Witch Hunt (SXSW 2021 Movie Review)

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

PLOT: In a world where witches are real and magic has been made illegal by the United States government, a high school student has to overcome her own intolerance and the darkness within when two young witches begin hiding out in her home. 

REVIEW: As amazing as it would be to be a witch, warlock, or really anything that can do magic, it goes without saying being so magical would not be accepted well in the United States. That acknowledgment of America’s natural tendency to target anyone seen as an “other” is the basis of writer/director Elle Callahan’s Witch Hunt, a revisionist-horror-fantasy set in a world where witches are very much real and very much targeted by the American government. Callahan may not push herself as a director as far as that premise could take her, where her story is at its best is when she lets compassion and growth triumph over darkness and violence.

While being a witch is not necessarily illegal in this new America, the practice of magic certainly is. However, that doesn’t stop citizens from pre-emptively judging people known to be witches, and by supporting a government’s zero-tolerance tactics in eliminating them. There’s an aura of ignorance among the people existing in Callahan’s world, which has rubbed off on teenager, Claire (Gideon Adlon). Being around friends and classmates with apparent disdain for witches places Claire slightly more on the side of the hateful rhetoric, even though her mother (Elizabeth Mitchell) operates a safe house for witches escaping to the much more enlightened Mexico. But soon she finds herself having to face those prejudices when a witch around her age, Fiona (Abigail Cowen), and her young sister, Shae (Echo Campbell), begin hiding out at her home. While not the militant fanatic that the young Jojo is in Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit, the set-up here is in the same vein as that film – finding its lead character going on a journey of compassion and understanding. 

Callahan as a director does a fine job world-building and establishing the mood of the California town, which due to recent activity is crawling with government agents tasked with tracking down witches – and who may get more power should an upcoming Prop 6 pass into law. Tensions are high and in keeping her world so grounded in our own, and indeed, painting a realistic portrait of systemic intolerance, there’s a consistent uneasiness between characters and within any scenario. Claire’s friends watch with indifference as a witch in a video is shot and killed, and later on, when another of their classmates is killed after being forced underwater for a “classic” witch test. With buses full of screaming witches being driven through town on a sunny day, there’s an ingrained sense of normalcy as humans watch everything happen. 

It’s in quiet moments between Claire and Fiona – sometimes with Fiona breaking down in confusion and sadness over why she’s treated the way she and others when Claire simply gets to talk to her about what it’s like being a witch – where the heart of the movie truly lies. It’s about developing a connection and Claire, in turn, overcoming both her warped mindset and, by extension, internal repression to become something much greater. Adlon plays into Claire’s innocence and curiosity well, conveying a young woman who may not always have the most progressive mindset, but does have from the get-go a big enough heart to have room to let Fiona in. Her and Cowen have warm chemistry together, which all the more sells the best moments. 

Where the movie is hampered down to the point where it does stop Callahan’s premise from shining as much as it could is in its pacing and overall energy. While I wouldn’t go so far as to call the movie “dull,” there is a missed opportunity for Callahan to expand on her creation a bit more, and dig deeper into it for a more heightened sense of emotion drawn out of such a vivid world. While the smaller moments shine and build up solid character growth, many of the scenes around it lack a particular punch that would make it unforgettable. There is a heaviness to certain scenes, but they’re rushed through so quickly that whatever rage we could get from them – and thus commit even more to the journey of the protagonists – feel muted. If this movie is designed out of a passion and rage towards our countries real intolerance, that emotion doesn’t often translate to the screen. 

There is still something admirable, though, about how Callahan focuses her story on the growth of Claire, who is slowly discovering she too has a connection to the line of witches. This leads to a climax with the movie’s main villain – a devious government witch hunter (Cameron Camargo) – who feels underdeveloped and underutilized, and then leading to an ultimate finale that doesn’t stick the strongest landing. And yet, so much about it hints at the promise of Callahan as a writer and director, and with a bigger stage to play on, Witch Hunt hints at great things to come from her.