Where My Coven At? Review of ‘The Witch Files’ (2018)

When The Craft came out in theaters back in 1996, I made sure to see it opening weekend. It was everything I wanted – strong, confident young women with magical powers to acquire everything and anything they wanted, with a coven to provide the backbone and structure needed to brave those treacherous Catholic high school halls while helping them lash out at authority and bullies. It sounded perfect, and like a dream. So when I heard about The Witch Files, I had high hopes that the film would give me all of the things I had loved from The Craft. Did it succeed?

 

Jules: “He tried to feel me up in physics, so I pushed him.”

Brooke: “Wait, are you the reason he’s on crutches today?”

Greta: “He’s like 200 pounds. How did you push him?”

Jules: “I just… believed that I could.

Thus begins The Witch Files, a cautionary tale about five young women – Claire (Holly Taylor), Brooke (Alice Ziolkoski), MJ (Tara Robinson), Greta (Adrienne Rose White) and Jules (Britt Flatmo) – who form a powerful coven one night after meeting in detention earlier that day. Mesmerized by the tales being spun by intriguing newcomer Jules, they decide to meet at Hag Rock at midnight to learn how to chant and cast spells. After a brief lesson on the differences between a pentagram and a pentacle (a pentacle is a pentagram enclosed in a circle), Jules instructs the coven to dig at the five corners of the star symbol and leave locks of hair. It isn’t until after their chanting that they discover that their hair has been dug up and is now missing. Not paying too much mind to the meaning behind that, they begin to strengthen their powers by chanting away dinner checks, walking out of stores without paying, levitation and making a teacher vomit coffee. And that’s not all. As their powers get stronger, it become evident the toll it’s taking on each of them and the price they are paying to have everything they ever wanted. Enter Detective Strauss (Paget Brewster), who starts to investigate the coven’s theft, and things begin to spin out of control until an electrifying climax that proves not everyone is how they seem.

The Witch Files is the latest from Director Kyle Rankin (Night of the Living Deb), and was c0-written by Rankin and Larry Blamire (The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra 2001). Shot entirely in POV style by Aitor Uribarri, the film boasts a minimal soundtrack but is rich with stunts coordinated by Mark Bedell. I liked this one because, while it’s not up to par with The Craft, it did remind me of the beloved film, and shows that five very different people can become friends, despite their social stature. Watching this also reminded me that sometimes it’s not always a good thing to get everything you want, and that sometime you may pay a price higher than the worth of the stuff you got out of it.

Let The Witch Files cast a spell on you. Catch its release on DVD on October 9, 2018 as well as all VOD platforms.