SOTW: The Witches Review

Luke and his Grandma move to England after his parents die in an accident. Well-informed by his Grandma's tales, Luke notices that there are witches everywhere. When he becomes trapped in a conference room full of these nasty, vile creatures, he overhears their plot to rid the world of all children.

This Jim Henson movie is based on the novel The Witches by Roald Dahl. It's full of suspense, danger and creepy witches. As you'd expect from a Henson movie, it's got great visual effects, make up and adorable puppets.

English viewers will recognize a lot of the main cast, such as Rowan Atkinson (Mr Bean, Blackadder), Jane Horrocks (Little Voice, Bubbles from Absolutely Fabulous), and Bill Paterson (Law & Order: UK).

The movie is not as good and scary as the book, mostly because Roald Dahl's vivid writing and Quentin Blake's iconic drawings make it very easy to immerse in the world of the story for yourself. It's not quite as easy to get into this movie.

Anjelica Huston is very convincing as the head-witch though. She's elegant and aristocratic in human form but once freed of her disguise she really does seem like the most wretched woman on Earth. Luke and his Grandma are very sweet.

All in all it's still an enjoyable movie, and a good one to watch if you're babysitting/childminding because I bet that young kids will be on the edge of their seat.