Prince Valiant (1997)
Sword and Sorcery/Comic-Strip Adaptation
The classic comic-strip receives a disastrous film adaption where director Anthony Hickox plays everything for campy silliness
Witches
A witch is a female practitioner of magic and Witchcraft. This is quite different from the male equivalent discussed in Magicians and Sorcerers (not to say there are not female magicians). Where a magician’s power derives from ancient knowledge – scrolls, occult objects and the like – a witch’s power is more earth magic, herbalism and sympathetic magic. (Wizards and sorcerers, for instance, never seem to use cauldrons, which seems an essential item in the witch’s repertoire).
There is a substantial body of films in fantasy and horror where a witch is a force of evil, ranging from assorted Fairytales to The Wizard of Oz (1939) and The Witches (1990). In these, she is frequently portrayed as something wizened and hideous. There are also a number of horror films about witches burned at the stake exerting supernatural influence in the present.
There is also a reasonable body of films beginning with I Married a Witch (1942) through tv’s Bewitched (1965-72) that shows the witch in a romantic or domestic relationship and the problems this can present. Other works from The Craft (1996) through Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Wendy the Good Witch to tv’s Charmed (1998-2006) see the witch in a more positive light and even her powers as something of an alternate religious practice.
For films dealing with the historic witch trials, which are nothing to do with witches as characters, see Witch Persecutions.
Practical Magic (1998)
Modern Witches
Chick Flick with Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock as two sisters from a family of witches. The film never really settles on a consistent tone between comedy, thriller or romance and veers all over the place
Portal (2009)
Motel in a Mysterious Timeloop
Low-budget occult film about guests at a motel trapped in a mysterious twilight zone. A work sits between the cheap and occasionally effective
The Pit and the Pendulum (1991)
Edgar Allan Poe Adaptation/Inquisition Horrors
Stuart Gordon’s adaptation of the Edgar Allan Poe story gets full marks for being set during the Spanish Inquisition. On the other hand, Gordon’s unserious splatter heavy approach and a campy performance from Lance Henriksen deflates the material
Penelope (2006)
Modern Fairytale/Girl Cursed with a Pig-Like Face
This has the feel of a fairytale where Christina Ricci plays a girl who suffers from a hereditary curse that has left her with a pig-like snout
Pegasus vs. Chimera (2012)
Fantasy Adventure
One of the numerous ‘vs’ films that came out after Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus, this is actually a B-budget fantasy adventure made for cable. This is not particularly bad, just routine and uninspired on all counts where the budget cramps any of its imaginative horizons
Pay the Ghost (2015)
Man Searches for His Supernaturally Abducted Son
Nicolas Cage has never had a good relationship with the horror genre – remember The Wicker Man and Vampire’s Kiss? This gives all impression it was designed for the 50c bargain bins, in which Nic tries to save his missing son in what amounts to a supernatural version of Taken
Parsifal (1982)
Wagner Opera/Arthurian Legends
Epic filmed version of the Richard Wagner opera set around the Arthurian legends and the quest for the Holy Grail
ParaNorman (2012)
Stop-Motion Animated Children's Film/Kid Sees Dead People
Stop-motion animated children’s film from Laika that demonstrates a willingness to be scary. The film starts to move out of the amiably likeable after around the halfway point when it begins to play a number of horror tropes against expectation to deliver a reasonable message about fear and prejudice
The Pale Door (2020)
Western/Town of Witches
Weird Western where a group of outlaws on the run end up in a town of witches
Oz: The Great and Powerful (2013)
The Wizard of Oz Prequel
Sam Raimi’s prequel to The Wizard of Oz is now; the story of how a conman fools an entire land rather than of an innocent girl just trying to find her way home. The reconceptualisation of Oz comes with a colourful sweep
Once Upon a Crime (2023)
Fairytale Detective Story
A very strange Japanese-made blend of fairytale and detective story that takes place in the realm of fairytale where Little Red Riding Hood turns detective to solve a murder at Cinderella’s ball
The Offering (1995)
Mexican Sorceress/Magical Realism
Obscure, little seen but beautifully made Magical Realism film set amongst witches and romantic rivalry in Mexico
The Northman (2022)
Viking Film
Robert Eggers, the director who made The Witch and The Lighthouse, makes a violent, primal Viking film steeped in Norse mythology
Nocebo (2022)
Mysterious Nanny/Folk Horror
Film that develops a Folk Horror vibe as Eva Green hires a nanny with mysterious healing powers. The horror version of Mary Poppins
Ninjas vs Vampires (2010)
Action Team vs Vampires
A low-budget film served by some witty fanboy humour, decent fight choreography and unexpectedly good acting
Night Watch (2004)
Supernatural War
An amazing breakout hit from Russia, a film that is busy to the point of overcrowding with ideas and its’ director’s visual excess but delivers the goods in ways that make your jaw drop
Night of the Eagle (1961)
Witchcraft
Excellent film about an academic who discovers his wife is a witch. A film that delves into a psychological place between rationalism and belief with stark effect
