The Witches Review: 4 Ups & 6 Downs
Anne Hathaway carries a remake nobody asked for.
The latest big-budget blockbuster to forego a theatrical bow in favour of a streaming release, Robert Zemeckis' remake of 1990's legendary Nicolas Roeg-directed dark fantasy film The Witches is streaming now on HBO Max.
As a new adaptation of Roald Dahl's beloved 1983 novel, Zemeckis' take offers up a few tempting twists on the previous film's style and tone, but ultimately ends up feeling like a pale imitation of it, lacking the character and confidence which made Roeg's version an instant cult classic.
It is a textbook example of a movie which wasn't really begging to be remade, and though the cast certainly gives it their all, the end result is a mostly hollow, disappointingly pedestrian film that doesn't even offer up much in the style department.
And so it's somewhat fitting that The Witches 2020 has found a home on streaming, because it's honestly tough to see how its thoroughly mixed bag of visuals would be much elevated by the big-screen experience.
Unless you're really curious, you're better off sticking with the effortlessly superior Anjelica Huston-starring predecessor...