‘The Geechee Witch: A Boo Hag Story’ Review – The Killer Witch Steals the Show

Photo by Dominick Sivilli - © Faixfax Pictures

I have been fond of Jeremiah Kipp’s (Slapface) output since his early days as a filmmaker. He was one of the first directors to contact me for coverage during my very early days as a blogger. And it’s creators like Kipp that motivated me to keep writing. So, it’s always a pleasure to get the chance to speak to his work when I connect with it. And I connected with his latest feature, The Geechee Witch: A Boo Hag Story. The film makes effective use of a historical legend from the Geechee (Gullah) culture and serves up an impressive antagonist in the process.   

The setup goes like this: Following the death of his mother, Asa (Stephen Cofield Jr.) and his spouse, Leah (Tryphena Wade), pack up their lives in New York City and relocate to Asa’s family estate in Georgia. From the moment they set up residence, Leah begins to sense a malevolent presence is after them. As she learns more about local lore, Leah starts to suspect that a mythical witch called a Boo Hag (a creature known to wear past victims as a skin suit and suck the life out of their lungs) has cursed her and Asa. 

While I certainly enjoyed The Geechee Witch: A Boo Hag Story, I wish the screenplay (by J. Craig Gordon, Phoenix Higgins, and Jason Walter Short) had shaken things up a bit more. The proceedings are a touch predictable at times. However, the presence of an effective antagonist (Nikelola Balogun) mostly makes up for that. 

Speaking of the Witch, the titular character comes in hot. She is introduced mere moments into the first act. Her inaugural appearance grabbed me by the throat. I was immediately impressed by her, in large part, due to solid creature design. She is toothy and red-eyed and makes for quite the imposing presence.  

Director Jeremiah Kipp frames the titular character for maximum efficacy, often capturing the Boo Hag from the shadows and only showing us bits and pieces at a time. When the character appears onscreen, Kipp favors extended close-ups that prove to be uncomfortable to watch. We come face-to-face with her as she’s sucking the life out of innocent victims and it’s intimidating. 

The Witch’s sound design is another element that adds to her impressive screen presence. The guttural noises and the snake-like hisses she emits are absolutely unsettling.   

I was equally impressed by the way Nikelola Balogun makes the character move. There is something very inhuman about it. She’s animalistic and that, along with excellent creature and sound design, works to make her an antagonist that is frightening as hell.    

There is a memorable sequence between Leah and the Witch that transpires near the end of the second act. I don’t want to give anything away. So, I will only say that it upends expectations and delivers an impressive jump scare in the process.    

Jump scares aside, I did find the opening act to be a bit on the slow side after the introduction of the Witch. I was hoping for a bit more excitement in the first third of the film. With that said, the calm before the storm is laced with a certain level of dread. Several factors serve to facilitate that underlying sense of unease during that spell of downtime. There’s a strained dynamic between Leah and Asa that isn’t explicitly addressed until further into the picture’s runtime. But it’s noticeable enough to keep the viewer on edge. We also hear bits and pieces of conversations with ominous overtones and meet characters whose intentions aren’t immediately clear. All of that serves to create a backdrop of unease while we are getting to know the characters.  

The tension eventually picks back up to full speed in the second act. Moreover, it reaches peak levels in the final 20 minutes, which are pretty intense, to say the least.

The film does betray its budgetary constraints in a couple of areas. The most noticeable is the CGI fire effects, which are not ideal. But making a film on an indie budget necessitates certain concessions, so one shouldn’t expect every aspect to be as tight as a studio picture with an endless budget.  

Speaking of big-budget pictures, I was impressed that the color grading here looks so effective. Far richer than your average indie effort. The Georgia greenery is very lush-looking. The colors are vivid. It has the type of glossy sheen usually reserved for bigger budget fare. 

All in all, The Geechee Witch: A Boo Hag Story doesn’t always subvert expectations but a killer antagonist makes it a really enjoyable watch. If you’re keen to check it out, you can scope the film in theaters beginning February 2, 2024.  

  • ‘The Geechee Witch: A Boo Hag Story'
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Summary

‘The Geechee Witch: A Boo Hag Story’ delivers an impressive antagonist and a rip-roaring third act.

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