The Love Witch
Anna Biller, 2016
Ah, love... those awkward moments when you really like a person and you try to get their attention. Some flirt by touch, others by words. Some by acting like a complete fucking idiot. A lot of the time, the weird rituals us humans have to attract another tend to work at some degree... unless you're an obvious tool who gets their pickup lines from a banana flavored Laffy Taffy wrapper. But, alas, regardless of our rituals of flexing our average sized muscles, winking with fan sized eyelashes, or throwing up on accident from nerves, not everyone's cut out for relationships. So, what's a lonely soul to do?
Create a love spell of course, seduce every man you contact, accidentally murder them and then move on to the next... like some kind of black widow or something. Or, better yet, a Love Witch.
Naturally, of course... what? Doesn't everyone do the same?
It's been a hot minute. A year and half, hot minute. But that's life. I'm excited to get back into reviewing as I've seen some killer films recently that I think should be recognized. Namely, a 2 hour long film all about Wiccan rites and love spells that's filmed in an authentic 1960's style-- pacing included! I was surfing the streaming services one day off from work, as is the normal for use anti-cable folk today, and was on the search for a new interesting film to watch. Something unique and unlike what I have seen tons of recently... like under a spell, I was entranced by a small clip of "The Love Witch". After watching, all I can say is that it was worth the 2 hours I will never get back.
So what's this quirky film about?
Elaine is a witch that has moved to California after her Husband passed away. She's on the hunt: for a new lover. After pleading with her goddess to deliver a man to her, she seduces any man that she looks at with just her pretty eyes and, obviously, some really potent spell work. But after the first man she tries to tie the knot with dies from expressing too many emotions, she leaves a bloody trail behind that leads others to discover her abilities; and her vag. What an icon.
I'm usually really picky when it comes to horror comedy. I've been spoiled a lot by the likes of "Evil Dead II", Vincent Price's "Comedy of Terrors", "Tales From the Crypt", "Little Shop of Horrors", "Tucker and Dale vs. Evil" "American Werewolf in London", etc. I wouldn't consider this a full blown horror comedy, but it does have a good healthy dose of both. Namely the horror. At first, when watching, it was about the same as any 1960s thriller I've seen. A la, The Birds (even though, yeah it's a horror film-- but today it's considered a thriller. I guess we're too used to scary shit now...). As it went further and further into insanity, though, the horror really started to show its ugly face. Some of the scenes were a little uncomfortable to watch, especially due to how sexual it was while you were also in the know of the witchcraft being committed. The people she seduces are out of their own control and die from loving too much. It's horrifying. There are also some disturbing scenes of how Elaine was introduced into her coven and how she was treated in the past by her ex-husband and even her father.
On the comedic side, most of the comedy that I was rolling to was the out of context scenes. When you're so engrossed in what feels like a period piece, it's jarring to notice more modern day attributes through out the film that are so casually introduced. In one of my favorite scenes, Elaine is showing off her ring to one of her friends. After Elaine runs off, and forgetting her ring at the table, her friend tries to call after her; and after a quick shrug, pulls out a cell phone and calls Elaine because that's totally something that would happen in the 1960s. I love it. This jarring effect that causes laughter is actually called the Incongruity Theory. This is demonstrated by a joke taking a different direction due to its inane 180. In other words, your brain tries to create a logical conclusion to the joke and when it's completely different than what you'd expect, you laugh. To get all sciency in the middle of a horror movies review...
Horrifying Science: the Left side of the cortex in your brain is used to understand the joke being presented. You're already queued to know what the logical conclusion is, as the left side of your brain is the "logical side". Your right cortex within the brain helps you understand the joke-- which then, in turn confirms your logical conclusion and causes the laughter trigger. But, if the joke makes a 180, the brain-- in layman's terms-- glitches out and doesn't know how to react. The average human tends to laugh when this occurs, as it is a new group of emotions trying to react to a different line of thought. So, seeing somebody who is calling after another in a time period where cell phones don't exist causes the Incongruity theory of laughter. We also see this in a lot of other horror comedies such as Evil Dead II and American Werewolf in London.
The film did well in blending both while leaning more on the horror side. I really enjoyed the ending. While some may not enjoy it, I think it did it a great job wrapping up the arch of Elaine and the final spiral of her madness. I also love how unapologetically feminist this movie is in how it analyzes women's relationships to the men in their lives; especially during this era. Elaine is supposed to represent how women were supposed to think, while also subverting the expectation of women and presenting the idea that women can take more from men. It's tragic, but absolutely in your face with its presented ideas. I really enjoyed how it was shot on 35 mm film, which really isn't a thing any more. Now film is cut digitally and projected digitally. From what I've researched, this film was one of the last to be cut on 35 mm film. The technicolor used is also another homage to the 1960s and its use of color in filming.
Lastly, the music is fantastic. A lot of the soundtrack ties 60s east coast jazz with horror soundtrack stings similar to that of Psycho or Peeping Tom. It's just enough of both old school and new school too, by having more atonal structure the more insane it gets. A lot of these effects are represented by brushes on drums and cymbals, your stereotypical strings, and other very specific 1960s sound textures that are reminiscent of the some generic folk music tracks. They even have a bassoon in a couple parts. There are also some suggestions towards Beethoven's Fur Elise here and there on the piano. I really like that they went for a genuine 60s soundscape instead of the usual Hans Zimmer BWAAAA sound effect and screaming violins. Here is a link to the full soundtrack: The Love Witch Soundtrack (there's even some amazingly dark and powerful pipe organ!!!!)
I don't have any complaints for this movie. While it was really well made, it isn't in my top 5. But I will re-watch it as much as I am able to. I think that this film is a hidden gem waiting to be found by many more people. If you're into 1960s horror/thriller films and want a more modern adaptation, I would give this film a go. Content warning: Sexual imagery, implication of rape, blood, witchcraft, a woman peeing into a jar and putting her tampon in it.
Bone Stats:
Story: 🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴
Acting:🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴
Effects:🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴
Re-Watchability: 🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴
Pacing: 🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴
Overall Skeleton: (9 Bones out of 10)🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴
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