We continue our 31 days of frights with The Witches from 1990. While staying at a hotel in England with his grandmother, Helga (Mai Zetterling), young Luke (Jasen Fisher) inadvertently spies on a convention of witches. The Grand High Witch (Anjelica Huston) reveals a plan to turn all children into mice through a magical formula. Now, Luke and his grandmother must fight back against the witches and save the world.
The Story
This is easily the most underrated movie to be adapted from Roald Dahl’s catalog of novels. When people talk about his movies, Matilda and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory are mentioned a lot. Those are fantastic movies, of course. But did you know that The Witches is better reviewed and, honestly, is a great addition for spooky season viewing.
The first 20 minutes of this movie used to give me nightmares. There is some great exposition here from the grandmother as she tells the audience all about witches in this world. She describes how to spot them and what they can do to her grandson, Luke. She even tells a tale about what happened to her friend Erika when she was younger. I wouldn’t want to spoil it for you, but it is really tragic and sets the movie up perfectly for what is to come.
Nicolas Roeg directed this one. He had also directed the classic horror film, Don’t Look Now. Knowing this, it’s easy to see how good the blend between horror and family adventure is in this movie. It’s shot beautifully with many random close-ups that make the audience feel uncomfortable in the best way possible.
The Performances and Makeup
The two performances that stand out in this movie are Mai Zetterling as the grandmother and Anjelica Huston as the Grand High Witch. The grandmother in this is perfect. She is strong and will do anything to protect her grandson. She also comes off as very warm, and you don’t want anything bad to happen to her.
Anjelica Huston is one of a kind in this. She is campy yet dedicated to this evil character. She comes off as someone who can easily lead someone to do her bidding while remaining over the top throughout. From her voice to her mannerisms, she is one of the best witches put on screen.
Jim Henson’s Creature Shop did all the animatronics and prosthetics for the witches and other characters in the movie. The Witches are described as being monstrous. They wear wigs to hide their bald heads. They have purple eyes, square feet with no toes. Claws where their hands should be, so they wear gloves. The makeup is so good here, and Huston looks just unrecognizable as the process took 6 to 7 hours to apply the makeup and another 5 to 6 hours to remove.
Overall
The Witches is definitely one to add to your spooky season watchlist this season. The story is engaging, full of fun and scary moments. The characters are memorable, and the movie does a great job at capturing Roald Dahl’s dark novel. It isn’t afraid to go places, and the practical effects
The Witches is not currently streaming.
Come back tomorrow for some more spooky reviews.
