The Witches (2020)

 

Director: Robert Zemeckis. Cast: Anne Hathaway, Octavia Spencer, Jahzir Bruno, Stanley Tucci, Chris Rock, Kristen Chenoweth. 106 min. Fantasy/Comedy.

• In this remake of Roald Dahl's book (first directed in 1990, by Nicolas Roeg), a boy attempts to expose a covenant of witches, even after they've turned him into a mouse.  
• As he's done again and again, in Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Death Becomes Her, Beowulf, ..., Zemeckis tries to see how much he can push benign story ideas into adult territory. Here, the witches (their appearance, and what they do to kids) are quite scary, and I'm not sure I'd show this kids' movie to my 10-year-old - even though he's seen his fair share of R-rated movies. From the opening scenes of any movie, the viewer should have a good idea what the movie wants to be; you shouldn't surprise them by going off course and delivering something else. 
• Guillermo Del Toro, lover of surreal fantasy and horror (Pan's Labyrinth, Crimson Peak, The Shape of the Water) co-wrote and co-produced this with Zemeckis. No wonder.
• Nevertheless, Octavia Spencer and Anne Hathaway are always great. Always.

MoGo's rating: 6/10

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