The Witches

There are just enough goodies here for parents and well-prepared kiddies alike. The nifty VFX, performances, and modern updates are what make this remake an easy-enough treat.

This kiddie horror comedy will bring a bracing dollop of creepiness to your Halloween.

I would love to have seen what a boldly idiosyncratic fantasist like del Toro could have done with this story. But there's plenty here for audiences looking for family entertainment that balances darkness with a buoyant sense of mischief. At the very least, it's a lively step up from Zemeckis' last two films, "Allied" and "Welcome to Marwen."

It’s the same basic story recycled with slightly better special effects and a different cast. As lukewarm as I was toward the Roeg version, I was open to the possibility that Zemeckis could improve upon it – something he proved unable to do.

Zemeckis turns this beloved, dark story into a campy, weird, yet still fairly entertaining kid-friendly story of accepting oneself. The problem is that it pales in comparison to what came before.

This is a sleek-looking vehicle that’s eager to be scary but not comfortable being ugly.

What was weirdly but deliciously scary has grown ponderously out of scale, even for witches at their malign worst.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Can't keep up with the original movie, not by a long shot. Allthough it is worth watching if you have nothing else to do. Some effects are o.k. but most of the time the visual effects by todays technology ruin it a bit compared to the original one. Not tear-off of the face was another dissappointment. The actress who played grandma did a beautiful job though. Couldn't say the same for the child.

Another high budget adaptation of a children's book. Zemekis chooses to focus on sweeping 3d camerawork and digital visual effects throughout the movie. Sadly there is something lacking in the small changes to the setting and plot that take away from the flavour of the original book in my opinion. Octavia is fantastic throughout but Chris rock as the grown narrator felt like mis casting to me. Minor gripes aside it was a fun 'switch off' and watch film.

This is a hot mess of a movie that is fundamentally rotten at its core. Firstly, the story is clearly suited to children, especially around 8-12 yo, however they have overlayed an almost horror-esque SFX take that is actively disturbing rather than suggestively scary. Then there Anne Hathaway's character - possibly the worst acting I've seen (and making me think she was entirely a CG actor... please learn how to do accents). Finally there was the overall structure of the movie... it was just cartoonish to the point of absurdity. The fact this is based on a Dahl book doesn't matter - it's a horrible movie, and one I think was more scarring to our kids in an almost sadistic and creepy way. This was a huge missed opportunity...

A soulless remake that may be too frightening for kids and too dumb for adults. The lack of charisma in the young actors and the overuse of CGI makes the previous film superior on every level. The only good thing about this movie is the presence of Hathaway and Spencer, whose scenes are the funniest. There's also an important racial subtext at the beginning, but Zemeckis and del Toro don't develop it further.