6th February 2019
It’s a film, even as a child, that you question if you should be watching or not.
The Witches (1990) is a film that doesn’t come with the reassurances of most family movies. The careful mix of storytelling, casting, score, humour and subject matter, to name a few, makes you laugh, cry, hope and watch between your fingers throughout the 90-minute duration. Even though this film is rated PG and comes from the mind of the much-loved children’s author Roald Dahl, it is far from child friendly. The Witches burrows into you from a young age, and it’s one of the first films you’ll see that demonstrates that the world is much darker than you once thought, with or without witches.
The Witches is one of the pillars of ‘scary PG films’. It’s a film, even as a child, that you question if you should be watching or not. You’d be sure that your parents would stop you viewing it if they saw half the things that were in it. The PG sticker on the spine of the box and the fact that the book was read to children in schools would definitely lull them into a false sense of security. Other honourable mentions in the scary PG club are: Ghostbusters (1984), Return to Oz (1985) and Willow (1988). However, unlike these films, the horrors presented in The Witches are a lot closer to home and it’s hard to feel safe once the film is over.
Scary from the start
The opening credits set the tone that the film is going to be a kind of swashbuckling adventure with elements of danger and terror. The relatively upbeat orchestral score by Stanley Myers accompanied by the camera’s fast POV zoom over a vast, snowy mountain range has more in common with something like The Goonies (1985) than The Omen (1976). The elongated green font with the witch-like evil laugh from Angelica Houston throws in the promise of being a little scary, but overall we should be safe. We’re not.
What follows is one of the most harrowing and chilling 10 minutes in children’s cinema. The upbeat score ceases and the slow build of terror begins. Luke’s Grandmother tells him about witches, but we, the audience, don’t see her straight away. Her cautionary tale begins as we see shots of a quiet neighbourhood in the early morning – the Grandmother is not only telling Luke about how dangerous they are, and how cautious he should be, she’s also telling us. Witches don’t just live in this world; they live in our world too.
We then see what they are really capable of, and much of the fear comes from what you don’t see – the things you have to put together yourself. How does the girl get into the picture? When does she change her position? How did the grandmother lose a finger and how did she manage to get away?
In the book the Grandmother lists several other examples of the witches’ evil doings during her childhood. These include turning one child into a porpoise and another into a chicken. Even though these are tragic events, they have quirky silver linings. The porpoise gives rides to his siblings and the chicken lays eggs which are then used for the family’s omelettes. However, the one and only tale the Grandmother tells in the film adaptation is a lot more chilling and is devoid of any silver lining. It’s a tale that is a lot more plausible, and something we’ve all been warned against ourselves.
Stranger Danger
The abduction of little Erica is a scenario that everyone from seven to seventy can relate to. A child is sent out on an errand and never returns. A manhunt starts and people far and wide help look for the little girl. She is never physically found and the family are left in limbo and can never make peace with what has happened. Even when she is ‘found’.
The fate of Erica is truly tragic. Her image is constantly there in the form of her father’s picture of the farmyard. Her presence is a constant reminder and her memory lives on, but she never quite exists as she was, which is something that is impossible for any parent to come to terms with. The scenario that Erica found herself in is something that everyone would have been warned against.
Children growing up in the 70s, 80s and 90s would have always been told the following at some point:
‘don’t talk to strangers, even if they say they’re a friend of mummy and daddy’
‘don’t get into cars with people you don’t know’
‘don’t accept treats from people waiting at the school gate.’
This is instilled in us, but we’re never told what the consequences are if we disobey. Obviously, this is because the real consequences are truly harrowing and near impossible for children, and even adults, to fully comprehend and explain.
The Witches does an excellent job of providing you with a possible answer to what happens if you talk to strangers. It sanitises the true horror of the situation with something fantastical and far-fetched whilst addressing the fact that some people shouldn’t be trusted. They come with smiles and gifts in an effort to earn your trust, but they have evil intentions. In The Witches the evil intentions are presented as physical attributes - square feet, baldness and purple eyes. In the real world, it’s a lot harder to tell.
The Blend of Horror and Humour
The humour used in the film helps play down but also enhance the horrors that are on screen. The comedic performances of Rowan Atkinson, Brenda Blethyn, Bill Patterson and Jane Horrocks add suitable comic relief to proceedings, which makes scenes such as the unveiling of The Grand High Witch easier to absorb. However, it is the comedic elements that make the horror much scarier.
Scarier scenes are heighted by the fact you don’t see them coming – they come after Rowan Atkinson’s pronunciation ‘cock-a-leekie!’or Patterson’s and Blethyn’s portrayal of Bruno’s bickering parents. You are pulled from light humour to abject horror in the space of minutes, not knowing how to fully process what is on screen.
A remake of The Witches has already been completed and is slated for release in October this year. Given the developments of the digital age since the 1990 adaptation, it will be interesting to see if the more insidious side of the online world e.g. online grooming, will be a technique used by witches to target their prey. However, this may be a little too close to the bone for an audience to digest, as well as explain to younger children.
The Witches is a one of the first films that will teach you that even if evil is defeated, you’ll never be as innocent and safe as you once were. You can’t unwatch what you have seen and it will stay with you forever. It’s child horror at it’s very best. If you’ve not viewed this before or are looking to watch it again, then listen to the words of The Grand High Witch – ‘you’re in for a treat.’