Review of The Witches (1990) by Filipeneto — 03 Nov 2021

In this light and familiar comedy, a boy travels with his grandmother to a secluded hotel so that the lady can recover her health with a few days of rest. However, he discovers that the hotel is hosting an annual witches' convention, under the guise of a different event, and that the national leader has evil plans to magically convert every child in England into mice.

The film is slightly inspired by a Roald Dahl short story and works quite well. The story it brings is good and fun, and the film is light, unpretentious, funny and suitable for the whole family. Directed by Nicolas Roeg, the film can sometimes be a bit intimidating, mainly because of the witches' visual aspect, but I handled it well. There's a slight tension that runs through the entire film, but it's nothing to stop a child from seeing this unless they're really weak in spirit.

The best part of the film is, without any great doubts, the excellent performance of Anjelica Huston, which people will recognize more easily, from her participation in the “Addams Family” movies. The actress is pleasantly dark, and her presence is dominant, stealing attention and giving us the feeling of a secure woman, but also menacing. Mai Zetterling has also done a pretty good job of it, and Jasen Fisher has known how to untangle herself from the challenges she faced, even though she's an underdeveloped character.

On a technical level, the film stands out for the good special effects used, which include purple smoke, a very diverse list of challenging characterizations and other creative effects. In addition, the film also features good cinematography and excellent filming and editing work. The soundtrack, gothic with a touch of suspense, works reasonably well.