Sadly Over-hyped

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

This Hammer House of Horror film wasn't honestly one of my favourites, starring Joan Fontaine ("Suspicion") in her last role, directed by  Cyril Frankel  and written by Nigel Kneale ("The Quatermass experiment") this film is a little slow and sluggish in places. While Fontaine seems a class act it's not until you meet Kay Walsh in the film that you realise what Fontaine is missing in her delivery but none the less Fontaine is the helpless victim that turns saviour by the end of the film.Fontaine's character Gwen Mayfield suffers a mental breakdown after being targeted by voodoo witch doctors in Africa. After she recovers back in England she accepts what she thinks is a quiet and safe job as a teacher in the middle of the countryside, a village called Heddaby. From the minute she arrives and meets the butcher polishing his mighty chopper she should have suspected something wasn't right with the village. After hearing some stories, witnessing some deaths, yada yada yada she believes there is witchcraft afoot in the village. This is further reinforced when she meets Stephanie Bax (Walsh); herself somewhat of a witch expert who convinces her about the notion of witchcraft in rural England. Gwen loses her marbles again which conveniently coincides with her giving evidence at a police hearing so villagers become suspicious that perhaps Gwen was the problem all along. After breaking out of the mental home… sorry, I mean nursing home; after breaking out of the 'nursing home' (ran by "Rising Damp" Leonard Rossiter) Gwen hitches a ride back to the village Heddaby where she uncovers the shocking truth. Can Gwen save the day or will the witches (come on, by now you must have figured out the film is about witches who are causing trouble - and occasionally dancing - in the village) get their wicked way?!A more in depth film might have juxtaposed or even drawn parallels between witchcraft in South Africa and witchcraft in England but lets face it, this is a Hammer production called "Witches", you were never going to get something deep and evocative - just a low budget film which might have 'witches' in or that might feature some kind of occult fighter called 'Lord Witches'. Not the best Hammer film you will see, no wobbly sets or rubber bats, just a good old simple story of the occult in rural England, slow in places and with a big anti-climax but all in all harmless*.(*Harmless = you won't feel that you have been robbed of 90 mins)

The Witches is a very watchable film, but also an uneven one, Hammer have done some very good to great films but this is not one of them. It's one of those cases where the first half, which was reasonably strong despite a few problems, fares far more strongly than the second half, which was incredibly problematic and awful at its worst.Visually, The Witches, as with most Hammer efforts, looks great. The scenery and sets are both beautiful and eerie, it's stylishly shot and the lighting helps give off an effectively creepy atmosphere. The music is resolutely haunting and has a thrilling intensity while also having the ability of being intimate when it calls for it.The script does lack horror and mystery, but flow-wise and structurally it flows well and is decently written, and while the film is reasonably tame by today's standards the atmosphere still has a creepiness and the first half interests and entertains mostly. The direction is very competent in the first half and shows great technical assurance but falls flat in the last thirty minutes. The cast are very good and are the best thing about the film aside from the visuals. Joan Fontaine has been better, but the vulnerability of her character is very deeply felt, Alex McCowan has a lot of fun with his role while Kay Walsh's excellent performance steals the film.As said, the first half is reasonably strong. It does have its flaws, it does move too slowly in places and the prologue was rather vague and somewhat irrelevant. It's always professionally made and well-acted on the whole, and is intriguing and entertaining, with a great creepy atmosphere and some decent suspense.However, the second half really disappoints. It gets really tedious, gets increasingly confused, suspense, mystery and horror are non-existent and it dissolves into camp, which I don't think was intended. The film's biggest flaw is the climax, which has to be the worst ever ending for a Hammer film with its inept choreography, even worse dancing and it was just too amateurish to even be considered unintentionally funny.Overall, good first half, but very bad second half. An uneven film, with a lot of strengths and some big flaws. 6/10 Bethany Cox

In an unintentionally hilarious opening, tightly-wound schoolteacher Joan Fontaine (as Gwen Mayfield) is sent to the nut-house after a giant voodoo doll storms unexpectedly onto the set. Out of Africa, Ms. Fontaine recovers her faculties and begins working in a British school run by writer Kay Walsh (as Stephanie Bax) and priestly brother Alec McCowen (as Alan). Eyebrows are raised when sexy student Ingrid Brett (as Linda Rigg) comes close to copulating with sensitive school peer Martin Stephens (as Ronnie Dowsett). Before they can consummate, Fontaine finds a voodoo doll in the fork of a tree...Not coincidently, the town coven's head witch needs a virgin sacrifice. During her saner moments, Fontaine tries to unravel the mystery of "The Witches" (also named, after the original novel, "The Devil's Own"). For most of the running time, the storyline bores; it ends in monumental silliness. Arching her left eyebrow above all others, Fontaine acts to the hilt, while Ms. Walsh saves herself for later. Gwen Ffrangcon Davies (as "Granny" Rigg) has fun making creepy faces at director Cyril Frankel. Also known as Ingrid Boulting, Ms. Britt wiggles around like she wants to rip her clothes off - but she never does.**** The Witches (11/21/66) Cyril Frankel ~ Joan Fontaine, Kay Walsh, Alec McCowen, Ingrid Brett

When listing all the numerous horror/thriller successes that the legendary British Hammer studios brought forward, "The Witches" is a title that rarely ever – in fact NEVER – gets mentioned. It's also fairly easy to figure out why in this case, and it's not just because the film wasn't directed by one of the studio's most prominent directors (Terence Fisher, Val Guest, Freddie Francis…) and/or because it wasn't starring any of the regular genre icons (Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Michael Gough…). "The Witches" is, simply put, a vastly inferior product and hardly even worthy of the Hammer quality label. The story, although nearly bursting with great potential and endless possibilities, is incoherent and dull. There nearly isn't enough action or suspense, the stupendous filming locations and scenery are sadly underused and the climax – which finally comes after an incredibly tedious middle section – is preposterous, dumb and makes you regret all the precious time you wasted until then. You know you're in trouble when the most exciting and horrific sequence of the entire movie deals with the lead actress being overrun by horde of sheep! The lovely and charismatic Joan Fontaine stars as Mrs. Mayfield; a schoolteacher who's still somewhat mentally unbalanced following a trauma she experienced whilst residing in a primitive African tribe. She's more than happy to accept a peaceful teaching job in the British countryside, but nightmares ensue when it gradually appears that nearly the entire community takes part in witchcraft rites. "The Witches" is insufferably talkative and predictable throughout. The only aspect that I didn't see coming was how ridiculous the climax sequences would be… The spastic dancing and imbecilic facial expressions of the people in the crowd make it one of the most pitiable endings I've ever seen. I feel sorry for Joan Fontaine, even more so because – reportedly – she personally approached Hammer Studios in order to turn the novel into a movie.