Night of Dark Shadows (1971)
Dark Shadows Movie
The second and better of the films spun off from tv’s Dark Shadows. At last the show gets production values and atmosphere that do it justice, although the series cult figure of Barnabas Collins does not appear
The Neverending Story II: The Next Chapter (1990)
Adventures in a Fantasy Land
Sequel to The Neverending Story made with a better budget. This delivers some amazing sets and creature designs but is killed with a script that discards the metaphors and complex level of meta-fiction of the original
Necropolis (1987)
Revived Witch
Ridiculous cheap 1980s video release about a witch burned at the stake returned as a New Wave punkette to claims souls
Necronos (2010)
Black Sorcerer Seeks Sacrificial Victims
German low-budget film about a resurrected sorcerer, this goes out on a wild edge, winds everything up to 15 on the dial and positively wades in blood, gore and torture scenes
Natty Knocks (2023)
Halloween Horror
A Halloween horror from a director with a reasonable genre association, this establishes its genre bona fides but then shoots itself in the foot
Mystics in Bali (1981)
Indonesian Witchcraft
A mind-bogglingly deranged example from the largely unexplored arena of Indonesian exploitation cinema as an American woman becomes involved with local witchcraft
The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz (2005)
Muppet Movie
The weakest of the Muppet movies where they are turned into the characters in a retelling of The Wizard of Oz
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)
Revived Mummy/Chinese Adventure
The third of the Brendan Fraser Mummy films that feels like it has no point other than to steal $10 from your hand and give you a bucket of content free mental popcorn in return
Mulan (2020)
Disney Live-Action Remake
The Disney live-action remake of Mulan finally arrives mired in controversy but the film itself proves a solid production for the most part, although never quite soars as a work of fantasy
Mother of Tears: The Third Mother (2007)
Italian Occult Horror
After 27 years, Dario Argento finally rounds out his Three Mothers trilogy begun way back with Suspiria but the underwhelming results give all evidence of his having lost his mojo
Mother of Flies (2025)
Dark Sorcery/Healing
The Adams Family have become one of the most impressive genre talents in recent years. It has been fascinating watching them explore a dark version of American folk horror – this takes them into the darkest places they have visited yet
Mother Krampus (2017)
Christmas Horror
From the same people who made Demonic Christmas Tree, this is a supernatural retribution film that was sold as a Krampus film
More Than a Miracle (1967)
Magical Realist Fairytale
A whimsical Italian fantasy with Sophia Loren as a peasant girl who connects with price Omar Sharif amid romance and magic
A Monster Calls (2016)
Boy Befriends Giant Monster
The story of the relationship between a giant monster and a boy whose mother is dying of cancer, this is perhaps the darkest children’s film ever made. Adapted from an award-winning illustrated book
Monster Brawl (2011)
Wrestling Match Between Famous Monsters
This has the mildly amusing idea of taking films like Dracula vs Frankenstein et al one step further and actually pitting various classic monsters against one another in a wrestling match
Moloch (2022)
Folk Horror
Folk Horror about the discovery of a witch’s body in a bog, this is a slow burn film that falls together with great subtlety
The Mists of Avalon (2001)
Revisionist Arthurian Legends
TV mini-series based on Marion Zimmer Bradley’s book that offers a revisionist take on the Arthurian legends, telling the story through the eyes of the women of the saga
The Midnight Club (2022)
Teenagers Tell Horror Stories
Mike Flanagan horror mini-series adapted from Christopher Pike’s book, this is set around a group of patients in a hospice who form a group to tell each other horror stories
Merlin’s Apprentice (2006)
Arthurian Legends Adventure
Sequel to Hallmark’s earlier tv mini-series Merlin featuring a return performance from Sam Neill in the title role, this is otherwise a generic and unmemorable work of Arthurian fantasy
Mercy (2014)
Stephen King Adaptation/Sinister Grandmother
Modestly creepy adaptation of a Stephen King short story about a boy who realises that his grandmother is a witch who made a deal with a backwoods entity
Medea (1969)
Greek Mythology
The controversial Pier Paolo Pasolini makes a film based on Medea – the wife of Jason (of Jason and the Argonauts fame), from Greek myth, not to be confused with Tyler Perry’s films, Contrary to the way she is usually portrayed on screen as Jason’s love interest, there is another whole story where she is a vengeance-crazed witch who slaughters their children after he leaves her for another woman
Masters of the Universe (2026)
Intergalactic Sword-and-Sorcery
A reboot of Masters of the Universe, this fully embraces the mythology of the animated series and gives them great life. But is also a work that is constantly deflating any chance you are taking it seriously
Mary and the Witch’s Flower (2017)
Anime/Young Witch
The third film from former Studio Ghibli employee Hiromasa Yonebayashi. Yonebayashi is seen as the carrier of Hayao Miyazaki’s mantle, so much do his films look like lost Miyazaki works. This is sweet and amiable, even if it never hits the emotional heights Miyazaki does
Manhater (2005)
Demon Kills Woman's Ex's
Low-budget film about a demon slaughtering a woman’s ex’s. Despite being made by industry professionals, this looks like an amateur-made film
