Best Witches In Movies

By Movie Geeks | October 20, 2015

‘The Witch Queen’ in THE LAST WITCH HUNTER.

The Witch: I’m not a witch, I’m not a witch!
Sir Bedevere: But you are dressed as one!
The Witch: *They* dressed me up like this!
Crowd: We didn’t! We didn’t…
The Witch: And this isn’t my nose. It’s a false one.
Sir Bedevere: [lifts up her false nose] Well?
Peasant 1: Well, we did do the nose.
Sir Bedevere: The nose?
Peasant 1: And the hat, but she is a witch!
Crowd: Yeah! Burn her! Burn her!

– Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Throughout history, witches have always gotten a bad rap. The Salem Witch Trials proved that.

Things didn’t improve with the birth of cinema. Filmmakers have had a magical time telling the tales of sorcery, magical powers and witchcraft.

Good or bad, funny or downright scary, their stories have fascinated moviegoers and these burnt offerings show no signs of slowing down.

Hitting theaters this Friday (October 23rd) comes the story of THE LAST WITCH HUNTER.

Starring Vin Diesel, Elijah Wood, Rose Leslie and Michael Caine, the most powerful witches that ever walked the earth are here to destroy us.

A gorgeously rendered, explosively physical and thoroughly original fantasy adventure, THE LAST WITCH HUNTER propels audiences into a complex mythological universe packed with intense battles, unthinkable treachery and unforgettable characters. Set in a world never before seen on screen, the story spans over 800 years of one man’s quest to keep an army of vicious supernatural creatures determined to wipe out humanity at bay. During the Middle Ages, the Witch Lords, six all-powerful siblings, emerged, unleashing their ultimate weapon on the world: the Black Death, a plague that killed as much as 60 percent of Europe’s population. A secret brotherhood calling themselves “The Order of Axe and The Cross” dedicated themselves to hunting down and destroying the Witch Queen in order to save mankind.

Presenting our list of the Best Witches in film history, here’s WAMG’s look at the characters that make us scream and those that make us squeal with delight!

BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS

The Best Witch in all movie history. For those who grew up on Walt Disney movies in the 1970’s, BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS is the much loved tale of Eglantine Price (Angela Lansbury), an apprentice witch fighting the good fight to protect her native England against the onslaught of invading Nazi forces – with a little help of her newfound magic powers. The musical adventure, with music and lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, won the Oscar for Best Effects, Special Visual Effects at the 1972 Academy Awards.

INTO THE WOODS

Having to fill the shoes of the incomparable Bernadette Peters who originated the role of the witch in the original Broadway production, Meryl Streep embodies the most recognizable character with her own brand of evil and humor. Not known for her singing voice, Streep uses her acting chops to become the witch that you practically end up loving by the end of the film.

THE WITCHES

The biggest reason to see this film – Anjelica Huston as ‘The Grand High Witch.’ In full makeup and a snarky cackle, she had a deliciously good time. Executive produced by Jim Henson, the 1990 film from Nicolas Roeg was based on Roald Dahl’s book “The Witches”.

THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT

“I’m so scared!”

Audiences went in wondering is this real or is it not? Did these three young filmmakers really go into the woods and was this the last moments of their lives? Shown in black & white, this modern, found-footage horror movie was a memorable scare. After searching for the legend of the Blair Witch, the three make some startling discoveries. Viewers went along for the frightening search where the story concludes with the discovery of the witches house – boy do they ever find it!

THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK

This trio of friends – Alex (Cher), Sukie (Michelle Pfeiffer), and Jane (Susan Sarandon) – meets up with the devil himself (Jack Nicholson) and conjure up powers they never thought they had. This delicious witches tale was directed by George Miller (MAD MAX: FURY ROAD). Trust us, you’ll never think of cherries in the same way ever again.

HOCUS POCUS

The Sanderson Sisters also made our list. Three wild witches – Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy – return from 17th-century Salem after they’re accidentally resurrected by some unsuspecting pranksters! The tricky 300-year-old sisters run amok, set out to cast a spell on the town and reclaim their youth – but first they must outwit three kids and a talking cat.

ROSEMARY’S BABY

This coven is something out of a nightmare! Complete with a black cradle, the devil’s spawn is born to an affluent NYC couple in director Roman Polanski simple, but totally effective thriller. Variety’s review stated, “Several exhilarating milestones are achieved in Rosemary’s Baby, an excellent film version of Ira Levin’s diabolical chiller novel. Writer-director Roman Polanski has triumphed in his first US-made pic. The film holds attention without explicit violence or gore…Farrow’s performance is outstanding.” Ruth Gordon won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

BLACK SUNDAY

Pauline Kael described it as “a rich draught of vampire’s blood. With its crypts and cobwebs and eerie old castles set in batty, steamy forests, its sumptuous enough to have acquired a considerable reputation.”

The idea of a witch coming back to life was a must for our list! Barbara Steele stars in the story, based very loosely on Nikolai Gogol’s short story “Viy”, about a witch who is put to death by her own brother, only to return 200 years later to seek revenge on her descendants. Yeah, we’d come back too.

STARDUST

We have a soft spot for Matthew Vaughn’s fairytale of magical worlds, wicked witches, flying pirates, and dashing princes. It was Michelle Pfeiffer’s scene stealing performance as the old witch Lamia that caught our eye.

THE WIZARD OF OZ

“I’ll get you my pretty… and your little dog too,” says it all.

THE CRUCIBLE

The Salem witch trials of 1692 were so demented – how could this film not be on our list!

I MARRIED A WITCH

“Love is stronger than witchcraft.”

Veronica Lake, Fredric March, Cecil Kellaway, Robert Benchley and Susan Hayward star in this 1942 fantasy romantic comedy. A 300-year-old witch wreaks havoc when she falls in love with a young politician. This charming movie has some great special effects too!

SUSPIRIA

“Susie, do you know anything about… witches?”

A coven of witches, at a remote dance academy, and in the Black Forest of Germany -perfect setup for one of the scariest movies ever. Director Dario Argento’s 1977 classic SUSPIRIA is widely considered a masterpiece of the horror genre.

DRAG ME TO HELL

Director Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead Trilogy) takes on the horror genre with a vengeance. You know what happens when you unwittingly try to evict an old witch from her house? You become the victim of an evil curse while a dark spirit tries to drag your soul to hell. Lovely.

Read Travis Keune’s original review here.

For those of you liking a little witchcraft past the Halloween season, coming to cinemas on Feb. 26th is THE WITCH. (Trailer)

Read Michael Haffner’s early review here.

Visit the official site: www.thelastwitchhunter.movie

Discover your own inner-witch at http://www.WitchesRevealed.com

THE LAST WITCH HUNTER opens on
Friday, October 23rd

Contributed by Michelle McCue and Melissa Thompson