The debut of the period film “The Witch” has gotten reviewers talking at the Sundance film festival in Utah.

The film, set in 1600s Puritan New England, premiered Saturday morning and features a family of seven that has been banished from their village and into the wilderness, according to a New York Post review.

The family fights for survival, and an infant suddenly disappears — possible because of a kidnapping for a secret ritual, or perhaps it is all in their imaginations and a family member is actually to blame.

One of the girls jokes about being a witch, while her father and mother continue to be devoted to their religion.

The film depicts a rabbit and a goat becoming possessed by demons, and the movie is filled with supernatural occurrences that are brief but jarring, according to the review.

The film, which often tiptoes on the line between horror movie and psychological drama, features a slow pace and British accents, making it unlikely to be sold as a horror film. However, the film’s emphasis on suspense and bizarre moments could draw a niche following, and could herald the rise of writer-director Robert Eggers, the review states.

The film provides more compelling storytelling on the belief systems and way of life among radical Puritans during that time rather than on witchcraft, according to a Hollywood Reporter review, which calls it “short on scares or surprises.”

The review agrees that the film’s pace is unlikely to attract mainstream horror fans, and is likely to be more of a novelty and could achieve cult status.

There is no date associated with the film, at least explicitly, although press notes have pegged it at 1630, which would date it at 10 years before the action described in the book The Scarlet Letter, and it would have come 60 years earlier than the Salem witchcraft trials.