90s Movie Review - The Witches

Director: Nicolas Roeg
Genre: Horror/ Family/ Fantasy
Runtime: 91 minutes
Year: 1990
Starring: Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling, Jasen Fisher, Jane Horrocks, Anne Lambton, Rowan Atkinson, Bill Paterson, Brenda Blethyn, Charlie Potter, Sukie Smith, Rose English, Jenny Runacre, Annabel Brooks, Emma Relph, Nora Connolly

Description: A young boy stumbles onto a witch convention and must stop them, even after he has been turned into a mouse.

Review: There are certain children’s movies, that aren’t actually children’s movies. “The Witches” is one of those, based on a book by Roald Dahl. There is more to it, things that kids would probably not understand or will overlook. Director Nicolas Roeg had to adapt his style. We know him from movies like “Don’t Look Now”, they are full of symbolic, double meanings and aren’t chronologic. In “The Witches” it’s all very clear and the story is told chronologic. The mystery isn’t in the theme, but the dark characters, beautiful camera work and special effects. The grand high witch, wonderfully played by Angelica Huston, is truly scary. As a kid, it freaked me out. And the two talking mice look realistic, especially for that time.
Character Luke is the typical Roald Dahl hero, a brave kid with a big heart. And grandma is likeable. Rowan Atkinson catches your eye as the clumsy hotel manager, but it’s Angelica Huston that shines. She portrays pure evil, someone that will haunt many children’s nightmares.
The camera work is very well done. The scenes with Luke and Bruno as mice are shot wonderfully, it’s seen from a very low perspective.
The negative is the ending. Director Roeg changed the ending. As a big fan of Roald Dahl’s work, that’s not appreciated.
All in all, “The Witches” is an excellent adaptation of the classic children’s book. A bit too scary for the little ones, but the story was very well executed.

Rating: 3,5/ 5