Witch Hunt

WITCH HUNT is posited as a horror movie but despite a handful of dark moment it turns out to be anything but. Instead this is an alternate reality story in which witches are common in society but still subject to the whims and wherefores of a religiously strict America which means that the witch burnings once commonplace in the middle ages are still taking place. I get the feeling that this was meant to be the horror version of THE HANDMAID'S TALE, but unfortunately as a film it's simply not very interesting: too slow, and with all the interesting plot bits squeezed in at the end. The only remarkable thing about it is the number of ginger actresses they've assembled in a single movie.

Witch Hunt is set in an alternative modern day USA in which witches are hunted, tried and executed. A teenage girl and her mother in Southern California help accused women find safety but their lives change for good when the daughter is charged with being a witch. This is an interesting idea and makes a change to the slew of modern zombie, vampire and slasher movies, sadly the reason for this draconian and horrific state of affairs is not explained. This is a fairly mild horror movie, perhaps supernatural fantasy or thriller would best describe it. I would say that the target audience is teenage girls and female twenty somethings but as a middle aged man I found this to be a reasonable time filler. The acting is OK but the CGI effects look quite cheap, there are some incredibly generous reviews on here, take these with a pinch of salt! One of the most memorable scenes has girls being ducked by witch finders in a school swimming pool, fair play to the makers to come up with that!

More of a political tale than a horror one, this film's set in a time where witches are "discriminated against" for using their powers. But one girl and her mom are in to help them.

When I sat down to watch the 2021 movie "Witch Hunt", I must admit that I was expecting more in the horror department from writer and director Elle Callahan. But instead I found myself in for a political horror of sorts.

The storyline told in "Witch Hunt" definitely was one that failed to entertain me in a memorable way. Sure, the movie was watchable, but I found the storyline to be rather uneventful and slow paced. There was just simply too little happening of any worth throughout the course of the movie, so I wasn't particularly entertained.

And while the movie does have a good cast ensemble, with the likes of Elizabeth Mitchell and Lulu Antariksa on the cast list, then the storyline was just an anchor around their ankles, holding them back.

There is a little bit of CGI involved in the movie, as there is a dash of witchcraft actually to be seen in the movie. Sure, the effects were good, but I must admit for a movie that was based on witchcraft, then I was expecting more in the magic department. But I guess that the movie's title was referring more to the thing when people run a campaign against someone because of their opinions, views or beliefs, and not really actual magical witchcraft.

Regardless, then "Witch Hunt" was a movie that fell short of providing me with wholehearted entertainment. And as such, then my rating of writer and director Elle Callahan's 2021 movie lands on a mere three out of ten stars.

The trailer looked promising however I gave up after about 45 minutes. I liked the premise of the film, however there is no explanation of how a death squad was hunting the witches and how they are relevant in modern society.

The pacing was also terribly slow, which didn't help at all.

Overall had potential but poorly executed.