GAUA: Movie Review
A Descent into the Night
If you are someone that is always on the hunt for the next best Witch Folk Horror movie, then your hunt is over. GAUA (‘Night’ in Basque) is a 2025 Historical Spanish folk-horror film directed by Paul Urkijo Alijo.
I am a huge fan of Robert Eggers’ ‘The Witch’ and I really didn’t think anyone else would ever make something remotely comparable but ‘GAUA’ absolutely hit the nail on the head for me. While you will see a few common themes between these two movies, GAUA goes in a different direction and dives deeper into some of the witchcraft lore that Robert Eggers did not explore in ‘The Witch’.
GAUA takes place in the 17th Century in Basque Country, Spain where witchcraft is deeply embedded into the culture. The movie is completely shot in the Basque language so we watched with subtitles, although I think the visual storytelling was so good we could have watched without them and still understood the story. GAUA starts, appropriately so, on a dark night when a young bride flees her abusive husband and flees into the shadowy woods only to meet a mysterious group of women.
GAUA has some of the most incredible imagery of Witches flying to the sabbat that is reminiscent of the movie 'Haxan' or a Luis Ricardo Falero painting but done with modern filmmaking technology that will take your breath away.
This movie stirred my Witch blood and excited every part of my being. I appreciated the modern themes while still feeling historically accurate, I was easily transported into this witchy wonderland. If you are the type of witch that enjoys ancient goat gods, sabbat traveling witches, mass orgies and a passionate love story then this one might be for you!
As of writing this, GAUA has not had a commercial theatrical release in the US, but premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival in May of 2026.
“We will make our own the monsters and lies you created to subdue us. We will feed them, they will grow, and we will turn them against you.”
ABOUT SI MANDRAGORA
Si is a Gardnerian High Priest and Minos in the Minoan Brotherhood operating in Flagler County, FL. A practitioner of various kinds of witchcraft since adolescence, he now runs Mandragora Magika, creates occult art, grows all kinds of plants but mostly in love with the poisonous variety. Si holds a degree in Graphic Design from the Art Institute.
Comments