Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Bad Witch’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the motion picture, ‘Bad Witch’.
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One important lesson that we learn at some point in life, is that you simply cannot control people in the slightest. Because it doesn’t matter what you say or do, or how compliant a person appears to be when you first meet them, at some point… someone that you think you need to be in charge of, will decide that they are going to walk their own path in life and they’ll be damned if they are going to let anyone tell them how to do it and well, it’s a good thing we learn this lesson. Because it teaches us about boundaries and the importance of respect and of course… the power of communication since we tend to get better results in regard to having people help us with tasks, when we use our words and find a common ground.
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But while those are wonderful lessons to come out of such a unique experience, what’s unfortunate is that some people never quite figure this out. It could be because they are marginalized and believe that control is the only way they will matter in this world, or they genuinely have control issues and need to assert themselves in order to find calm and peace. But regardless of the reason, these people tend to be toxic in nature and are best avoided, and some are so bad, that we fear to even think about what they might become if they found a way to actually exert genuine control over other people. But thankfully, fiction is there to explore such fears and recently, a horror/comedy hit the market that examines what that might look like in Bad Witch.

Now in this particular tale we meet a sour man named Xander Perkins, who has accomplished little in life and it makes sense as to why. Because Xander is a witch. Yes, you read that right, a witch. Not a warlock or a wizard or a sorcerer, but a witch. And his mastery of black magic has allowed for him to simply cast spells to grab hold of what he wants in life. Which has given him a powerful ego and minimal care about his fellow human beings since he can control them with a quick spell. But when one of his sexual conquests via magic, backfires and puts his safety in jeopardy, Xander flees and decides that perhaps the time has come to hang up his broom and play it straight for a while. That is until he meets a young man named Roland Grimm, who could use a little black magic in his life and that leaves Xander to wonder… if by chance paying it forward by using his powers for good, will help him to redeem his lost soul.

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Which is a plot that truly infers that this is going to be a grand story of redemption. One where Xander finally gets his head out of the clouds and comes to realize that getting to know others and what makes them tick and opening up one's heart to others, is how folks truly move forward together. But that would be the easy way out for this story and instead… it quickly transforms into a tragedy of sorts. One where Xander comes to realize that he can exert even greater control over people by playing the part of the puppeteer and that only intoxicates him further and that answers the question as to what would happen if someone awful to their core was given the chance to truly control other human beings. In that, they would relish in that power and abuse it to the fullest, regardless of the consequences. As evidenced by how this story plays out of the course of its brisk eighty-one-minute run time.
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But while that offers up some poignant moments for certain, the kind that we won’t spoil here. There was mention of this movie being a hybrid horror/comedy and we would be remiss to not talk about the comedy side to this particular tale. Because this is that rare hybrid film that is completely and utterly self-aware and knows exactly which joke is going to work in which moment. Which treats the audience to outright laugh out loud moments, and uncomfortable ones that are grounded in dark humor and gross out jokes and really, that’s a testament to James Hennigan’s script and the direction of Victor Fink and Joshua Land. Since it takes a smooth screenplay and slick direction to allow for comedy to work so well in a story where guts and gore and prevalent and these gents deserve a round of applause for bringing all of this together in a seamless manner.

If anything, this is just a delightfully twisted motion picture. One that offers a great deal to horror fans out there. Because if you’re looking for something with a little splatter, this has it. If you love witch movies, well it has witches too. And of course, if you’re looking for depth and commentary and a little dark humor, you’ll find that here as well. Which makes this a worthwhile watch for certain, since one can easily get lost in a story as original and as refreshing as this one, and you can never go wrong with a horror story that has quite the morality lesson at its core. Since this one really does serve to remind us to celebrate people for who they are, and not who we think they should be.

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