The Witches DVD
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 Rating: - Stunning!
Luke's Norwegian grandmother loves to tell him scary stories about witches when he visits from America. She's not trying to frighten the little boy, she just wants to warn him of the real dangers that lurk out in the world. See, when she was a girl, she lost one of her good friends to the evil magic of a neighborhood witch. And, after hunting them down all her life in search of the Grand High Witch, she even lost part of a finger. Actually, against the witches in this film, it's amazing that's all she lost! One fateful night, while Luke is in his grandmother's care as his parents enjoy an evening out, tragedy strikes! Luke's mom and dad are killed in a car accident. Now, Luke is left alone with his grandmother, and she is not in the best of health. When she has a diabetic attack on Luke's birthday (man, this kid has it rough!), the doctor decrees that they should take a short vacation. Off Luke and Grandmother go, to a grand, luxurious hotel in England. But the bad luck continues, as the Grand High Witch is holding her annual Witches' Convention in the same hotel at the same time! Witches from all over the world are running about the hotel in disguise, and if you don't catch the purple glint in their eyes, you'll never know who they are!

Angelica Huston plays the Grand High Witch, who has an evil plot to change all the world's children into mice with tainted candy bars. With her suitcase full of money and her tiny bottles of potion, she will send each of her witches to a different city, where they'll each open up a candy store and let the horror begin! A tubby little boy named Bruno is also staying at the hotel and is the first victim of the evil trick when The Grand High Witch uses him as a demonstration for the others. Luke witnesses the whole thing, and so they immediately change him as well. Now, it's up to these two little mice to stop the Witches from leaving the hotel and carrying on with their wicked plan! But, being a mouse in a huge hotel full of people is hard enough without having to worry about "The Witches!"

"The Witches" is a wonderful, though somewhat scary family film for Halloween or anytime! The Roald Dahl story is enchanting, and the whole portrayal of the witches was horrifyingly excellent! This is the way I like to see Witches on film! Long noses, ugly faces, and pure evil, like in Hocus Pocus and the Wizard of Oz! These are frightening Halloween witches the way I always envisioned them as a kid, and I wish we'd get to see more films with witches like this, including out and out horror films! The first half had the makings of a great horror film in the tradition of legendary studios like Hammer and Amicus, and I would have loved to have seen such a movie, but I still love "The Witches" for what it actually is: Grade-A Family Horror. I would have LOVED to have seen some good sequels at least. The casting of Angelica Huston was perfect, the mood and atmosphere was brilliant, especially the opening back story, and Jim Henson's work was masterful, as usual. A healthy dose of comedy is thrown in as well, most notably thanks to Mr. Bean himself, Rowan Atkinson! Everyone should own a copy of this film, though be warned that it IS frightening for little kids, but it also teaches some good lessons on avoiding strangers bearing gifts and candy.

Now, for some reason, family films are frequently released in "Full Screen" only. It's an annoyance, and the lack of any extras doesn't help, but I suppose it's still an upgrade from my old VHS, since it IS DVD. So, full screen or not, I highly recommend owning "The Witches" to anyone who enjoys innovative family films with a touch of magic and fright! Particularly perfect for the witching season!

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