Movies
[Review] ‘The Witches’ Reimagines a Classic With Whimsical Dark Fantasy and an Insane Anne Hathaway Performance
Ask anyone who grew up with Nicolas Roeg’s adaptation of Roald Dahl‘s The Witches, and they’ll fondly recall Anjelica Huston’s imposing portrayal of the Grand High Witch and the gnarly practical effects of the witches. Both left an indelible mark on impressionable minds, serving as potent gateway horror. Now, almost thirty years to the day after The Witches’ initial theatrical adaptation comes a new take that adheres a bit more faithfully to Dahl’s work while reimagining the eponymous antagonists. A whimsical dark fantasy with a terrifying new creature design and an insane, scene-chewing performance contributes to a charming adaptation that will capture the imaginations and hearts of a new generation.
Chris Rock opens the film as an unseen narrator, teaching a group of children about the evils of witches. To hit his message home, he recounts his childhood battle with the evil creatures. It begins with the traumatic loss of his parents around his eighth Christmas and the subsequent bond that he forges with his Grandmother (Octavia Spencer) as she slowly pulls him from his depression. Credited merely as Hero Boy (Jahzir Bruno), our plucky protagonist travels with his Grandmother to a seaside luxury resort to escape after a harrowing encounter with a witch. Much to their misfortune, though, they’ve chosen the precise location where the witches have congregated; the Grand High Witch (Anne Hathaway) is unveiling her nefarious new potion to eradicate all children.
The story beats hit the same notes as Roeg’s adaptation, and, well, the novel, meaning that there aren’t any narrative surprises in store for much of the film. Director Robert Zemeckis, who is also credited as the screenwriter along with Guillermo del Toro and Kenya Barris, spends a little more time fleshing out the relationship between Hero and Grandmother. More specifically, it gives more insight into Grandmother’s history with witches and witchcraft. All of which goes a long way in establishing the emotional stakes and rooting interest before the pair arrive at the fateful hotel. Once they do, reality gives way to a tonally different movie; the Grand High Witch doesn’t just bring a horde of witches with her but tongue-firmly-in-cheek dark fantasy mischief.
Spencer brings the heart as the sage-like Grandmother, but Hathaway opts to make this movie entirely hers with an over-the-top turn as the Grand High Witch. She isn’t content to simply chew-scenery; she gobbles it up with reckless abandon. No one is having as good of a time in this movie as Hathaway, and that’s clear from her first introductory speech to her wards as she unmasks and reveals her real face. It’s not just Hathaway ensuring her version is far removed from Huston, but it also serves as a reminder to the film’s youthful audience that this villain might be scary, but the movie itself isn’t.
Described as demons, the design for the witches is creative. The unhinged jaws, intentionally snake-like, serve as nightmare fuel on its own, but there are a few more surprises in store that lend to intense chase sequences for Hero Boy and his new friends. Sure, it’s handled via VFX, not practical, but it’s rendered well and won’t matter in the slightest to the target demographic. VFX gives a bit more freedom in the action sequences in specific scenarios.
Zemeckis and the screenwriters might stick closer to Dahl’s vision, but they also give a more satisfying climax than Roeg’s version. The 1990 film is excellent, but as intimidating as Huston was in the role, she was easily defeated in one fell swoop. Expect this new take to get a bit more ambitious and allow Hathaway to stretch her claws further. It does run a little long, especially for its target audience, but its propulsive energy keeps things lively and entertaining.
With a storyline mostly relegated to a single location, it’s through Hathaway that The Witches feels larger-than-life. And it’s through Spencer and Bruno that it hits all the affecting notes. Zemeckis gives his flourish to the source material, and he showcases why Dahl was such a fantastic storyteller- Dahl never talked down to children in his stories. Good may triumph over evil, but, like life, that can come with battle scars. For all the mischievous whimsy, there’s an authentic poignancy to the underlying message.
The Witches is a bubbling cauldron of dark fantasy, humor, heart, and downright silliness thanks to an insane portrayal of the Grand High Witch. The witches’ new design can be frightening, but the performances strike up the needed balance for a film aimed at kids. A few critical choices can be a little tonally jarring, but never as a detriment. It’s clear that the cast is having an absolute blast, and it’s infectious. The setting may be a summery beach resort, but The Witches makes for a spooky Halloween surprise with the potential to become a new perennial favorite.
The Witches will be available on HBO Max on October 22, 2020.
Ghostface is back on the big screen this weekend… well, sort of… with the release of Scary Movie, which marks the Wayans brothers’ return to the horror spoof franchise for the first time since Scary Movie 2 back in the day. It’s likely to be the talk of the horror community for the weekend, but don’t overlook the other six genre movies that were freshly unleashed today.
Here’s all the new horror that released on Friday, June 5, 2026.
The horror spoof franchise is back with Scary Movie now playing in theaters!
Marlon Wayans (“Shorty”), Shawn Wayans (“Ray”), Anna Faris (“Cindy”), and Regina Hall (“Brenda”) reunite for the new Scary Movie, with the cast also including Dave Sheridan, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, Chris Elliott, Jon Abrahams, Damon Wayans Jr., Gregg Wayans, Kim Wayans, Benny Zielke, Cameron Scott Roberts, Heidi Gardner, Olivia Rose Keegan, Ruby Snowber, Savannah Lee Nassif, Sydney Park, and Felissa Rose.
