The Witches(1990)
1990 · Nicolas Roeg · 91 min
While staying at a hotel in England with his grandmother, Helga, a young boy named Luke inadvertently spies on a convention of witches. The Grand High Witch reveals a plan to turn all children into mice via a magical formula. When they discover the eavesdropper, the witches test the formula on him. Now, with the help of Helga and hotel manager Mr Stringer, Luke the mouse must fight back against the witches.
Fantasy · Family · Horror
6.91.4k votes
TMDB score
2/5
Intensity
0/5
Gore
3/5
Stays with you
How The Witches scares
The Witches builds its scares through creepy imagery and a genuinely unsettling villain rather than jump scares, though a few big reveals do startle. The fear here comes mostly from the wrongness of the witches themselves, their faces and voices, more than any real physical danger on screen. It's aimed at kids and families but has a nasty streak that can stick with younger viewers, thanks to some genuinely disturbing transformation effects. Overall it's more spooky and gross than truly frightening, closer to a dark fairy tale than a horror movie for adults.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, The Witches rates psychological 2/5, visceral 2/5, gore 0/5, lingering effect 3/5, and overall intensity 2/5.
- Psychological: 2 of 5
- Visceral: 2 of 5
- Gore: 0 of 5
- Lingering: 3 of 5
- Intensity: 2 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 30 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 10 of 100 — leans Supernatural
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 25 of 100 — leans Fun-scary
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A cozy, storybook start that suddenly turns genuinely frightening at a big set-piece reveal, then rides waves of chase-and-hide tension before easing into a lighter, playful finish.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 1, 2, 4, 4, 3, 2, 2, 3, 4, 2, 1.
How scary is The Witches?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, The Witches rates 2/5 — moderately scary, building its fear through slow-burn dread rather than shocks. It works on both fronts, unsettling the mind while going for the body. Expect it to be restrained with gore and fun-first. Some of it will follow you to bed, but it lets go within a day or so.
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