The Doomed Witch is a film released in 1983 that tells the story of a young witch named Sarah who is condemned by her community. The film takes place in a small village in the 17th century where witch hunts and trials are prevalent. Sarah, a misunderstood and kind-hearted young woman, is accused of practicing witchcraft by her jealous neighbor, Martha. Despite Sarah's pleas of innocence, the villagers quickly turn against her, believing the accusations made by Martha and other townsfolk. Sarah is subjected to a grueling trial, where she is interrogated and tortured in an attempt to force her to confess to being a witch. Throughout the film, the audience witnesses Sarah's unwavering resolve to maintain her innocence and her refusal to conform to society's expectations of what a witch should be.
“What makes her dangerous is the fact that she doesn’t look dangerous,” Luke’s beloved grandmother warns him in one of her many lectures about witches. “Real witches dress in ordinary clothes and look very much like ordinary women. They live in ordinary houses and they work in ordinary jobs.” What The Witches highlights here is the seeming mundanity of evil, that bad people don’t necessarily wear a black hat and twirl a moustache. Every stranger is not out to hurt you, but any stranger could, and there are few clear ways to distinguish the good from the bad. And as a child, the mere idea that there are people out there, walking around like everyone else, who want to hurt you simply because you’re young and vulnerable? That’s terrifying.
The Witches , indeed, feels like one of the last hurrahs of the sort of laissez faire parenting that would see adults set their children loose on society to fend for themselves until dinnertime. The combination of high-profile child kidnappings and the development of the 24 hour news cycle meant that parents were on high alert, desperate to protect their children from a seemingly threatening larger world.
Throughout the film, the audience witnesses Sarah's unwavering resolve to maintain her innocence and her refusal to conform to society's expectations of what a witch should be. She is portrayed as a strong and independent character who refuses to be silenced by the oppressive forces around her. The Doomed Witch also explores broader themes such as the dangers of fear and superstition, and the destructive power of mob mentality.
Something Wicked This Way Comes
The opening scenes of "Something Wicked This Way Comes" might remind you a little of Orson Welles' "The Magnificent Ambersons." Both films begin with a nostalgic memory of what it was like to grow up in a small Midwestern town, back before everything became modern and a sense of wonder was lost.
What the two films also have in common is a love of language. The screenplay for "Something Wicked This Way Comes" was written by Ray Bradbury, based on his novel, and it's one of the rare American films to savor the sound of words, and their rhythms. That's true in the writing, and it's also true in the acting; Jason Robards, who has the lead in this film, is allowed to use his greatest gift, his magnificently controlled speaking voice, more poetically in this movie than in anything else he's done in years.
AdvertisementThe movie is a fantasy, the story of how Dark's Pandemonium Carnival came to town one night (arriving on a glorious carnival train with no engineer at the controls and no passengers in the cars), and of how the carnival's main attraction was temptation.
What could it tempt you with? With whatever you wanted the most. And in the case of the Robards character, an aging small-town librarian with a young son, what he wanted the most was life and youth. The challenge set him is a difficult one. If he can resist that temptation, he can redeem the whole town. If he relents, all is doomed. The scenes involving the carnival are an interesting blend of special effects and nostalgia, including a merry-go-round that spins backward into time.
The carnival owner, Mr. Dark (Jonathan Pryce), is very likely a confederate of the devil. And his assistants include the very beautiful Dust Witch, played by the stately, lovely Pam Grier in a change-of-career role after her decade of tough women.
"Something Wicked This Way Comes" qualifies as a horror film, but it's an altogether different kind than we've been getting lately. The new breed of horror movies are essentially geek shows, exercises in despair in which all hope has been abandoned and evil rules the world. Bradbury's world of fantasy calls back to an earlier tradition, to the fantasies of Lord Dunsany, Saki and John Collier (but not H. P. Lovecraft!) -- horror fantasies in which evil was a distinct possibility, but men also had within them the possibility of redemption. Robards is offered a choice in this movie, and it is a choice. Things need not end in disaster.
There's another interesting thing about this movie. It's one of the few literary adaptations I've seen in which the film not only captures the mood and tone of the novel, but also the novel's style. Bradbury's prose is a strange hybrid of craftsmanship and lyricism. He builds his stories and novels in a straightforward way, with strong plotting, but his sentences owe more to Thomas Wolfe than to the pulp tradition, and the lyricism isn't missed in this movie.
In its descriptions of autumn days, in its heartfelt conversations between a father and a son, in the unabashed romanticism of its evil carnival and even in the perfect rhythm of its title, this is a horror movie with elegance.
However, today we’re going to focus on the first adaptation of the books: A made-for-TV movie in 1986 that stars a very young Fairuza Balk (Return to Oz), Charlotte Rae (Facts of Life), and Tim Curry (Clue). Balk is Mildred Hubble, an oh-so-slightly clumsy first-year witch who is the only kid in this all-girls school who isn’t instantly perfect. Thus, she’s the “worst” witch who does things like stumble into other kids and not get her potion mixture right. This marks her for extreme persecution by fellow students and Miss Hardbroom, who I’m convinced was Severus Snape’s mother.
The film serves as a poignant commentary on the historical witch trials that plagued societies during this time period. In the end, Sarah's fate is sealed, as she is found guilty of witchcraft and sentenced to be burned at the stake. The film closes with a powerful scene of Sarah facing her death with courage and dignity, refusing to renounce her beliefs until the very end. Overall, The Doomed Witch is a powerful and thought-provoking film that sheds light on the dark history of witch hunts and the injustices faced by innocent individuals who were accused of witchcraft. It serves as a reminder of the dangers of unfounded accusations and the importance of standing up for what is right, even in the face of adversity..
Reviews for "The Timeless Terror of The Doomed Witch 1983"
1. Jennifer - 1 star
I thought "The Doomed Witch 1983" was a complete waste of time. The storyline was confusing and lacked coherence, making it hard to follow along. The acting was also subpar, with over-the-top performances that felt forced and unnatural. The special effects were laughable, and the overall production quality was extremely low. I was hoping for a gripping and eerie witch tale, but instead, I was left feeling disappointed and unsatisfied. I would not recommend this movie to anyone.
2. Mark - 2 stars
"The Doomed Witch 1983" had an interesting concept, but the execution fell flat. The pacing was incredibly slow, and the film failed to build any suspense or tension. The characters were poorly developed, and I found it hard to care about their fate. The dialogue was also weak and lacked depth, leaving me disconnected from the story. Additionally, the cinematography and editing were amateurish, making the film hard to watch at times. Overall, I found "The Doomed Witch 1983" underwhelming and wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking for a good horror film.
3. Sarah - 1 star
I regret wasting my time on "The Doomed Witch 1983". The plot was filled with clichés and predictable twists that made the movie dull and uninteresting. The acting was unconvincing, with performances that felt robotic and emotionless. The film relied heavily on jump scares, which became repetitive and lost their impact after a while. The lack of originality and creativity left me frustrated and bored throughout the entire film. I would advise anyone considering watching it to save their time and find a better horror movie to enjoy.
4. Michael - 2 stars
"The Doomed Witch 1983" had potential, but it failed to deliver. The plot was convoluted and confusing, leaving too many unanswered questions. The characters were poorly developed, and their motives were unclear, making it hard to engage with the story. The film also suffered from poor pacing, with moments of dragged-out scenes that added nothing to the overall narrative. The special effects were lackluster, and the scares were cheap and predictable. While I appreciate the attempt at a witch-themed horror film, "The Doomed Witch 1983" fell short of my expectations.