The cast, led by Anya Taylor-Joy as Thomasin alongside Ralph Ineson and Kate Dickie as the parents, features no race- or gender-swapping of established characters and aligns with the period setting of white English settlers. Themes center on faith, paranoia, and familial loyalty tested by witchcraft in the woods, with no dialogue or subplots addressing systemic oppression, identity politics, or critiques of traditional norms through a modern lens.

Eggers has described the project in interviews as an 'archetypal New England horror story' and 'Puritan's nightmare,' with no statements indicating activist intent. Some post-release feminist interpretations of Thomasin's arc exist among critics, but these are audience projections rather than embedded messaging, and the film faced no notable DEI controversies or 'woke' backlash—only complaints about its deliberate slow pace. Audience and critical reception focused on atmospheric dread and accuracy, not political framing.