article
by Thea
I am a film nut. I'm obsessed, really. Which isn't to say that I am a fan of every type of film -- far from it. I find romantic comedies and any film with Catherine Zeta Jones in it intolerable. But one category I've been fascinated by for years is what I call "witchy" film. By witchy, I don't mean solely films with witches in them, although many of the ones I put in this category feature witches. What I mean is films that may be of interest to witches, pagans, and/or magicians -- films with some magick and preferably a heavy dose of the occult. I love these movies so much that I've even written a book about them (well, halfway written). So, since the nights are getting long and cold, and it's a great time to settle in for a movie fest, here are some suggestions for witchy films to check out. But first, some caveats.
The films on this list do not necessarily portray witches, pagans, and/or magicians in a good light. They are not necessarily "quality," or even "good." In fact, it's usually the opposite. But most of them are fun.
This list is not exhaustive. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of witchy films out there. I've tried to pick some that are not well-known, as well as some more familiar titles, and I'm assuming you've already seen the old standbys: Bell, Book and Candle, I Married a Witch, Practical Magic, and The Crap. I mean The Craft. If you haven't, Bell, Book and Candle is -- in my opinion anyway -- the best of the "familiar four," although the last 10 minutes are regrettable. I'm not sure I'd give up my magick, even for Jimmy Stewart.
Enough with the caveats. Get yourself some popcorn and dig in!
General Witchiness
There's a formula to most witch films. They tend to go like this: 1) Witch is burnt at the stake/hanged/killed by an angry mob. 2) As the witch is dying, she curses the people who killed her and their descendants to the end of time. 3) Time passes, and most people forget about the witch. 4) Someone, either intentionally or unintentionally, does something really stupid that brings the witch back to life. 5) The witch wreaks havoc on descendants of her killers, often by possessing the body of one or more nubile young women. 6) The witch leads some ritual that is meant to be sensationalistic, but is usually rather boring and overly dependent on scantily clad acolytes performing abominable interpretive dance. 7) Hero discovers how to kill witch. 8) Hero kills witch and sets things to rights. 9) Witch is not quite dead. ...
One of the best of the hundreds (yes, hundreds) of films that follow this formula is the Mario Bava film Black Sunday, starring Barbara Steele. (Barbara is the reigning queen of formula witch films.) Black Sunday, filmed in black and white and released in 1960, is evocative and eerie. The witch is dispatched horribly -- the villagers pound a mask full of spikes onto her face with a hammer -- and when a passerby finds her grave, he releases her through a series of blunders. The plot is pretty standard, but I highly recommend this one for its visual beauty, genuine creepiness and lack of interpretive dance.
Cry of the Banshee, released in 1970, is another formula film, with a few differences. It is notable in that Oona, the leader of the coven of witches, is a "nature witch." This is very uncommon in films before the 1960s, and not terribly common afterward. Most American formula witch films tend to see witches through the lens of Puritanism and Salem, and therefore the witches are almost always satanic, aligned with some other demonic force, and/or generally bad-ass. British films, however, sometimes break free of the Salem/witch trial mode, and they often portray witches in a more compelling, if not positive way. Cry of the Banshee is ultimately a formula film, but the portrayal of Oona is a bit more compassionate, possibly due to the Flower Child movement of the era. The film stars Vincent Price, so if you're a Vincent fan like me, it's worth a look.
Another British witch film is The Witches, released in 1966 and starring Joan Fontaine as a schoolteacher who moves to a small town after suffering a breakdown in Africa and runs afoul of the local coven. Other than the fact that the acting in The Witches is far better than in most witch films, the notable thing about it is the coven's fetishism. With the Civil Rights Movement and other issues bringing African spirituality more into the mainstream, fetishism began to pop up in horror films in the 1960s and 1970s. The Witches' mix of African-style themes and the requisite interpretive dance/ecstatic ritual is intriguing, and it sets the film apart from the rank-and-file of formula witch films.
Historical and Hysterical Witches
One of the best films about witches is Haxan, made in Sweden and released in 1922. Haxan is a pseudo-historical account of the European witch trials. The film is broken into segments, and it shows the alleged activities of the witches (the Witches' Sabbath, kissing the devil's ass) and the horrors of the subsequent trials. Unlike most witch films, Haxan is sympathetic to the witches, and the final segment is an almost documentary-like psychological analysis of the witch craze phenomenon. The film is silent and black-and-white, and some of the scenes, particularly the one of the witches flying against the night sky, are absolutely beautiful. The director himself plays the devil, waggling his tongue like Gene Simmons. A word to the wise: This film is definitely worth seeing, both from a cinematic point of view and a witchy one, but it is long, and, in parts, quite dull. You may wish to watch it in bits and pieces. It has recently been released by Criterion, and the disk contains a couple of different versions. Skip the version with the '60s soundtrack and keep to the original.
