Cauldron of hate for scarily bad remake
Shocking CGI sends chills down spine
Oh dear, what on Earth happened here.
With the man who treated us to the Back to the Future trilogy and Who Framed Roger Rabbit ( Robert Zemeckis) behind the camera and Oscar winners Anne Hathaway and Octavia Spencer leading its stars, The Witches remake could have cast a spell on modern audiences.
Instead, with its overreliance on stunningly poor CGI and a stodgy script, it leaves a very bad taste in the mouth.
If you are going to remake a beloved original – which the devilishly dark 1990 The Witches definitely was – then you have to do a much better job than this.
One of the shining lights in the original was the outstanding, practicalled, make- up job on the titular antagonists.
You’d think the passing of two decades would result in witches who at the very least match their predecessors’ chilling presence.
Sadly, they resemble shoddily designed cartoon characters who rather than conjuring up fear, evoke unintentional laughter and disbelief as to how anyone thought the digital effects used were good enough.
Even turning humans into mice was executed much better in the 1990 flick; and all you really need to do there is shoot footage of mice scampering about and use some voice- over!
The only thing that prevents this risible remake from earning one- star status is Hathaway and Spencer’s acting.
While falling short of Anjelica Huston’s iconic turn in the original, Hathaway chews up the scenery as the Grand High Witch, while Spencer’s Grandma gives the film a pathos it doesn’t deserve.
I always feel guilty picking on child performances but the young ensemble here are particularly weak, and the Chris Rock voice- over only drums up memories of the ace sitcom Everyone Hates Chris.
When I saw the trailer for The Witches 2020 it filled me with dread and unfortunately my fears were justified; the scariest thing on show is CGI so shocking it would send chills down Freddy Krueger’s spine.
● What are your thoughts on The Witches remake? Does it fall some way short of the original? What are your favourite film or TV adaptations of Roald Dahl’s books?
Pop me an email at ian. bunting@reachplc.com and I will pass on your comments – and any movie or TV show recommendations you have.