The Witches
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date (Streaming): October 22, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
47
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
17
Negative:
6
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
ABC NewsPeter TraversOct 23, 2020
The British author's wickedly twisted children's book is transferred to the Deep South in the 1960s to provide a racial diversity meant to speak to a 2020 audience with a pertinent understatement that is otherwise in short supply. Read full review
60
Total FilmKate StablesOct 21, 2020
It’s ‘Hello Dahl-y’, as Anne Hathaway’s Grand High Witch brings camp not creepiness to Zemeckis’ entertaining fairytale. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyOct 21, 2020
I would love to have seen what a boldly idiosyncratic fantasist like del Toro could have done with this story. But there's plenty here for audiences looking for family entertainment that balances darkness with a buoyant sense of mischief. At the very least, it's a lively step up from Zemeckis' last two films, "Allied" and "Welcome to Marwen." Read full review
60
EmpireNick de SemlyenOct 21, 2020
A supernatural, effects-laden yarn like this is right in Robert Zemeckis' wheelhouse. Which makes it a little disheartening that it’s merely good, rather than great. Dahl's story still sings, but like a potion missing eye of newt, this new take is slightly undercooked. Read full review
60
Screen RantRachel LaBonteOct 21, 2020
The Witches is certainly bolstered by its performances and visuals (which is to be expected of a Zemeckis production), and while its speedy story will win over young audiences, it could've reached new heights had Zemeckis, del Toro, and Barris dared to add a bit more padding. Read full review
58
Vanity FairRichard LawsonOct 21, 2020
Most vitally, the film has frightening, wiggly moments that ought to send young viewers happily scooting forward on the couch, or just as happily hiding under a throw pillow. The film, at its best, is gross and silly and amiably unsettling, which may be all that counts. Read full review
50
Original-CinJim SlotekDec 23, 2020
Dahl’s work demands darkness and an edge, but instead there’s a bright Hollywood-y antic sense to Zemeckis’s The Witches, and the overused and unconvincing FX only serve to trivialize what we’re seeing. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliOct 23, 2020
It’s the same basic story recycled with slightly better special effects and a different cast. As lukewarm as I was toward the Roeg version, I was open to the possibility that Zemeckis could improve upon it – something he proved unable to do. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy BurrOct 21, 2020
It’s rated PG, but trust me, it’ll give younger kids the screaming meemees. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Oct 21, 2020
Where is the Zemeckis who projected a cartoon-noir Christopher Lloyd into every child’s nightmares? The same director has thrown a softening, coddling filter over Dahl, preserving the shape of his source material while sanding down its edges. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattOct 21, 2020
This Witches, alas, has the misfortune of doubling down on all the late writer's eccentricities, while somehow finding only a fraction of his magic. Read full review
50
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzOct 21, 2020
There is an element of sadness to this story that’s necessary to make it effective. Take that away and you’re left with a cute kids’ tale that doesn’t trust younger audiences to process the elements that can be difficult — and that make it better. Read full review
50
IGNRafael MotamayorOct 21, 2020
Zemeckis turns this beloved, dark story into a campy, weird, yet still fairly entertaining kid-friendly story of accepting oneself. The problem is that it pales in comparison to what came before. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperOct 21, 2020
The special effects are first-rate and the performances are way over the top yet entertaining, but The Witches is far too disturbing for young children and not edgy enough to captivate adults. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangOct 21, 2020
For much of this movie you may find yourself hoping that Zemeckis might somehow recapture the entrancingly macabre spirit of “Death Becomes Her,” still one of his greatest pictures and one of the few in which his flair for ever more outlandish visual effects feels perfectly in sync with the story he’s telling. But despite a few flashes of novelty . . . The Witches is pretty thin brew by comparison, concocted from mostly secondhand ingredients. Read full review
40
Screen DailyTim GriersonOct 21, 2020
The director doesn’t draw well-rounded performances from Bruno or Eastick, failing to capture the awe or confusion of youth. What we get instead are adrenalised chase scenes and needlessly showy special effects that lack charm. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawOct 21, 2020
The spell does not get cast. Read full review
More From This Movie

47 Critic Reviews

4.7 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 71 The Sheep Detectives
5 68 Crime 101
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL