Mini-review of ‘The Love Witch’

I like odd films and this month, ‘The Love Witch’ is available on Amazon Prime. It’s a tribute to kitsch horror films of the sixties. The user reviews on IMDB are split. Some people loved it while others hated it; very few were neutral. Frankly, I have no desire to watch it again, but I’m not annoyed that I watched it once.

The film is beautifully shot and duplicates the technicolor look associated with sixties horror films. Too bad the script lacks a sense of humor. If it did, I missed the jokes. The film might have worked better if it had a few intentional laughs aka dark humor. The writer/producer/director (all one person) implied that ‘Love Witch’ carried a feminist theme, but the delivery was too intense for me. I don’t watch this genre for its social meaning.

I wasn’t thrilled with the dark depiction of witches either, having known several (male and female) who were focused on light, love and the healing arts. The writer studied the craft for the film, but her takeaway was more 1660’s, less 1960’s. Definitely not the third millennium. The film could have focused on a strong female character like the cheated-upon wife. I won’t spoil it, but Trish could fight.

Sigh, I just didn’t get this film, and I wanted to. You may like it or not. Be warned, it’s not a date film, there is frontal nudity, and the ending is ‘meh.’ But if you have Prime, it’s ‘free.’