Speaking of "the original," did you know that the 1939 Wizard of Oz with Judy Garland wasn't the first version? In fact, there were four previous versions, all of which were silent, black-and-white. Three were made in 1914 and one in 1925. You can find these Wizards all on one recently released disc, and also as extras on the latest DVD edition of the 1939 version. If it's possible, these early films are even weirder than the Judy Garland one. Somebody obviously spent some serious time in the poppy field.
Also check out the 1970 film version of the television show H.R Pufnstuf. In the definitive book about the show, Pufnstuf and Other Stuff, the program's creators, Sid and Marty Krofft, swear that they weren't doing drugs when they cooked up the plots, sets and characters, but the evidence suggests otherwise. Living Island, where Pufnstuf takes place, is a psychedelic trip even Timothy Leary would have been proud to take. In the film, the "villain," Witchiepoo -- Pufnstuf's nemesis and the whole reason to watch the show in the first place -- holds a witches' convention at her castle. The convention climaxes in a groovy -- there's no other word for it really -- song and dance featuring a bevy of tatty, brightly-dressed witches led by none other than Mama Cass. Yes, that's Cass Elliot. The film is a little slower than the show and it bogs down in places, but it's well worth watching for this scene alone, since it may be the only justifiable instance of cinematic witchy interpretive dance ever. Both the show and the film are out on DVD.
Another classic (Pufnstuf is a classic to me anyway) you may wish to check out is one of the many film versions of Shakespeare's Macbeth. My personal fave is the 1971 Roman Polanski version. Polanski's witches are genuinely scary, and the cauldron scene is well rendered. One word of warning: Polanski's version is definitely the goriest one I've seen. He made it after the Manson Family brutally murdered Sharon Tate, and the impact the murder had on him is evident in his copious use of blood and onscreen violence. If you like your Shakespeare a little more traditional (with violence offstage), try the Royal Shakespeare Company's 1979 version, starring Judi Dench and Ian McKellen. They made Judi wear a terrible hat, but she's awesome anyway.
Shamanism and Magical Realism
Witches and pagans often feel that they live between two worlds: the mundane and spiritual. Powwow Highway (1989) is a shamanistic Native American buddy movie that explores that theme. Buddy and Philbert, the two main characters, both live on the same reservation in Montana, but they're opposites. Buddy tries to live in the "white man's world" of politics and business deals, while Philbert, who is considered "slow," prefers attending ceremony and telling the tales of his ancestors. When Buddy and Philbert take off in Philbert's "pony" (the most beat-up rez car ever) to rescue Buddy's sister, their two viewpoints clash, and Buddy learns something about integrating the spiritual into daily life. Philbert's visions along the path are stunning, moving and beautiful. The story is very bittersweet (its depiction of rez life is sadly accurate), and the ending is absolutely ridiculous -- yet it isn't, when taken in the context of the mythical landscape Philbert has created around him. By the end of the film, the men's trip becomes a hero's journey, complete with mythic themes and spiritual epiphanies. This film was very hard to get for a long time, but it was just released on DVD. I highly recommend it.
"Magical realism," made familiar to non-Spanish-speaking audiences by author Gabriel Garcia Marquez and others, also deals with living between two worlds, or rather with how the spiritual integrates itself into everyday life. One quirky little film that contains a Witch, shamans, and a healthy dose of magical realism is Rough Magic, starring Bridget Fonda, Russell Crowe, and Jim Broadbent and released in 1995. During a mystical road trip to Mexico, and with the help of a shamaness, a magician's assistant (Fonda) discovers her power as a witch. The film is part hard-boiled detective movie (Crowe is hired by Fonda's fiancé to find her), part romantic comedy and part self-discovery story, with magical themes woven throughout. As with all magical realism stories, odd and symbolic things -- a man becomes a sausage; Fonda's real heart becomes a playing-card heart -- crop up all over the place and are accepted as if they happen every day. This is a sweet little story, but it's not without its flaws.
My favorite magical realism movie is Like Water for Chocolate, made in Mexico and released in 1992. The story centers on a girl, the youngest of three, who is not allowed to marry and is forced instead to stay home and care for her mother. The story is told in the framework of the family's recipes, and as the girl cooks, her emotions manifest themselves in the food. When she thinks of her lover as she cooks, the game hens she prepares sexually arouse everyone who eats them. When she cries into the batter of her sister's wedding cake, everyone who eats the cake becomes violently ill. This film is beautifully and luminously shot. If you speak Spanish, or if you're okay with reading subtitles, leave the Spanish-language track on as you watch. The cadence of the speech adds a lyric quality to the film even if you don't understand what they're saying.
