Witches are everywhere and they hate children. That's the sentiment dropped early and often in "The Witches," director Robert Zemeckis' adaptation of the Road Dahl children's classic.
The movie might lack the heft of the 1990 Nicholas Roeg film, but it's a decent "starter" scare for budding horror enthusiasts. The story of an orphan boy (newcomer Jahzir Bruno) sent to live with his Grandma (Octavia Spencer) and their dust up with a coven of wicked witches is spooky but probably won't leave the young'uns all too traumatized. It's not like watching "The Shining" at age 11 - guilty as charged and still scarred.
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