The Love Witch (2016)

The Love Witch (2016) is a darkly comic, stylishly retro horror-romance about obsession, desire and the dangerous lengths someone will go to for love. It follows Elaine, a glamorous young witch who moves into a Victorian house in a small California town and uses spells, potions and seduction to make men fall for her. Her magic works too well: lovers become infatuated to the point of ruin, and Elaine’s single-minded pursuit of the perfect partner leaves a trail of tragic consequences that draws the attention of a skeptical local detective. Watching the film is as much about mood and design as it is about story. Director Anna Biller deliberately channels the saturated colors, set design and melodrama of 1960s–70s Technicolor thrillers: lush costumes, baroque interiors, floral prints and a dreamy, theatrical staging. The tone hops between campy comedy, gothic romance and slow-burning horror, and the dialogue often reads like heightened, retro melodrama. Underneath the surface humor and pastiche, the film probes darker themes—female fantasy, narcissism, objectification and the way loneliness can calcify into violence. If you see this movie you’ll be immersed in a meticulously crafted visual and sonic world—beautiful, eerie and occasionally absurd—where style amplifies the emotional stakes. Expect to be at once entertained and unsettled: amused by Elaine’s performative femininity, captivated by the film’s aesthetics, and disturbed by the moral and deadly fallout of her actions. The Love Witch is a provocative, visually seductive piece that rewards viewers who appreciate slow-burn atmosphere, campy homage and psychological bite. Note: it contains dark themes and fatal outcomes.

Actors: Samantha Robinson, Jeffrey Vincent Parise, Laura Waddell

Director: Anna Biller

Runtime: 120 min

Genres: Comedy, Horror, Romance

5.8 /10 82 /100 6.2 /10 6.7 /10