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‘Witch Hunt’ takes place in a modern America where witches are real and witchcraft is illegal. A sheltered teenager, Clair (Gideon Adlon), is in a family that helps to shelter these witches and assist and crossing the border. Clair must face her own demons and prejudices as she helps two young witches avoid law enforcement and cross the southern border to asylum in Mexico, but may also unearth some truths about herself in the process.
This modern day witch story had me captivated from the start. An interesting premise that is executed in a unique and thought provoking story. The witches all appear to essentially be red headed, bleached eyebrows, and somewhat unsettling in their mannerisms. Clair is immediately turned off by them and hates that her mother (Elizabeth Mitchell) is aiding them. But once she interacts closer with one fo the witches being sheltered with her, she starts to notice she may have abilities herself.
This has a feeling similar to ‘Let The Right One In’, or even ‘Looper’ a young adult horror revolving around modern day vampires. While that story chose to stay in the shadows small in scope, ‘Witch Hunt’ does the opposite. I was surprised with how well crafted the story was and expansive the world seemed to be.
Let’s also talk about the villain, a Witch Hunter that lingers and terrifies anyone near him like a Nazi almost. Christian Camargo gives a very good performance here and is very unsettling. The film has a little to say also about how we treat the ‘other’ in society and does it in a way that doesn’t take away from the story.
Overall, ‘Witch Hunt’ is a thought-provoking horror that reimagines the Witch genre in new and interesting ways. Definitely go check it out when it is released!
