The Witches (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
Oh, how I love the scary-ass "kids" movies from the 80's & 90's. 'The Witches' (based on Roald Dahl's wicked novel & directed by Nicolas Roeg) opens in Norway, with Luke (7 yr. old Jasen Fisher) being told stories about witches by his loving grandma (Mai Zetterling). The witches are real, she says, & they're everywhere. But you can spot them if you look closely, "They wear ordinary clothes, live in ordinary houses, & work in ordinary jobs". They have square feet (wearing only sensible shoes). They are bald & wear wigs. And their eyes have a purple tinge to them. Luke's grandma even heard of a Grand High Witch who rules over the others. Said witch is believed to have killed one of her childhood friends. Tragedy then strikes the proceedings as Luke's parents are killed in a car accident.
He travels with his grandma to England, & they end up taking holiday in an old Victorian seaside hotel that is hosting a convention of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. That said, the convention is really a front for a host of witches who are planning a way to rid England of its children. And the diabolical Grand High Witch (Anjelica Huston) is hosting the event. While wandering through the labyrinthine hallways of the ancient hotel (scouting for witches along the way), Luke accidentally stumbles into a private meeting of the 'Royal Society' & overhears the coven devising their plot to turn the country's kids into mice. But before escaping their sight, he is sniffed out & transformed into one! {This is a brilliant scene} But even as a mouse, with the help of grandma & a new friend named Bruno, he attempts to heroically turn the tables on the witches.
Director Nicholas Roeg doesn't spare his youthful audiences of the more sinister portions of the story. Children die. Others go missing. Parents die. Witches spare no expense at 'exterminating' (or wanting to) the children of England. It's a dark adaptation. And some kids may find it all disturbing. But I find/found it exhilarating. I think back to 1982's Dark Crystal, a straaaange kids film with evil muppets. I think of 1986's Labyrinth, a very twisted faerie tale, of sorts. And now, 1990's 'The Witches'. I think the kids of today (2011) are really shortchanged of some truly ... what I call ... 'fun-scary' films. Too many kid movies go soft, nowadays. They lack a personality … an edge. 'The Witches' was one of my favorite scary kid films because it made me 'feel'.
I look back on it now with some wonderful grip-onto-my-handrail nostalgia. Whether it was witches (that I've always had a fascination with), or the quaint, eerie Norway setting, or the seaside holiday in good 'ole England ... I was hooked. And the movie offers one of the best villainesses in recent history. Anjelica Huston, dressed head-to-toe in black, with stiletto heels, jet black hair, blood red lipstick, & a heavy German accent, offers a fantastically campy portrayal. To say she's over-the-top is a huge understatement; and you could tell Huston was having a BLAST. I even loved the way she was photographed, here (with camera lenses that veer/leer into her face, and out). Creepy. And the moment she transforms from sophisticated Ms. Ernst into the hideous Grand High Witch is something you don't wanna miss. The way she owns that room of witches (who are all terrified of her, & rightly so) is fantastic to watch.
I also enjoyed some witty stretches in this film. This isn't some dopey kid adaptation. There's action, humor, suspense & ultimately ... adventure. And adventure is the key; as that drew me in to the story. I felt like I was Luke, whether I'd be roaming through the seaside hotel, desperate to help grandma, scheming to overtake the witches, or hoping to save the world. 'The Witches' is ambitious, engaging & inventive (certainly with Jim Henson's spectacular make-up & special effect work). It's a film that has given me many, many hours of pleasure. I want to pop it into my DVD machine right now.
He travels with his grandma to England, & they end up taking holiday in an old Victorian seaside hotel that is hosting a convention of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. That said, the convention is really a front for a host of witches who are planning a way to rid England of its children. And the diabolical Grand High Witch (Anjelica Huston) is hosting the event. While wandering through the labyrinthine hallways of the ancient hotel (scouting for witches along the way), Luke accidentally stumbles into a private meeting of the 'Royal Society' & overhears the coven devising their plot to turn the country's kids into mice. But before escaping their sight, he is sniffed out & transformed into one! {This is a brilliant scene} But even as a mouse, with the help of grandma & a new friend named Bruno, he attempts to heroically turn the tables on the witches.
Director Nicholas Roeg doesn't spare his youthful audiences of the more sinister portions of the story. Children die. Others go missing. Parents die. Witches spare no expense at 'exterminating' (or wanting to) the children of England. It's a dark adaptation. And some kids may find it all disturbing. But I find/found it exhilarating. I think back to 1982's Dark Crystal, a straaaange kids film with evil muppets. I think of 1986's Labyrinth, a very twisted faerie tale, of sorts. And now, 1990's 'The Witches'. I think the kids of today (2011) are really shortchanged of some truly ... what I call ... 'fun-scary' films. Too many kid movies go soft, nowadays. They lack a personality … an edge. 'The Witches' was one of my favorite scary kid films because it made me 'feel'.
I look back on it now with some wonderful grip-onto-my-handrail nostalgia. Whether it was witches (that I've always had a fascination with), or the quaint, eerie Norway setting, or the seaside holiday in good 'ole England ... I was hooked. And the movie offers one of the best villainesses in recent history. Anjelica Huston, dressed head-to-toe in black, with stiletto heels, jet black hair, blood red lipstick, & a heavy German accent, offers a fantastically campy portrayal. To say she's over-the-top is a huge understatement; and you could tell Huston was having a BLAST. I even loved the way she was photographed, here (with camera lenses that veer/leer into her face, and out). Creepy. And the moment she transforms from sophisticated Ms. Ernst into the hideous Grand High Witch is something you don't wanna miss. The way she owns that room of witches (who are all terrified of her, & rightly so) is fantastic to watch.
I also enjoyed some witty stretches in this film. This isn't some dopey kid adaptation. There's action, humor, suspense & ultimately ... adventure. And adventure is the key; as that drew me in to the story. I felt like I was Luke, whether I'd be roaming through the seaside hotel, desperate to help grandma, scheming to overtake the witches, or hoping to save the world. 'The Witches' is ambitious, engaging & inventive (certainly with Jim Henson's spectacular make-up & special effect work). It's a film that has given me many, many hours of pleasure. I want to pop it into my DVD machine right now.