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The Witches

The Witches

Horror · Thriller · Mystery · 1966

Following a nervous breakdown, Gwen takes up the job of head teacher in the small village of Haddaby. There she can benefit from the tranquillity and peace, enabling her to recover fully. But under the facade of idyllic country life she slowly unearths the frightening reality of village life in which the inhabitants are followers of a menacing satanic cult with the power to inflict indiscriminate evil and death if crossed.

Movie details

The Witches

“A STRANGER IN A TOWN THAT HAS LOST ITS MIND... IF SHE'S NOT CAREFUL, SHE MAY LOSE HERS TOO!”

1966 Horror · Thriller · Mystery 1h 29m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.0 / 10

Community rating

Following a nervous breakdown, Gwen takes up the job of head teacher in the small village of Haddaby. There she can benefit from the tranquillity and peace, enabling her to recover fully. But under the facade of idyllic country life she slowly unearths the frightening reality of village life in which the inhabitants are followers of a menacing satanic cult with the power to inflict indiscriminate evil and death if crossed.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Witches?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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The City of the Dead

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The Mothman Prophecies

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Cyril Frankel

Written by

Nigel Kneale

Joan Fontaine

Joan Fontaine

Gwen Mayfield

Kay Walsh

Kay Walsh

Stephanie Bax

Alec McCowen

Alec McCowen

Alan Bax

Ann Bell

Ann Bell

Sally Benson

Ingrid Boulting

Ingrid Boulting

Linda Rigg

John Collin

John Collin

Dowsett

Michele Dotrice

Michele Dotrice

Valerie Creek

Court is in session

Put The Witches on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.