Maleficent, Mistress of Evil (2019)
Sleeping Beauty Continuation
Nobody much liked Maleficent but did make a reasonable amount of money, hence a sequel. The surprise is that in the hands of Norwegian director Joachim Rønning, it is far better than one expected
Maleficent (2014)
Live-Action Prequel to Disney's Sleeping Beauty
Another in the early 2010s fad for fairytales rewritten as dark adult fantasy films – in this case, a version of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty told from the viewpoint of the witch
The Magic Sword (1962)
Heroic Fantasy Adventure
One of the better films from B-budget dircetor Bert I. Gordon, a fantasy adventure where Gordon produces some decent effects
The Love Witch (2016)
Modern Witch
Beguiling work about a modern witch that becomes a heady swim of provocative ideas about gender issues that is never less than captivating and the most gorgeously colour coordinated films you will ever see
The Lords of Salem (2012)
Occult Happenings/Witch's Curse
In this homage to the 1970s occult film, Rob Zombie tones back the posturing shock effect of his earlier films and creates atmosphere. Eventually though, Zombie creates a film that feels coiled to unleash something bad but falters
The Little Mermaid (2023)
Disney Live-Action Remake
Disney’s original The Little Mermaid was an enormously fresh film. This is the live-action remake that came out amid much controversy and is inevitably a lesser shadow of the original.
Little Mermaid (2016)
Modernised Fairy-Tale
A modernisation of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale cast as a hipster romance where the mermaid becomes a stripper, all shot with the gauzy soft focus of a feminine hygiene products commercial
The Little Mermaid (1989)
Disney Animation/Fairy-Tale
The beginning of the big Disney renaissance of the 1990s. An adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale that is conducted with an enormous degree of energy, colour and good cheer
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000)
Disney Animation
One of the video-released sequels to their animated films that Disney made in the 90s/00s, this slavishly imitates its predecessor but does have a likeable line-up of supporting characters
Little Dead Rotting Hood (2016)
Little Red Riding Hood Resurrected as a Werewolf Hunter
This had me watched on the basis of the title alone. An Asylum production, this is less a twisted take on the fairytale than one that turns Little Red Riding Hood into a werewolf hunter
The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe (1979)
Animation/Epic Fantasy Adventure/Magical Otherworld
Earlier less well known adaptation of the C.S. Lewis book made for tv. This is faithful to the book but is badly hampered by primitive animation and an exceedingly simplistic rendering of the story
The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
Animation/Lego Universe Superheroes
Following the success of The Lego Movie, where he was a scene-stealing supporting character, Batman gets a whole Lego film to himself. Less a Batman film than it is a parody of Batman
Leapin’ Leprechauns! 2 (1996)
Leprechauns vs Witch
Sequel to the Charles Band produced children’s film Leapin’ Leprechauns!, this is a superior film that gets much darker and ventures into the underworld
The Last Witch Hunter (2015)
Immortal Witch Hunter
This seemed to promise something of tv’s late lamented Constantine or the first Warlock. Instead what we end up with has been turned into a ponderous effects vehicle for Vin Diesel
The Last Thing Mary Saw (2021)
Horrors in a Religiously Oppressive Household
A strikingly directed film that conjures something of The Witch: A New-England Folktale in its depiction of the horrors present in a religiously oppressive household
Kull the Conqueror (1997)
Sword and Sorcery
Disappointing adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s other barbarian hero. Cast with Kevin Sorbo, it comes out as Kull: The Legendary Journeys and the material is killed by the filmmakers taking an unserious approach
A Knight’s War (2025)
Knight in the Realm of Demons
An unusual, visually fascinating fantasy film where a knight enters into the realm of demons to save a girl, while being granted a talisman that allows him to continually be killed and resurrected
Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005)
Animation/African Folk Tales
Michel Ocelot returns to make a sequel to Kirikou and the Sorceress. This expands the quality of animation and is slightly the lesser than its predecessor but not without its charms
Kirikou and the Sorceress (1998)
Animation/African Folk Tales
The debut film from French animator Michel Ocelot, a beautifully simple series of African folk tales about a young boy whose plain-speaking truths outwit a witch
Kirikou and the Men and Women (2012)
Animation/African Folk Tales
The third of Michel Ocelot’s Kirikou films, delightful tales about the ingenuity and plain-speaking wisdom of a young boy winning out over adult pomposity and foolishness. Animated with a simplicity that is magical
King Solomon’s Mines (2004)
Adventure Mini-Series
A Hallmark TV mini-series version of the classic H. Rider haggard adventure novel that suffers from a non-acting Patrick Swayze badly miscast as Allan Quatermain
King Arthur: Excalibur Rising (2017)
Arthurian Legends Adventure
A passable B-budget film that came out in anticipation of Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. This is actually an Arthurian sequel, featuring Arthur’s son inheriting the sword.
