7. The Witches (1990)
Foremost, taking into consideration that this is a film aimed primarily for an audience of children, it is particularly both terrifying and riddled with the stuff that causes nightmares. Roald Dahl who is known for his whimsical and phantasmagorical works knowingly frightened children when he gave us The Witches. The novel received a loyal adaptation in 1990 by Nicolas Roeg (Dont look now, The Man who fell to Earth) where we saw Anjelica Huston slip into the Grand High Witches shoes comfortably with ease. Depicting the tale of a young boy, Luke and his sentimental grandmother who stay at an extravagant coastal hotel, unknowingly stumble upon a convention of British witches for their annual meeting with the Grand High Witch. One afternoon, Luke innocently sneaks into the Assembly Hall and hides in a corner to play with his mice, as the witches enter the hall in preparation for the meeting. Under the instructions of the Grand High, the women remove their gloves to reveal piercing fingernails and their wigs to reveal bald heads covered in warts and rotting flesh. The Grand High herself goes on stage and begins to remove her wig and mask which reveals her grotesque monstrous form to the horror of both children and adults. The results of this lead to the film being deliciously cruel yet traumatic for children, while capturing Dahls sense of realistic horror.