Twenty-six years after outrunning a suspiciously familiar masked killer (“Ghostface”), the Core Four are back in the killer’s crosshairs and no horror movie IP is safe…
Scary Movie will slash through reboots, remakes, requels, prequels, sequels, spin-offs, elevated horror, origin stories, anything with the word legacy in it, and every “final chapter” that absolutely isn’t. A whole lot has changed in the horror genre since the Wayans Brothers were in charge of the franchise; their involvement ended with Scary Movie 2 back in 2001!
Michael Tiddes (A Haunted House) directs Scary Movie 6 from a script written by Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, original Scary Movie director Keenen Ivory Wayans, Craig Wayans (Scary Movie 2), and Rick Alvarez (A Haunted House).
From IFC, shark attack movie Chum is now available on Digital.
Alice Eve (Haunting of Queen Mary) stars in shark attack movie alongside Eric Michael Cole, Jim Klock, Elle Haymond, Lisa Yaro, Johnny Gaffney, and Sarah Siadat.
This one sounds very similar to last year’s Dangerous Animals…
Here’s the plot: “A newlywed couple joins friends on a Mediterranean yacht excursion, only to find themselves caught between a predatory shark and a psychopathic killer in their midst-transforming a sun-drenched escape into a fight for survival.”
Jonathan Zuck directs Chum, from a script by Jonathan Zuck and Joe Leone.
Samara Weaving (Ready or Not 2: Here I Come) and Kyle Gallner (Strange Darling) come together in Carolina Caroline, a sexy crime thriller now playing in theaters.
It’s not a horror movie, mind you, but it’s worth a mention here all the same.
Kyra Sedgwick (Family Movie) and Jon Gries also star in the romantic crime thriller.
Director Adam Carter Rehmeier’s film stars Samara Weaving as Caroline Daniels, whose desire to leave her small Texas town brings her into the orbit of a charismatic con man (Kyle Gallner), and together they weave a path of crime and passion across the American Southeast.
Adam Rehmeier previously directed the films Dinner in America and Snack Shack.
Tom Dean wrote the screenplay for Carolina Caroline.
Similar to Steven Spielberg’s upcoming big screen blockbuster Disclosure Day, Signal One explores humankind’s enduring question: what if we aren’t alone in the universe?
The sci-fi thriller is now available on Digital.
Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan), Josh Hutcherson (Five Nights at Freddy’s), David Thewlis (Harry Potter), Raoul Bhaneja (Possessor), Emma Ho (“The Expanse”), and Dennis Quaid (The Substance) star in Signal One from director Jonathan Sobol (The Art of the Steal).
When tech billionaire Sam Houston (Quaid) hires the brilliant computer scientist Annika (Fuhrman), she ventures to an isolated facility run by the brilliant, nihilistic creator of LITTLEMOUTH, a machine which can communicate with alien intelligence.
Annika soon learns some humanity-altering facts: that we are not alone in the universe, that alien intelligences are communicating around us at every moment, and that we are likely too primitive to even remotely understand what they are trying to tell us.
When the goal of the endeavor shifts from listening to talking back, the project rapidly devolves into chaos. With contact comes consequences, and soon Annika and the team must work to ensure the very survival of our species.
A schoolyard dare becomes an urban legend in the creepypasta-inspired horror anthology The Summoning. The indie film is now available on Digital from Brainstorm Media.
“A babysitting gig becomes a nightmare of urban legend when three teens summon Baby Blue. Survival depends on uncovering the past to escape a mother’s wrath from beyond the grave.”
Felipe Vargas (Rosario, Hive), Sergio Gonzalez, Brandon Piskorik, Corey Benson Powers, and Brian Sepanzyk direct the segments. Valeria San Martín, Justina Ceballos, Daniela Flombaum, Nannu Spannauss, Agustín Olcese, and Giovanni Onetti star.
The Summoning is written by Camilo Zaffora.
Happy Death Day actress Jessica Rothe stars as a mom struggling to keep her grip on her sanity and memory in the mind-bending Affection, now available on Digital at home.
In Affection, “Afflicted by a mysterious condition that resets her memory, Ellie becomes trapped in a cyclical nightmare with a man who claims to be her husband. She soon must uncover the horrifying truth of her existence—before she forgets it all again.“
Joseph Cross (“Big Little Lies”) and Julianna Layne (“Chicago P.D.”) also star in the sci-fi horror thriller. Affection marks the feature debut by writer/director BT Meza.
Daniel Kurland wrote in his review out of the film’s premiere, “Affection is steeped in existential questions and fears that plague modern society, while it embraces the ethos of the ’80s through bold body horror. Add to that Rothe’s revelatory performance, and Affection is a hidden gem that will connect with your mind, body, and soul.”
Lucile Hadžihalilović’s latest dark fairy tale, The Ice Tower, loosely reimagines Hans Christian Andersen’s fable “The Snow Queen,” and it’s now streaming on Shudder.
In the ’70s set film, “Jeanne, a 15-year-old orphan, witnesses the shoot of a film adaptation of the fairy tale The Snow Queen, and she becomes fascinated by its star Cristina (Marion Cotillard), an actress who is just as mysterious and alluring as the Queen she is playing.“
Clara Pacini stars as Jeanne. August Diehl and Marine Gesbert also star in The Ice Tower, and look for a cameo from director Gaspar Noé (Climax, Irréversible).
“For me, The Ice Tower solidified Lucile Hadžihalilović’s place amongst the most fascinating creators of fairy tales today,” said distributor Yellow Veil Pictures co-founder Joe Yanick.
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