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (2017)
Modernised Arthurian Legends/The Asylum Mockbuster
NOT the Guy Ritchie film but an Asylum mockbuster released at the same time. The most WTF take on the Arthurian legends ever with the Knights as gun-wielding US Marines
Kiki’s Delivery Service (2014)
Young Witch's Adventures
NOT the Hayao Miyazaki film but a live-action version based on the same books, made by Takashi Shimizu of the Jun-on/The Grudge films fame. Replicating Miyazaki in live-action is a futile endeavour
Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
Anime/Young Witch's Adventures
One of the loveliest of Hayao Miyazaki’s anime, the story of a young witch who creates a parcel delivery service using her broomstick. As always, Miyazaki gives the film a simple beauty and an adult emotional complexity
The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)
Modern-Day Arthurian Legends
Joe Cornish gained much buzz with Attack the Block. His follow-up film concerns a kid who inherits Excalibur. Cornish has fun translating elements of the Arthurian legends to the present-day
Kaboom (2010)
Modern Sexuality/Gonzo SF Ending
Gregg Araki film that centres around sexually conflicted university student Thomas Dekker and his various liaisons amid witches, a doomsday weapon, cults and premonitions
Jack’s Wife (1972)
Suburban Witchcraft
One of the least known of George Romero’s films. Made not long after Rosemary’s Baby, this concerns itself with bored suburban housewives dabbling in witchcraft. Aka Season of the Witch
Jack the Giant Killer (2013)
Fantasy Adventure
Another of The Asylum’s mockbusters intended to capitalise on the release of Jack the Giant Slayer. Despite setting out to adapt Jack and the Beanstalk, there are no giants in the film
Jack the Giant Killer (1962)
Heroic Fantasy Adventure
A blatant attempt to copy Ray Harryhausen’s The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, night down to employing the same lead actors and director, but this fails through shoddy stop-motion animated effects
Iron Warrior (1986)
Italian Sword and Sorcery
A low-budget Italian sword-and-sorcery film, one of a host of such films that came out following the success of Conan the Barbarian. This was the third entry in the Ator series starring Miles O’Keeffe
Iron Mask (2019)
Historical Fantasy
Sequel to the Russian-made horror film Viy, this is an historical fantasy with a big budget that mounts spectacular effects sequence and provides name stars, even if the results are utterly bizarre
Into the Woods (2014)
Fairytale Parody Musical
A lumbering, stagebound adaptation of Stephen Sondheim musical that lamely dips into the fairytale parody that Shrek and other films tapped far more engagingly over a decade ago
The Initiation of Sarah (2006)
Occult War Between Rival Sororities
A remake of the 1978 tv movie about occult rituals in a girl’s sorority house. This is a film that feels directed and written without any real involvement by those responsible.
