WITCH HUNT

Directed by:  Elle Callahan

Starring: Gideon Adlon, Abigail Cowen, Christian Camargo, Lulu Antariksa, Treva Etienne

Teenager Claire Goode is growing up in an America where witches, and witchcraft, are real, but have been outlawed by the Government. She has to wrestle between the propaganda being taught at school with the fact that her mother is secretly helping witches escape across the border into Mexico.

From its very first image, I knew that Witch Hunt was going to be a little bit special and far removed from the generic horror movie I was expecting. Starting with a state-sanctioned witch burning Is a powerful start.

The film then jumps three months ahead and down to Arizona, where we find Claire and her three friends. Their classroom is adorned with little messages about how the practice of witchcraft is a criminal offence. The sanctions against witches has also branched into a prejudice of redheads, as witches predominantly have red/ginger hair (although not all redheads are witches, naturally).

Before Claire heads home there is some nice world building exposition. We learn of the 11th Amendment to the Constitution, which outlawed the practice of witchcraft, and Proposition 6, which will turn descendants of witches into second class citizens. We also see a viral video of a witch being shot with salt as she attempted to cross the border into Mexico: salt apparently disrupts a witches' magic.

At home, we discover why Claire was reluctant to allow her friend Jen to come over to help study - there is a witch hiding within the house, awaiting pickup. Much like the Underground Railroad in the time of slavery, some good natured people are helping the witches escape to Mexico, where they are being welcomed by the Government instead of persecuted. Claire is indoctrinated into the propaganda taught at school and her friends' rhetoric and believes her mother is putting the family in harms way to protect "criminals". However her view starts to get distorted when she meets Fiona, a girl roughly her own age and daughter to the witch we saw executed at the beginning.

Gideon Adlon does  a good job of showing the conflict within Claire. Despite her arguments with her mother, she is aware of the injustices going on around her. It almost takes on a physical manifestation as her asthma seems to flare up at such times. Her burgeoning friendship with Fiona also complicates her feelings.

A story like this needs a strong villain and although we've seen this archetype before, it fits perfectly. Christian Camargo does an excellent job of providing the witchfinder an air of authority and menace, even when he's not being menacing. He never has to overplay it to convey the danger he represents.

One of the film's nice touches is the twisted logic used when outing a witch. It basically states that the accusation is absolute. You are put in a position where you will have to use your witchcraft in order to survive, or you will die - and if you do die, then that is what you chose to do rather than display your witchcraft powers!

THE VERDICT

Witch Hunt is anything but a generic horror film. Its definitely aimed at a Young Adult audience, it depicts a scary yet believable alternate reality which acts as an allegory for the last presidential administration.

8 out of 10 RECOMMENDED

MikeOutWest