We’ve all seen copious amounts of zombie or vampire flicks over the years. It seems everyone is making them. What we haven’t seen, however, is any real attention paid to the subject of witches. I am extremely happy to say that with Alex de la Iglesia’s new film, Witching and Bitching, we finally get another solid entry in the void that is the witch sub-genre.
A group of misfits rob a pawn shop to make some big bucks fast. When things don’t go exactly as planned, they hijack an occupied taxi and force the driver to take them to France for their big escape. They almost make it, too… Along their way, they manage to run across a coven of witches who think Sergio, the little boy accompanying the gang of robbers, is ‘the chosen one’ and the answer to all of their witchy woes!
Witching and Bitching is the movie all horror fans have been waiting for. It has some fantastic acting, great character development, and impressive special effects. It’s humorous without being over-the-top cheesy and it is truly original in every way. Witching starts out as a heist flick and gets more and more exciting with every scene.
I love the vast array of characters we are introduced to in the 110 minute run-time allotted for this film. Hugo Silva does a great job as the serious, to-the-point Jose, while Mario Casas is the perfect antithesis with his portrayal of Antonio, the silly, immature adorer of all things female. The two compliment each other on-screen extremely well and are entertaining as all hell to watch throughout the entire film. Pepon Nieto, Jaime Ordonez, and Secun de la Rosa greatly add to the humor side of this film and all do a marvelous job of bringing unique characters to life. Last but not least, the three main witches of this large coven are also wonderfully portrayed by some very talented performers, my favorite being the stunning Carolina Bang.
I had no idea how Witching and Bitching was going to end. Seeing the gathering of thousands of witches had my eyes glued to the screen with no signs of budging. When the mother of all witches shows up, though, I was really blown away. If hordes of brujas wasn’t enough, adding a creature of that magnitude to the mix really brought this film to the next level, if you ask me. Without ruining the climax for you guys, all I can say is that you have to see this movie to fully understand why I enjoyed it so much.
If you are looking for a horror film with a humorous twist that contains stuff you’ve never seen before, look no further than Iglesia’s Witching and Bitching. Out now from IFC Films, be sure to pick up a copy on DVD. Trust me, you will regret it, if you miss out on this one!
I give Witching and Bitching 4.5 giant brujas out of 5.
The cover and title sound like it’s one of those cheesy horror flicks, but if you say it’s not over-the-top and that it’s actually a pretty solid movie, then I could give this a try