Roald Dahl’s The Witches

Streaming from tomorrow

THE British writer’s 1983 children’s story is brought back to the screen in all its macabre glory by director Robert Zemeckis and his horror maestro co-writer Guillermo del Toro.

Is it better than Nicolas Roeg’s 1990 version? Probably not. But the talented film-making duo make for a very interesting double act.

The most ob obvious bv change is the e setting.

E England has been sw swapped w for Alabama, wh where h the loveable old lad lady d is armed with voodoo kn know-how no and witches target bla black a kids as their disappearances are e less likely to be investigated by y the police. It’s a clever way to fre freshen es it up.

W We begin in 1968 as lonely

Chh Charlie (Jahzir Kadeem Bruno) is sent en to live with Grandma (Octavia

Spencer) after the death of his parents. After being targeted by a local witch, she takes him to a grand old hotel to hide out, unaware it is about to host a diabolical convention.

When we hear Anne Hathaway’s Grand High Witch’s weird accent (“garlic” sounds a bit like “greeooorlic) and her odd totter (she’s hiding clawed feet in her heels) we know it’s going to be quite a ride. Dahl always knew how to satisfy children’s thirst for the grotesque without giving them sleepless nights. Although I do wonder if a line is crossed with the special effects – when the whiff of a child reaches her nostrils, Hathaway’s mouth turns into a terrifying razor-toothed maw. But Zemeckis balances the horror with Grandma’s witty wisdom and cute talking mice.