Ceremonial Magick, Kind Of
There is lots of ceremonial magick in the cinema, but as anyone who has ever read even the spine of a Crowley book will tell you, almost none of it is accurate. The two films I'm going to recommend are no exception, but they have other virtues. Well, maybe "virtues" is a strong word.
The first is the incredibly campy The Devil Rides Out, released in 1968 and starring Christopher Lee. In the film, Lee uses "ceremonial magick" in a rather ingenious way: to stop devil worshippers. Since in most films it's the devil worshippers who are doing the so-called ceremonial magick, this is a refreshing twist. The film is stodgy and the special effects are cheesy, but it's entertaining nevertheless. If you watch it, check out the symbols on the floor of the magick room.
The second is the also-incredibly-campy The Prophecy, released in 1995 and starring Christopher Walken, Eric Stoltz, and Viggo Mortensen. Walken plays the angel Gabriel, who has come to earth to find the soul of an evil general in order to end the war between angels in heaven. The film features Enochian symbols on a cave wall, a heavy dose of (semi-accurate) angel lore (and we're not talking Precious Moments here), and a few visual gags, like Gabriel allowing children to blow his trumpet. It also contains a blessing way -- a Native American healing ceremony wherein a shaman draws healing pictures on the floor of a kiva in colored sand and has the patient lie in them as others chant and drum. Walken is at his scenery-chewing best, and Viggo, as Lucifer, is over the top. This film is a little gory in spots, but it's also hilarious. Skip the sequels; they suck.
Voodoo
Voodoo is usually treated as badly as witchcraft in films, but there are a few good Voodoo films out there. By far the best is Divine Horsemen by Maya Deren. Deren was an experimental filmmaker who went to Haiti to film Haitian dance. When she got there, she discovered that she couldn't separate the dance from the Voodoo, and she plunged so deeply into the study of both that she received a Voodoo initiation and became a practitioner. She never edited the film she took, claiming that she couldn't properly capture what she had seen, so she wouldn't try to do it at all. After her death, her husband edited the tapes, and some of the material is now available (as of 1985) as Divine Horsemen. Deren wrote a book by the same name, which is considered a classic in the field. Long before her Voodoo adventures, however, Deren was known as a cutting-edge filmmaker, and her work has had a tremendous influence on subsequent directors. Check out Meshes in the Afternoon (1943), which is perhaps her most famous film. Deren was trying to make a statement about reality, among other things, and the film's surreal visuals and "storyline" are much like a trip to the otherworld or the subconscious. Wonderful and trippy stuff.
A decent fiction Voodoo film is I Walked with a Zombie. Zombie, released in 1943, is basically a retelling of Jane Eyre, set on the fictional island of St. Sebastian. Betsy, a nurse, is hired to care for the wife of a rich plantation owner. The wife is in a catatonic state. She is a zombie -- or is she? Watch this film for the beautiful cinematography and lush, atmospheric, symbol-laden visuals. The portrayal of Voodoo isn't terribly accurate, but someone did at least a little bit of homework. The spooky, sultry scene where Betsy leads Jessica (the wife) through the cane fields to the Voodoo ceremony is stunning.
Another Voodoo film to check out is Eve's Bayou, released in 1997 and starring Samuel Jackson as a philandering country doctor. When Cicely, the doctor's older daughter, tells her sister Eve a terrible secret about their father, Eve goes to the local Voodoo woman to get revenge, setting events in motion that she is powerless to stop. The performances in Eve's Bayou are strong and compelling, the Voodoo is treated with some accuracy, and the story will linger with you long after the film is ended. This is not your typical Voodoo movie.
Sex and Porn!
What? There are witchy pornos? You bet! But first I want to tell you about Lucinda's Spell, a low-budget gem released in 1998. In the film Lucinda, a prostitute and witch, competes against other witches in a contest. The prize? The winner gets to bear the child of the last descendant of Merlin, thus tapping into Merlin's bloodline. Lucinda has more important reasons to win, however, not the least of which is to gain the respect of her fellow witches who scorn her as a working girl. The story centers on Lucinda gathering the ingredients for her special spell and discovering the power and the importance of the sacred whore. The film is set in pre-Katrina New Orleans, and is full of quirky characters, humor, and a heavy dose of magick. It's funny, it's sweet and it's loaded with sex.
