HERE BE WITCHES 21 • The Witches (1990) with Tara Judah

The Witches (1990), Nicholas Roeg's adaptation of Roald Dahl's book, is traumatising af. A young boy and his grandmother as stumble onto a witch's convention. The witches are wicked and sadistic, and beneath their appearance as regular women are hideous, bald, toe-less creatures who hate children more than anything else. Their leader, the Grand High Witch (portrayed with maximum camp by Anjelica Huston) is the worst witch of them all. I’m joined by the wicked smart Tara Judah, Cinema Producer at the Watershed in Bristol and frequent collaborator of The Final Girls, to dig into some of the reasons why this film, and Angelica Huston’s performance, really gets under your skin. We talk about Anjelica Huston's sexy, slinky and campy take on the Grand High Witch, the grotesque physicality of the witches, how this fits into Nicholas Roeg's other work and why it remains terrifying for both children AND adults. *** The Final Girls are a UK-based film collective exploring the intersections of horror film and feminism. Find out more about our projects here: thefinalgirls.co.uk Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow Anna on @annabdemented and Olivia is on @livihowe