Halloween Column Special: “Witches” Worldwide

On the eve of the Halloween holiday, the dark fantasy The Witches, starring Anne Hathaway and Octavia Spencer, was very symbolically released worldwide. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, who fell in love with the audience for such films as "Back to the Future", "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?", "ForrestGump", "Outcast", "Polar Express" and others. names in the world of cinema as Guillermo del Toro (acted here as a screenwriter) and Alfonso Cuarona (became a producer). Also, fans of watching films in the original language will appreciate the voice of Chris Rock as the voice-over narrator of the story.

The next thing to know about Zemeckis’ Witches is that they are based on the novel of the same name by one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century, British writer with Norwegian roots Roald Dahl. In our latitudes, this author is better known for another famous film adaptation of his work – the novel "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory".

The novel The Witches by Dahl was published in 1983, and in 2003 it was already included in the list of the BBC’s 200 Best Books. In 2008, Roald Dahl himself was ranked 16th in the list of "The 50 Best British Writers Since 1945" by The Times.

In 1990, The Witches was first filmed. The director then became the Englishman Nicholas Roeg, the main role was played by the charismatic Anjelica Huston, and Rowan Atkinson became the decoration of the tape in the supporting role. The plots of The Witches of 1990 and the current film are similar, but the endings are radically different. Moreover, the book corresponds to the ending of the new "Witches". In the 1990 film adaptation, he was more upbeat than in the original.

So what is the movie about? As it is logical to assume from the title – about witches, who, according to the author, have always lived and live among us. These are not women, as it might seem at first glance, but demons disguised as elegant ladies in gloves and high wigs. They hate children and harass them by luring them with candy.

The action of the black adventure comedy "Witches" takes place in 1967 in Alabama (in Dahl’s original, this, of course, is good old England). The protagonist of the film is a black teenager (in the film, as well as in the book, his name is not mentioned), who lost his parents early in a car accident and is raised by his grandmother (Octavia Spencer). He first encounters a real witch in a hardware store while picking out nails. The latter – the boy needs in order to build a house for the white mouse presented to him by his beloved grandmother the day before – Belyanka. The witch sneaks up on him suddenly and tries to hand him the ill-fated candy. Fortunately, the grandmother calls out to her grandson in time, he manages to recover and hide from the witch.

In the evening, the boy tells his grandmother in detail about what happened. She immediately understands who her grandson encountered, since she herself is engaged in healing. The woman decides to leave the city immediately. The family settles in an expensive hotel on the sea coast, however, as an evil, it is here that the entire coven, led by the main witch (Anne Hathaway), comes to the meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss a plan to turn all the children in the world into mice. To implement this sinister plan, the main witch has both a witch’s potion and financial resources.

Actually, the acting and images of the actress as the main antagonist of The Witches are the main focus and dignity of the film, for which it is worth watching it on a wide screen. In fairness, it is worth noting that Anne Hathaway as the main witch turned out to be not as disgusting as her predecessor from the 1990 film adaptation, Anjelica Huston. High-quality make-up and expressive costumes are definitely the “horse" of the new “Witches”, which will certainly be marked by Oscar nominations.

Yes, and in terms of horror elements, the film came out much softer than its predecessor, and in terms of special effects, of course, much more expressive and believable. We dare to assume that the visual effects for the film will be marked by a number of prestigious film awards.

We can say with confidence that Zemeckis’ new adaptation of Dahl’s novel The Witches turned out to be more mannered, grotesque, outrageous and funny than creepy. In some sources and at the beginning of some trailers for the film, you can even see the stated age limit of "0+". According to allforwomen.inform.click, very young viewers of the Witches of 2020 can still be scary. Therefore, it would still be more correct to attribute this dark fantasy to the age limit of 12+. In terms of colors and experiences, "Witches" can be compared with the last series of the legendary "Harry Potter". Although, in principle, the main message of Zemeckes and Dahl in The Witches – not to take candy from strangers – is also useful for a younger audience. So in the light of the approaching holiday, think carefully about the answer to the question: sweet or disgusting?

Happy Halloween and happy viewing!