‘Eli Roth’s History of Horror’ Recap: ‘Witches’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 204 of ‘Eli Roth’s History of Horror’.
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If there is one unfortunate aspect about our modern society that we don’t talk about enough, it would have to be the fact that women are treated and viewed as second class citizens. Which may seem like a silly or outlandish statement to make but it is… downright fact. For women were unable to vote for far too long, because short sighted people believed that they should not be involved in decisions that impacted the future of the nation. And even in 2020, there are still short sighted and close minded, male politicians, that believe they somehow need to have a say in what women do with their bodies. But while there is a continuing fight for women to become the equals they actually are in the real world, in fiction, there are stories that celebrate the power and the wonder of women and elevate them to the first class standing they deserve. Such as horror movies, believe it or not.

Because in scary movies anything can happen, and in a world of fictional terror, women are often the ones who save the day by outsmarting the monster or they drive the story by way of discovering the hidden power of the supernatural and oddly enough, said power, served as the focal point of this week’s episode of Eli Roth’s History of Horror. For ‘Witches’ explored how magic has made women a force to be reckoned with, in the genre and sadly… even that particular feat, took a while to achieve. Because early cinematic witches tended to reside within stereotypes, complete with an outright bitterness and hideous appearance. Something that ties into how powerful women are viewed as sour or evil. But thankfully, that all changed as time marched on and eventually, the witch transformed into quite the powerful being.

The kind that would instill fear in the hearts of the characters and the audience by using their power to prey upon our fears of the unknown and express some measure of revenge for how women have been treated by society and for proof, look no further than The Blair Witch Project. For this story did a phenomenal job of exploring the sheer raw power of a witch, one that took no prisoners or offered zero forgiveness for how the world treated her back in the day. Which makes the witch more than a stereotype here, since she’s strong and dynamic and she wasn’t the only one in the 1990s to offer up an empowering vision of this horror legend. Because the witches of The Craft were all about using their power to shape their world, and while there was some measure of revenge present in this story as well, it also features a witch that fights for forces of good. A twist that shattered all kinds of stereotypes about this particular ‘monster’ and added a measure of equality to this sub-genre.

Because it took a witch to defeat other witches, not some quirky plot device, or a man for that matter and it just so happens that The Craft isn’t the only witch-themed film out there to remove men from the storytelling equation. Take Suspiria for instance. For the original 1977 film and the 2018 reimagining are completely female centric, allowing for female main characters to deal with the witches in question and outright save the day and that is definitely a refreshing take to see in horror. The kind that definitely speaks to how women can be equals and handle problems on their own and hopefully we continue to see more horror films that do this as time goes on, and maintain the unsettling scares that are present in the films we’ve outlined as well. Since every single story we’ve highlighted today really does leave the viewer in an uncomfortable place.

In the end however, this was just a wonderfully detailed exploration of a segment of the genre that needs to be spotlighted more. Because this episode made it clear that there are some quality and powerful stories to be found in regard to witches, the kind that offer up incredible commentary on our world and our past and also offer relatable moments that people can connect to. Which makes this sub-genre critical to the success of horror and kudos to this show for taking the time to highlight everything that witch movies have to offer, and for continuing to show us how this genre ties into so much of our everyday lives and our experiences. And now that this exploration has come to a close, once again we are left counting down the minutes until next Saturday’s entry, so we can learn more about this dynamic genre and everything it has to offer. Until then.   

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