What better way to continue spooky season than with a tale of wild and zainy witches.
Based on the tale by famed children’s author, Roald Dahl, The Witches follows a young boy who is terrified of witches and finds himself at the same seaside resort as the world’s Grand High Witch (Anne Hathaway) and her followers. The Witches are undercover as humans and prepared to carry out a nefarious plan — to turn children into mice.
This is not the first time The Witches has been adapted into film. I had not seen the original film adaptation starring Angelica Huston until yesterday. And man oh man, that film is disturbing for a child or an almost 30 year old woman.
But with headliners like Anne Hathaway, Octavia Spencer and Stanley Tucci, I was excited to see this rendition.
Unfortunately, this remake is rather uninspired and plays out too similarly to the original — super campy, super silly and super dark.
I appreciate the film’s diversity and updated special effects (and the fact that the Witches are total nightmare fuel), however, this is one Halloween flick that will be more enjoyable to those coming in with fresh eyes. Otherwise, it’s just a forgettable Halloween flick that is perfectlay made for streaming.
However, Anne Hathaway is captivating, hilarious and devilishly delightful as the Grand High Witch. Honestly, Hathaway hasn’t looked like she’s had this much fun in a while onscreen and I think her performance even surpasses Angelica Huston’s.
And without her, the film would be a waste of time.
Final Thoughts: The Witches is nothing new but Anne Hathaway makes it worth the watch.
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