The Witches (1990 film)

The Witches is a 1990 dark fantasy comedy film directed by Nicolas Roeg, produced by Jim Henson and starring Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling, Rowan Atkinson, and Jasen Fisher. It is based on the 1983 book of the same name by Roald Dahl. The film was very well received by critics, but performed poorly at the box office.

About The Witches (1990 film) in brief

Summary The Witches (1990 film)The Witches is a 1990 dark fantasy comedy film directed by Nicolas Roeg, produced by Jim Henson and starring Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling, Rowan Atkinson, and Jasen Fisher. It is based on the 1983 book of the same name by Roald Dahl. As in the original novel, the story features evil witches who masquerade as ordinary women and kill children, and a boy and his grandmother must find a way to foil their plans. The film was very well received by critics, but performed poorly at the box office; however, it has retained a cult following over the years. Luke Eveshim, 8, is warned about witches, female demons with a boundless hatred for children and who use various methods of destroying or transforming them. Helga tells Luke how to tell a witch from an ordinary woman: real witches have claws instead of fingernails, are bald which they hide by wearing wigs that give them rashes, have square feet with no toes, have a purple tinge in their pupils and have a powerful sense of smell which they use to sniff out children.

Luke hides inside the ballroom and spies on the witches’ meeting. Eva unveils her latest creation: a magic potion to turn all the world’s children into mice. Luke devises a plan to defeat the witches by sneaking into Eva’s room to steal a bottle of the potion, then sneaking into the kitchen and put it into the soup for the special RSPCC party. In the midst of the chaos, Helga spots the potion and traps her under a water jug before pointing out to Mr Stringer, who chops her in two with a meataver. That night, Miss Irvine, now a good witch, returns to America and transforms Luke back to human form and transforms his pet into a mouse. She then returns to his bewildered parents and Luke and Helga return home. Luke’s parents are killed in a car accident, and he becomes Helga’s legal guardian and they move to England. Luke is discovered and runs to Helga in their room but finds her resting after having a diabetes-induced dizzy spell.