Inferno (1980)
Witchcraft Murders
Dario Argento’s sequel to Suspiria, the second film in his Third Mothers trilogy. This is an even better work where Argento delights in sadistic and beautifully artistic imagery almost entirely free of any plot
In the Name of the King: Two Worlds (2011)
Epic Fantasy Adventure
Uwe Boll strikes again! Sequel to his passable earlier epic fantasy, which is dragged down by a lack of action and the need to provide star Dolph Lundgren with a series of excrutiating witticims
In the Lost Lands (2025)
Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy Quest
Paul W.S. Anderson adapts a George R.R. Martin fantasy story but somehow still manages to make it into another Resident Evil copy still starring Milla Jovovich
Immortal Sins (1992)
Reincarnated Witch's Revenge
A Roger Corman produced erotic horror in which Cliff De Young inherits a castle in Spain where he is tempted by a witch who appears in his dreams
I Married a Witch (1942)
Mischievous Witch in Love
Charming and delightful film starring Veronica Lake as a witch burned at the stake who returns to life in the present to make life miserable for her judge’s descendant Frederic March
The Hybrids Family (2015)
Monster Comedy
From the director of Hellbound: Hellraiser II, this is an unfunny monster comedy that plays out like it is trying to be a live-action version of the Hotel Transylvania films
The Huntsman: Winter’s War (2016)
Snow White and the Huntsman Sequel
Sequel to Snow White and the Huntsman. Despite low expectations, this emerged better than one thought it would. It has a better director and seems much more at home being an epic fantasy than the first film
Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
Anime/Epic Fantasy
This Hayao Miyazaki film about a girl who becomes assistant to a mysterious magician is not quite in the same league as Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away but has the sublime beauty, eccentric characters and tender charms that all his work does
Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil (2011)
Animation/Fairytale Parody
A wholly unnecessary sequel to Hoodwinked!, this again runs the fairytale characters over with modern quips and pop culture references
Hocus Pocus (1993)
Revived Witches/Disney Film
A Disney live-action film that engenders no believability in its basic premise. Much of the show is regarded as an opportunity for Bette Midler to steal the limelight and play to over-the-top excess
Hocus Pocus 2 (2022)
Revived Witches/Disney Film
As part of their attempt to sell everything including the family silver, Disney make a sequel to their witch comedy, bringing back the three original actresses who are now looking a lot longer in the tooth
Da Hip Hop Witch (2000)
The Blair Witch Project Spoof
One of the worst films ever made – a parody of The Blair Witch Project that mostly consists of various rappers (including Eminem and Vanilla Ice) incoherently improvising a series of monologues about said witch
Hero (1980)
Finn MacCool Legend
Adaptation of the Finn Mac Coll legend, filmed in Gaelic with a cast that learned their lines by rote. An interesting idea that suffers a painful amateurism
Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024)
Demon Superhero/Comic-Book Adaptation
After a disastrous reboot of the Hellboy franchise, Millennium Media get it right, employing the comic’s creator on script, taking the series into wild directions with Hellboy up against Appalachian folk horrors
Hellboy (2019)
Demon Superhero/Comic-Book Adaptation
Reboot of the Hellboy series promisingly comes from Neil Marshall but is also made by Millennium Films who have a habit of buying up previously successful properties and churning out cheaper spinoffs
Hellbender (2021)
Modern Witches
Another of the family efforts from The Adams Family – John Adams, Toby Poser and daughters. This is a unique and original film about modern witches living in backwoods New York
Häxan (1922)
Satanism and Witchcraft Documentary
A bizarre pseudo-documentary from the silent era that claims to recount a history of Satanism and witchcraft. Much of the film’s thesis is spurious but the results are facsinating
Happily N’Ever After (2006)
Animation/Fairytale Deconstruction
Another in the spate of animated fairytale parodies that came out in the wake of Shrek, this subjects Cinderella to an excruciating barrage of pop-culture jokes and one-liners
Hansel vs Gretel (2015)
Modernised Fairytale
Sequel to The Asylum’s spendidly grotesque Hansel & Gretel, this pits the two characters against one another for contrived reasons to justify its title but is just cheaply made
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)
Dark Adult Fairytale Adaptation
Amid the early 2010s fad for adult fairytale reinterpretations, this has an anachronistic absurdity that invites you not to take it seriously. A series of action movie poses, CGI and splatter effects are transplanted into the fairytale.
Hansel & Gretel (2013)
Fairytale Horror Adaptation
Amid the 2010s spate of fairytales rewritten as dark adult fantasies, this was a quite good mockbuster copy from The Asylum. From the director of Sharknado, this is Hansel and Gretel by way of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Hansel and Gretel (1987)
Fairy-Tale
One of a series of cheaply produced fairytale adaptations made by Cannon Films. This adapts the Brothers Grimm fairytale with tatty banality
H.P. Lovecraft’s Witch House (2021)
H.P. Lovecraft Adaptation
A low-budget adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft story Dreams in the Witch House about a student who moves into a house with occult geometry and stirs dark forces
Grimm’s Fairy Tales for Adults (1970)
Erotic Fairytale Adaptations
A X-rated, West German-made film that blends together several fairytales in a very adult adaptation. The result should be seen for its sheer bizarreness