The controversy over the cover art

Those that keep damning the cover art for this film don't seem to know what's really behind it. Even if it was a borrowed painting; you can clearly see it's Millie Perkins' face (even if added), and the decapitated head she is holding is in the image of her father.

In Arrow Video's 2016 set AMERICAN HORROR PROJECT Vol. 1 which includes the full 88-minute cut of The Witch Who Came From the Sea, there is a book that explains a lot about the actions and thoughts of the character Molly which relates a LOT to the cover art that so many bitch about not having anything to do with the film (but it DOES!).

In one scene Molly and a man are looking at the Botticelli painting The Birth Of Venus, He tells Molly that Venus was born in the sea (that she was actually a witch, but Molly protested Venus wasn't), and Venus' father was a god. He was at one point castrated and his sperm was dropped into the ocean. "The sea was knocked up, Venus was the kid," he said. The Arrow booklet's article states "As her eyes dart over the image you can see her brain forming the same analogies we are." Molly loved her father despite his incestuous actions and she felt he was like a god, since he was a sea captain. She then seeks out "perfect" looking men and the castrations and killings begin.

The painting on box cover is a representation of all of this -- what kind of cover did people really want? A viewer's job is to read (like the back of the box) and educate yourself before just snatching up a video and expecting a literal interpretation of what you see on the front of a DVD / Blu-ray / VHS box. Especially these days where info can be retrieved about anything on your phone, it's easy to find out for sure what you're getting into.

I love this film, there's so much more going on psychologically than what you see on the surface (another problem people are experiencing with the 2015 film The Witch, not researching a little before heading into something that they weren't really going to be into in the first place). The Witch Who Came From The Sea is much smarter than many people realize, and I for one love the cover art.

Bravo to Arrow Video for restoring it to the full cut (the Subversive and Cult Epoch DVD releases were just the R-rated 83-minute cut). The commentary in this newer release has been ported over from the DVD, but Arrow edited the commentary to fit the longer running time. I'm so happy they put so much care and respect into films like this!