The blessing and the curse of the Age of the Internet is that anyone can make anything and find a way to have it distributed for mass consumption. No, it's not necessarily fair to begin making judgments as soon as a film begins, yet very often - whether quality is very high or very low - one can begin to gain an impression very quickly. 'Wicked witches,' alternatively known as 'The witches of Dumpling Farm,' is definitely an instance where certain matters draw our attention from the get-go. Consider the dull, lethargic direction that lets moments proceed slowly and linger interminably, and which deadens any feelings that one might hope to derive from a horror film. Are you looking for tension, suspense, unease, fright, thrills, chills, or excitement? Sorry, keep looking. Even when discrete genre elements are presented to us, such as blood, gore, heightened emotions, or would-be disturbing imagery, the incidence is all too often tiresomely flat, lifeless, and matter-of-fact, and maybe outright blunt and tactless; documentarians have elicited more engagement. (No, truly. Have you watched anything from Werner Herzog? The man is a genius.)
It's reasonable to suppose that Martin's direction is to blame, yet one way or another the cast doesn't come off well. The performances are largely stale and wooden and/or otherwise unbelievable, and no one comes off worse than Justin Marosa. To be honest, the same blandness and synonymic descriptors apply to most of these eighty-odd minutes, and this 100%, absolutely, positively includes the dialogue, which is also just plain terrible. The premise holds promise, and there are fair ideas in the narrative that have surely been the basis of a good time in other titles. There are also bad ideas in the narrative, though, including too much of the party, a scene which comprises a fair portion of the length; the scene writing and characterizations tend to swiftly grow wearisome. I guess we can at least say that this boasts crisp, vivid, and smooth cinematography, nice hair and makeup, some splendid art direction, and decent production values, but if you think that these alone constitute value deserving one's viewership, I desperately implore you to watch another movie - any other movie. Most of the effects that are employed look swell, but oddly enough, it's the most simple ones (when eyes shift) that are the most transparent and unconvincing.
It takes a little more than half of the runtime for us to really get the sinister fun we came here for as the plot meaningfully kicks up. As this happens, however, we also see how emptily self-indulgent some of Martin's choices can be as both director and cinematographer. Moreover, for whatever invigoration and slight atmosphere we do get in the latter half, the proceedings continue to be troubled by further instances of that dull, lethargic direction, questionable scene writing, and other issues, including overdone vocal effects. What it comes down to, sadly, is that there's nothing in 'Wicked witches' that we can't get elsewhere, and those aspects that trouble this feature weigh so heavily upon it that the entertainment to be had is wanting. Not everything about this is rotten, but too much is weak, and the facets that are appreciable struggle to lift the whole above "middling" - not least as they are often adjoined by the flaws. I'll say this much: the variable strength that the picture bears in the second half, where violence reigns supreme, represents the best that it has to offer, and with that strength is sufficient vitality to save the viewing experience from the bottom of the barrel. Would that the filmmakers' worst impulses were reigned in, that as much care had been applied toward other elements as had been toward the horror brutality, and perhaps that someone in addition to the Pickerings had consulted on the production and provided an outsider's perspective.
There are certainly far worse things you could watch. Unfortunately, unless you're hard-up for genre fare or a huge fan of someone involved (none of whom are specifically known to me), there's also no major reason to watch this over countless other similar flicks that are out there in the world. If you do find yourself pressing "play" then it's passably enjoyable, but only if you can make it through the first half without stopping, and that there is slack to be picked up is the sticking point. Watch or not, it's your choice, but there are too many other films to invest in to spend time with 'Wicked witches.'
