WITCH HUNT: Movie Review
Happy Easter, everyone! I hope you are all doing well and keeping safe! I wanted to share a little review of a movie I recently watched that I thought was quite fun! It is currently available on Amazon Prime so if you have that, I would recommend you check it out!
The Movie
Trailer: https://player.vimeo.com/video/214748509
When five young women gather to play a witch-themed board game, they begin to suspect one of the them may actually be a witch, in this contained, supernatural thriller that deal with friendship, old wounds, and the Satanic Panic of the 80s and 90s. - Amazon website
WITCH HUNT is an 2017 indie horror comedy that was directed by Philip Schaeffer and stars Melina Bartzokis, Erin Curtis, Abby Eiland, Lillian Olive, Robyn Pucay, Suzanne Blunk, and Trisha Miller. It was also the winner of THE SPIRIT OF GEN CON at the Gen Con Film Festival (though I couldn’t find a date reference for this.)
The movie is about a group of women who gather to celebrate a friend’s birthday. They end up playing a card game called Witch Hunt, which is played similarly to Secret Hitler or Werewolf. But, you know, with witches.
From the very start of the movie, it is made clear that something else is going on and there is an ulterior motive for the party. The movie itself is divided into rounds, much like the game, and each round focusses on one of the women at the party.
Review
I really enjoyed this movie. I do feel that I should warn you not to go into it without being open to a sense of fun and fondness for satire – as in, don’t go expecting a movie like It Follows or VVitch. While this is also an indie movie, it’s a bit more tongue in cheek and -- if I had to guess -- was done with a smaller budget/window of time.
I will admit, at first, the characters took me aback. They seemed a little too polite, a little too formal, a little too perfect, but then it quickly became clear that there was a reason behind this. As the evening wore on, the women lost their external shell and revealed more flaws and what they were actually thinking. It made the characters more interesting because you then realize that you don’t really know what they were thinking the whole time or what they are capable of.
On top of that, the movie was cleverly framed so that the viewer began to wonder if there is a witch after all, or if all the characters are unstable. Or both. The cinematography also plays a big part in creating tension, as well as the music.
This is definitely the movie you want to watch for a little light-hearted fun, mixed in with your psychological horror.Another thing: I would 100% play Witch Hunt. Why haven’t the people who made the movie made the game yet?
Score: 8/10
x P.L. McMillan