Witch Hunt has an interesting concept where witchcraft is real and very much illegal. It’s a bit of a slow burn, but has a satisfying ending.
Witch Hunt has premiered at SXSW 2021 and this is an interesting film, that is a bit of a slow burn (no pun intended), but has a satisfying enough ending that makes it worth watching. Elizabeth Mitchell, who you might know from Lost, stars and is easily the stand out of the film. With an intriguing plot that feels somewhat new, although a tad predictable, Witch Hunt is an interesting film.
In this movie witches are real and witch craft is illegal. However, witches are given refuge in Mexico, and this story focuses on those that are helping them do so. Martha, who is played by Mitchell, is someone who shelters witches until they can be picked up and safely brought across the border. Her teenage daughter, Claire, doesn’t seem to approve of what she is doing.
Throughout the film, Claire ends up having to look internally, as a couple of witches are stuck at their house longer than usual after the person who ferries them never shows up. The government performs tests on teenage girls to see if they are witches by checking if they sink or float. They also measure the marks on their bodies like moles and freckles.
It is clear that this movie is a comparison to how many people are treated and ostracized in this country just for being different. We are all human, and we should all be treated as such. When the witches are living in the walls of the home, it reminded me a lot of what I know about the underground railroad. With such an important message, it is a shame that this movie is a struggle to get through at first.
Witch Hunt clocks in at an hour and forty minutes or so, but it feels quite a bit longer than that. It is a slow burn of a movie that takes a really long time to get going. The final half hour is fantastic though, and really helps drive home the message of inclusion and acceptance.
About Witch Hunt
In a modern America where witches are real and witchcraft is illegal, a sheltered teenager must face her own demons and prejudices as she helps two young witches avoid law enforcement and cross the southern border to asylum in Mexico.
