The year is 1692. One evening in Salem, Massachusetts, a bunch of girls are going into the forest. They are all Puritans.

A slave woman named Tituba arranges a ritual where each girl shares her love interest. Then Tituba promises to conjure love spells.

Shortly after, all the girls dance and celebrate. One of them even strips completely into the nude.

However, they are all caught by Reverand Parris. So, they start panicking.

While the chaos erupts, one of the girls accidentally suffocates a 9-year-old named Betty Parris, who happens to be the reverend’s daughter.

Later, Reverand Parris is concerned about Betty since she is unconscious in her bed. He questions his 17-year-old niece, Abigail Williams, about what was going on in the forest. He suspects dancing, which Abigail denies. But then he forces her to tell the truth.

Not long after, Betty wakes up and wants her mother. Abigail reminds her that her mom is not around anymore. Abigail also loses her temper and warns the other girls not to share with anyone else what happened in the forest.

Later that day, Abigail meets this man in his 30s, John proctor. She is in love with him even though he already has a wife and 2 sons. Nevertheless, the 2 share a kiss.

But not long after, the villages authorities find out that Abigail and some other girls were practicing witchcraft. Yet to avoid getting into trouble, Abigail blames Tituba for the incident. Poor Tituba is now being whipped.

At some point, different people are being tried in court for witchcraft. More investigations get made, as well.

Meanwhile, John begins to regret kissing Abigail and realizes that he belongs with his wife, Elizabeth. When stakes rise, though, John is highly cruel and abusive to his maid, Mary Warren, who is only 18 years old. He also demands to her to go to court and testify that the witchcraft was fake.

Later, John sees Abigail again and tells her that he doesn’t want to be with her anymore. Not only is Abigail heartbroken, but she also has something stabbed inside of her.

In court, Mary gets emotional when she reveals what she has to say. Tensions continue to arise as more people are tried in court and even hanged. Even John is sentenced to death.

What will happen next?

I first saw this movie in high school and decided to rewatch it again. The beginning was strong and exciting. I loved seeing the girls wear their hair down and have fun.

That shows they’re rebellion against strict cultural etiquette at that time. Women had to wear their hair in buns and cover it with a bonnet. They also have to act properly, especially if they were Puritans.

I also admired how the actors used a mix of American and English influences for their accents. It shows how they were not exactly British, but not quite fully American, either.

Unfortunately, despite the perks, this film had a good amount of flaws in it. For instance, I thought the plot was hard to follow, and the pacing was too slow later on. In fact, I started enjoying it less and less as the story went on.

But one part that I thought was very gross was when Abigail and John kissed on the lips. I don’t normally mind when couples make out. But in this case, it was inappropriate because John is biologically old enough to be Abigail’s father. I even covered my eyes during that moment.

Yes, at that time, it was common for teenage girls to fall in love with men old enough to be their fathers. And this was changed compared to the situation in real life. John was 60 and Abigail was 11. Yet they actually did not fall in love.

Nevertheless, that moment still aged poorly. I would have preferred if Abigail fell in love with someone her own age.

I will also admit that I found Abigail unlikable at times. Not only did she have a bad temper, but she was also mean to others at time, including Betty.

Overall, I thought The Crucible was just okay. The strengths and weaknesses were pretty much even.

I give it 3 out of 5 stars.