The Witches

Young Luke certainly knows a thing or two about witches. His Norwegian grandmother, with whom he has grown up following the death of his parents in an accident, taught him about the dangers they posed from an early age. And so he easily recognizes them by the characteristic violet sparkle in their eyes and their flat feet when a witches’ congress happens to be taking place in the English coastal hotel where he is on holiday with his grandmother. Led by the Grand High Witch played by Anjelica Huston (with a considerable relish for the demonic) and disguised as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, the witches hatch a murderous plan: to get rid of all the detested children once and for all by turning them into mice using chocolate laced with a magic potion. This film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book impresses with special effects as lovingly crafted as they are terrifying, created under the supervision of Muppet creator Jim Henson. (al)