Next up are two witchy soft-porn cult classics: Blood Orgy of the She Devils, released in 1972, and Girl Slaves of Morgana Le Fay, released in 1971. In both films, innocent young girls (and the occasional guy) fall into the clutches of powerful, sexual, female witches. Both films are cheesy, sleezy and hilarious. If you're only renting them for the sex and titillation factor, Girl Slaves is definitely the raunchier film (probably because it's French). But Blood Orgy with its "bikini-clad devil girls" has its charms too. Remember when I said that not all the films I listed would be good? Well, I was thinking of these two.
Last but not least are the hard-core The Coven and its sequel, The Coven 2. The story (like you care) is about a girl who ditches her cheating boyfriend and is seduced into joining a coven, where she has lots and lots of sex. Much of the first film takes place at a witches' meeting in the woods, where people dance badly around a bonfire chanting a version of the "Charge of the Goddess" while others have sex. The second one drops most of the witchcraft trappings and consists of one seemingly endless scene of group sex out in Mother Nature. The first of the two films is the better one, but if you just have to see what happens after the cliffhanger, the second is tolerably watchable. Like much porn, they're both a tad tedious. But at least the chicks are hot.
Asian Cinema
My passion for witchy films is almost equaled by my passion for bad Hong Kong or Japanese movies, so imagine my delight when I can find both in the same package. The Japanese and Chinese cultures are loaded with spiritual and occult themes, and so are their films. As a matter of fact, there's a whole book about it called Spooky Encounters: A Gwailo's Guide to Hong Kong Horror, by Daniel O'Brien. It's impossible to list them all, so here are a few of my favorites. Remember that caveat about "good" movies as you watch these.
I've always maintained that Godzilla films are Shinto morality tales. Shinto is essentially the pagan religion of Japan. It is nature-based, and full of all sorts of spirits and demons. The most Shinto-y of the Godzilla films, and one of the better ones to boot, is Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah (2001). In the film, three nature-loving monsters gang up on Godzilla, who symbolizes all of humanity's pollution and decadence. There is Shinto symbolism -- and shrines -- everywhere; it's a rubber-monster smackdown for Mother Nature.
There is a series of Japanese horror movies called Eko Eko Azarak 1 (1995), Eko Eko Azarak 2 and Eko Eko Azarak 3. They are about a witchy schoolgirl who fights evil. Like many Japanese horror movies, the plots aren't always linear (or complete) and there is copious gore, but these films are pretty entertaining nonetheless, and it's kind of fun to compare their version of magick and the occult to ours.
If you're into animation, I highly recommend Howl's Moving Castle, which was released in the States this summer. This is a beautifully drawn story about a girl who is prematurely aged by a witch. Like all of the work by Hayao Miyazaki, it is stunning. You'll want to watch it more than once so you catch everything.
I have a "get out of marriage free" card to use if Chow Yun Fat ever shows up on my doorstep, so I'll watch almost anything he's done -- despite the fact that he made some truly awful movies in the `80s. One of these is Witch from Nepal (1985), in which Chow hooks up with a strange witch girl who is battling an evil sorcerer. The plot has enormous holes in it and the magickal aspects are downright weird, but the cheesy effects are hilarious, and Chow, as always, is absolutely yummy.
Speaking of hilarious, the Mr. Vampire films (1985) are must-sees if you're into Hong Kong films or Asian occult. They are loaded not only with vampires, but also with ghosts, witches, demon plants, magick, and over-the-top martial arts. In the first one, a sifu and his student (who looks and acts like a Chinese Jerry Lewis) battle vampires and ghosts with magick and prodigious amounts of sticky rice. The subtitles on these and Witch from Nepal are terrible, so there are parts where you'll have to extrapolate what's going on from the action, but this doesn't diminish the fun of these flicks at all.
Last But Not Least
If you've been pagan for more than five minutes you've probably seen The Wicker Man (1973). I didn't include it in the "familiar four" (I Married a Witch et al.) because it's not at all like the others. If you haven't seen this corny-yet-chilling gem, or if you haven't seen it for a while, give it a try. Loaded with lore from The Golden Bough and some of the worst hair and folk music this side of anywhere, it's probably the most pagan-y film out there. If you do decide to check it out, be sure to get the original 102-minute version. When the film came to the States, Roger Corman did a hack job on it, reducing it to 88 minutes of unintelligible rubbish. Or you can wait until 2006, when a new version of the movie will be released, starring Nicolas Cage. But if you need a good reason to watch (or re-watch) this classic, here's my favorite: Christopher Lee in a dress. `Nuff said.
Copyright © 2006 by the article's author