lover, Andriy. Their idyllic existence is shattered when Russian soldiers invade their village. In an act of senseless brutality, Andriy is killed, and Olena is left devastated.
But she is no ordinary woman. Fueled by grief and rage, she reclaims her powers—and what follows is a chilling, elemental revenge saga unlike anything seen in recent horror cinema.
Cinematic Context: A Horror Film Rooted in Reality
What separates The Witch: Revenge from standard genre fare is its contextual depth. The film deliberately intertwines ancient Slavic mysticism with the brutal realism of modern war. This juxtaposition gives the story a dual weight—it feels both timeless and terrifyingly current.
Rather than shy away from its geopolitical inspiration, the film leans into it. The Russian soldiers are not anonymous villains; they are agents of chaos, real and symbolic. And through Olena’s journey, the film becomes a tale of resistance through mythology—a resurrection of old powers to confront new evils.
Performance Spotlight: Tetiana Malkova’s Breakthrough Role
At the heart of this folklore-fueled horror is a transformative performance by Tetiana Malkova. She navigates Olena’s character arc—from a tender, grounded woman to a divine force of vengeance—with extraordinary grace.
What makes her portrayal so compelling is its emotional authenticity. Even in the film’s most stylized moments, her grief feels real. She is not merely a “final girl” or a magical femme fatale; she is a grieving partner, a wounded soul, and ultimately, an archetype of female power rising from tragedy.
Visuals & Direction: A Ballet of Blood and Beauty
Director Andrii Kolesnyk and cinematographer Kostiantyn Ponomarov create a visual language that is as poetic as it is petrifying. From war-torn fields to fog-drenched forests, every frame pulses with atmospheric tension. The transformation scenes—where Olena reconnects with her ancestral magic—are particularly striking, captured in shadowy, surreal montages that feel both otherworldly and painfully grounded.
The use of color grading, switching between muted greys of war and the fiery reds of supernatural revenge, further enhances the emotional duality of the film. Even the violence, though brutal, is never gratuitous. It’s meticulously choreographed, almost operatic in style.
Sound and Score: Whispered Spells and War Drums
The soundscape in The Witch: Revenge deserves praise of its own. From the low rumble of marching boots to the haunting chants that echo during Olena’s rituals, the sound design is layered and immersive.
The score, composed by local Ukrainian artists, weaves traditional folk melodies with ambient horror elements. It’s unsettling in all the right places—sometimes evoking dread, other times deep sorrow. The music doesn’t just accompany the film—it speaks for it.
Symbolism and Themes: More Than Just Magic
At its core, The Witch: Revenge is not just about vengeance—it’s about the reclamation of identity and power.
1. Feminine Power and Trauma
Olena’s magic is tied to her femininity, her lineage, and her personal loss. The film explores how trauma—particularly that which women often bear in silence—can be transformed into strength. Her return to magic is not a descent into madness but a spiritual reawakening.
2. War and the Supernatural
War is portrayed not just as a political event, but as a spiritual rupture. The land remembers. The dead whisper. Nature itself revolts. Through this lens, the supernatural is not an escape but an extension of reality—a deeper truth revealed through myth.
3. Folklore as Cultural Resistance
In reviving ancient Ukrainian witch lore, the film becomes a cultural artifact. In the face of occupation, it asserts identity through stories passed down in whispers. It's cinema as defiance—retelling old tales to say something painfully new.
Reception: A Film That Divides, Provokes, and Haunts
Critically, The Witch: Revenge has polarized audiences. Some laud it as a groundbreaking blend of horror and political commentary. Others find its explicit violence and wartime setting too intense—perhaps even exploitative.
Still, it has struck a chord globally. Premiering at the Odesa International Film Festival, and later released on Netflix, the film has earned attention for its thematic boldness and genre-blending originality. Even with a modest 5.4 IMDb rating, it’s a film that lingers—whether as admiration or discomfort.
Criticisms and Challenges
Despite its accomplishments, the film is not without flaws. Some critics argue that the pacing in the second act slows down, with overly stylized sequences interrupting the narrative flow. Others point out that certain characters—particularly the Russian antagonists—lack nuance.
Yet, perhaps that’s the point. In a film about mythic revenge, moral ambiguity takes a back seat to symbolic clarity. The villains are not meant to be complex; they’re meant to be punished.
Legacy Potential: A New Kind of Horror Classic?
Whether The Witch: Revenge will achieve cult classic status is uncertain. But what is clear is that it has carved out a new space—where regional folklore, national trauma, and feminist horror collide.
It offers a blueprint for how horror can transcend genre boundaries, speaking not only to our fears but to our histories. For Ukraine, it’s a cinematic rallying cry. For the world, it’s a reminder that sometimes the most terrifying stories are the ones based in truth.
Final Verdict: A Visceral, Visionary Experience
The Witch: Revenge is not for everyone. It is violent. It is political. It is emotionally heavy. But it is also beautifully made, powerfully acted, and unflinchingly original.
If you’re a fan of elevated horror—like Hereditary, The VVitch, or Midsommar—you’ll find much to admire. But more than just horror, this is a film of reckoning. Of personal loss and national fury. Of witches and wars and the ghosts that remain.