10 Scariest Witches In Horror Movies

Gretel & Hansel was an under-the-radar release with gorgeous cinematography and big ideas that it couldn't quite conclude in a satisfying way. One positive that cannot be denied, though, is Alice Krige's take of the classic Grimm Brothers' Witch.

Based on the fairy-tale, Gretel and Hansel are two siblings who find themselves in the house of a witch who secretly eats children. The film builds up the tension slowly and effectively as the audience anticipates the worst.

Krige is outstanding as the Witch who gives each one of her stares a kind of vacant knowingness, as if she is a hollow shell. Each of her fingers are a charcoal black up to just before the knuckles, which she uses to gently caress the heads and faces of the two siblings.

She never raises her voices, and the character speaks with a form of deliberate seduction that will make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. There are no practical effects used for her appearance, nor is there an overuse of magic in the film. Instead, it is all down to Krige's performance striking fear, and she is easily the best thing in a film that could've been so much better.