Elle Callahan

(On Cable TV, February 2022) I was expecting more from Witch Hunt. I’m not sure what exactly, but what it delivers is limp and disappointing in so many ways that nearly anything else would have been more interesting. Positing a parallel universe where witches are real and living in contemporary America, it soon becomes obvious that writer-director Elle Callahan is far more interested in social commentary and character drama than any notion of rigorous fantasy or alternate reality. Yes, witches exist in the film’s reality and they have power such as telekinesis, pyromania or teleportation—but what’s really important here is a paper-thin metaphor on sexism and discrimination in America. It’s highly significant that the film takes place (and ends) near a wall separating the US from Mexico—but you don’t need to wait until the very end to feel tired of the bluntness with which the film scores its points. The plot has to do with a teenage girl whose mother hosts witch refugees and, in the least surprising plot twist imaginable, starts showing signs of witchery herself. But temper those expectations, because the entire film is executed in this boring low-key approach that doesn’t move fast enough to paper over its dumb plotting, poor character choices (exposing witchery to an entire bar, for instance) and wholly unconvincing world-building. Witches are real, but nothing much has changed: the film lovingly details the ways in which the red-headed witches are oppressed and killed, but otherwise posits a world so much like ours that Thelma and Louise’s digital restoration is a thing. (No, you don’t get any points for guessing that Witch Hunt’s inconclusive ending involves a speeding vehicle.)  This is lazy, disappointing, unbearable naïve writing—not even taking advantage of the possibilities of its premise to deliver a ham-fisted message about admirable ideals. So disappointing—it’s bound to frustrate large audiences, starting with anyone expecting a coherent fantasy story.