“The Witches” Review
“The Witches,” directed by Robert Zemeckis, is the latest theatrical film to move to streaming due to the pandemic. The film is based on the very famous children’s book written by Roald Dahl.
The film starred Anne Hathaway and Octavia Spencer and was a very fun movie. It is a perfect children’s movie and great to watch for Halloween.
Anne Hathaway delivers a very over the top performance as the head witch. She is very entertaining. Although her accent can be very strange, she brings a ton of energy, which helps elevate the tone of the film.
Octavia Spencer does an incredible job as the grandmother to the lead boy (Jahzir Bruno). She is very charming in the role and viewers can’t help but root for her and admire her for her kindness. She is the perfect foil for Hathaway’s villainous character.
This movie is surprisingly scary. The makeup and visual effects are incredible. The witches look terrifying and add to their threat level in the film. The imagery is very haunting and due to the superb visual effects, the stacks are way higher.
The witches had eerie smiles, creepy claws and strange nostrils. They looked fantastic! The set design in this film was another aspect that was magnificent. The hotel was great scenery for the film and the beautiful rooms and decor added some much-needed personality to the film.
However, this movie does not add anything new to the beloved story. The story is pretty much the same although it does have a more hopeful ending than its predecessors.
The writing is nothing special. There are a few funny moments, but it is very heavily written for children. There is a lot of exposition and the screenplay is unmemorable.
Jahzir Bruno, who plays the main protagonist, is very dull. He does not have a great presence in the film. The same is true with Stanley Tucci.
Tucci is an incredible actor who seems to have a very boring role. His role adds nothing to the story, and he brings nothing to the character. They wasted an incredible actor for a very boring role.
Robert Zemeckis has directed many iconic movies, however his directing in this film was very boring. There were no engaging shots. All of the shots were very simple which made the movie a little duller.
Overall, this was a fun children’s movie. Hathaway and Spencer delivered great performances, which are very memorable. The sets and visual effects looked marvelous.
“The Witches” is a great film for kids to watch this Halloween, but it adds nothing special to all of the Roald Dahl adaptations.
Rating: 3/5
Jack Freiser is a freshman majoring in either media studies or telecommunications. To contact him, email jef5614@psu.edu.
