[customfont1]The Craft (1996)[/customfont1]
With royalty of the 90s like Neve Campbell and Skeet Ulrich, how could this one go wrong? Think a darker Clueless with an equally-cool but underrated soundtrack.
[customfont1]Hocus Pocus (1993)[/customfont1]
I realize that a few films on this list are kid’s movies, but those films create the foundation that makes adult witch movies so terrifying down the road. Besides – who DOESN’T want to see our Sex And The City heroine Carrie as a witch!?!
[customfont1]The Witches (1990)[/customfont1]
Though this is certainly a children’s movie, I don’t know anyone who wasn’t terrified of it during their youth. It is adapted from a book by Roald Dahl, who many do not know also wrote extremely scary adult horror.
[customfont1]The Blair Witch Project (1999)[/customfont1]
The best movie I have ever seen – until The Witch – that had anything to do with witches. Groundbreaking, scary, and a perfect example of less is more.
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Black Sunday (1960)[/customfont1]
This one has the feel of a 1930s/40s Universal Monsters horror flick, but with the added bonus of a witch. Black and white, fabulous fake fog, and very British teeth.
[customfont1]Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)[/customfont1]
Bedknobs and Broomsticks made witches friendly and fun LONG before Potter and his friends made such a perspective cool. This is a good one to watch to remind yourself that not all witches are bad.
[customfont1]Wicker Man (1973)[/customfont1]
The remake is entertaining in a standard Nic Cage kinda way, but this original is genuinely weird and unsettling. Like Pleasantville meets Children of the Corn.
[customfont1]Suspiria (1977)[/customfont1]
If you only see one Dario Argento flick in your lifetime, this has to be it. Think Black Swan meets American Horror Story: Coven, but it is really something entirely unique – the visuals and style of this film were truly groundbreaking.
[customfont1]Drag Me To Hell (2009)[/customfont1]
One of Sam Rami’s more underrated films, this flick delivers a truly terrifying witch figure via actress Lorna Raver. Despite some genuinely scary moments, this movie is still full of Raimi’s trademark dark humor.
[customfont1]Escape to Witch Mountain (1975)[/customfont1]
Another classic children’s flick that plants the wonderfully horrifying seeds of terror in fertile, impressionable minds, without doing too much damage. Worth a watch in your adult years also.
[customfont1]Haxan (1922)[/customfont1]
This Swedish film was one of the first fictionalized documentaries, tracing the evolution of witchcraft. The fact that it is so old adds to the creepy factor, but be sure to get the unedited, restored version so you can see the terrifying depictions of torture that were edited from the film for most showings during its time.
[customfont1]Inferno (1980)[/customfont1]
I know, I said if you watch one Argento film, it should be Suspiria. Well, if you watch two, Inferno should be the second. Siblings on different continents discover that there are twin covens living near each of them – and these are not friendly witches.
[customfont1]Witchfinder General aka The Conqueror Worm (1968)[/customfont1]
I bet you’ve never heard of this one – even more reason to give it a watch. This one will force you to examine the concept of witchcraft from a historical perspective, and Vincent Price does a tremendous job portraying the villainous real-life witch-hunter, Matthew Hopkins.