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Five Things You (Might) Not Know About ‘The Witches’

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In 1990, Nicolas Roeg’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Witches burst onto the big screen, terrifying children and delighting their parents. It was one of the largest first-run commercial success the director experienced in his life time (though its box office numbers were not stellar by any means), and as we mourn his passing today, I thought it would be fun to look behind the scenes of this fabulous film.

So, let’s take a look at five things you (might) not know about The Witches!

#1 The Witches was the last film produced by Lorimar Productions.

Lorimar Productions was established in the late 1960s, and had produced and/or distributed a number of wildly different films in its two decades of existence. The studio was behind CruisingAn Officer and a Gentleman, and The Postman Always Rings Twice alongside TV series and mini-series such as Stephen King’s IT and Freddy’s Nightmares.

The film was completed in 1989 and set for distribution when the company’s theatrical division was dissolved. Rights for distribution were sold to Warner Bros. but the film still sat on a shelf for almost a year before it was finally released in theaters.

#2 Anjelica Huston was not the first choice to take on the role of the Grand High Witch.

It’s hard to imagine anyone other than Anjelica Huston in this role!

As hard as it is to believe, a LOT of other actresses were considered for the role of the devious Grand High Witch in the film.

In fact, over the years rumor has it a number of other actresses were considered for the role from the time of writing and through the casting process. Whether these rumors were based in fact or purely anecdotal doesn’t seem to matter all that much, but reports have tied Vanessa Regrave, Eartha Kitt, Susan Sarandon, Liza Minnelli, Faye Dunaway, Jodie Foster, and even Cher to the casting process.

Any one of these actresses could have no doubt killed the role, but this is one of those instances where you have to ask, “Would they have done it better than Anjelica?”

#3 This was the last film Jim Henson personally oversaw and worked on directly.

(Photo via WikiMedia Commons)

Legendary puppeteer and creature creator, Jim Henson designed three different sets of mouse puppets for The Witches. The smallest were actually mouse-sized with control wires that were said to be hair thin and the largest came in at around three feet in length which Roeg used for a couple of close up shots in the film.

What’s more, it was Henson who convinced Roald Dahl not to condemn the project and remove his name from it when he wrote a letter to the author after hearing of his displeasure.

Sadly, Henson died just days before the film made its UK debut from streptococcal toxic shock syndrome. He was 53 years old. In an odd coincidence Dahl, himself, passed away the same year.

#4 It was never revealed why the witches wanted to rid the world of children.

As baffling as it might sound, and it does if you’re like me and you had it in your head that the reason was spelled out in the film, neither the book nor the film explained exactly why the witches hated children so much.

Was it a lifelong vendetta? Did they just think they were brats? Was it a long game to ensure the human race was wiped out?

Who knows?

Perhaps Roald Dahl knew, but he never explained it in the original text, and Nicolas Roeg, taking his cue from the novel, didn’t get a clear reason either.

#5 As dark as the film is, the book was much darker.

 

As we’ve seen with so many children’s stories and books adapted for the big screen, the production team really toned down the darkness during the process of adaptation.

Unlike the film, for instance, Luke (who never actually had a name in the book) was never returned to his human form and realizes toward the end that this means his life has been seriously cut short. Mice only live a few years under the best of circumstances, after all, and he has to come to terms with that fact.

It was implied in the book that Bruno aka the other little boy turned into a mouse, was drowned in a bucket of water by a janitor at his father’s insistence which fit into the Grand High Witch’s plan to have all the children killed by unsuspecting teachers, janitors, and parents when they had become mice.

Bonus Fact!

Roald Dahl, as previously mentioned was very displeased with this adaptation. In fact, he was so displeased it’s said that he left instructions in his will that set the standards very high for anyone in the future who might want to adapt his work for film!

 

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Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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