With The Northman bringing witches to the forefront once again, the witch has always been a part of cinema's history. The endless possibilities of their powers make witches some of the most interesting characters in film history, and many of those films have conjured up magic with critics.
No matter if it was animated fantasies like Spirit Away, or chilling horror films like The Witch, witchcraft never fails to cast a spell on audiences. Despite a coven full of great films to choose from, some witchcraft movies garnered a much higher score on IMDb.
Witchfinder General (1968) - 6.7
Starring the legendary actor Vincent Price in one of his best films, Witchfinder General is a historical look at how witchcraft was punished in ancient England. Mad with power, a man tours the country claiming to rid towns of their witch infestations. Lining his pockets with money, the man is pursued by the brother of one of the women who he persecuted.
Most stories featuring witchcraft are horror stories, but Witchfinder General was terrifying for entirely different reasons. The film features very little witchcraft, and is instead about how the superstitions of ancient people was used to justify evil deeds. Price is downright evil, as he goes about his task with gleeful abandon for life and limb.
Bell, Book, And Candle (1958) - 6.8
In the same year that actors James Stewart and Kim Novak lit up the screen in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, the pair co-starred in an entirely different kind of love story. Bell, Book, and Candle follows a witch who falls for her new neighbor, and uses her black magic to get him to fall in love with her. The only trouble is that he is already engaged to be married to another woman.
The movie is filled with classic witchcraft imagery including black cats, and dusty old spell books. Its setting of a suburban neighborhood was a funny change of pace, and the two leads are practically magnetic on screen together. Long gone from her damsel in distress role in Vertigo, Novak is in full control, and all Stewart can do is hold on for the ride.
The Witches (1990) - 6.8
With most modern witchcraft stories being somewhat apologetic, The Witches was a reminder that witches could still be scary. A young boy accidentally discovers a gathering of witches in his small town. Despite being turned into a mouse, the boy stops at nothing to make sure that the witches don't achieve their evil plan.
Generally considered one of the best Roald Dahl adaptations, The Witches was an intense children's film. Not pulling any punches, the depiction of the witches' true form is a spooky use of prosthetic makeup. Anjelica Huston is downright diabolical as Miss Ernst, and it is her brilliant performance that carries the memorable film.
Hocus Pocus (1993) - 6.9
While it passed by with little fanfare upon its initial release, Hocus Pocus has lived on as a Halloween cult classic. A misfit boy moves to Salem Massachusetts where he accidentally reawakens a trio of evil witches from the 17th century who were executed for their witchcraft.
Practically dripping with Halloween spirit, the movie is a love letter to the beloved fall holiday as well as a great modern witchcraft story. The trio of witches each have distinct personalities and it is great fun to watch them play off of one another. Hocus Pocus succeeds because it walks the line between spooky, and fun, and doesn't become too scary for its younger audience.
The Witch (2015) - 6.9
As far as directorial debuts go, few auteurs burst on the scene quite like Robert Eggers with his film The Witch. The film follows a New England family in the 1630s, who is tormented and split apart by the evils of witchcraft that exists all around them.
Capturing its early colonial atmosphere perfectly, The Witch is a rare glimpse at the primordial days of the United States. While a lot has been said about the infamous Salem Witch Trials of the 17th century, the film offers an entirely different view of history. Leaning heavily into the esoteric nature of witchcraft, all of the evil is manifested in the family's black goat.
Black Sunday (1960) - 7.1
Witchcraft offers filmmakers an infinite number of possibilities with their stories, and Black Sunday explored the horrific potential of black magic. When a witch is put to death in the past, she uses her magic to possess one of her distant future relatives.
Part witch story and part possession story, Black Sunday is one of Mario Bava's scariest films. The movie uses its black and white imagery to perfection, and there are several visuals that are still creepy to this day. Though it is very much rooted in the decade that produced it, Black Sunday also has a timeless quality as well.
I Married A Witch (1942) - 7.1
I Married a Witch was one of the first films to discover that witchcraft had the capacity to be funny, as well as scary. Using her black magic to return hundreds of years later, a witch resurrects herself in the modern day to torment a man who is a descendent of the person who sentenced her to death.
Even though it was made in the 1940s, the film has a remarkably modern sense of humor. Veronica Lake is resplendent as Jennifer, and she perfectly embodies the film's wry jokes. Complete with the classic Hollywood gloss of the '40s, I Married a Witch showed that witchcraft stories could work in any era.
Suspiria (1977) - 7.3
Generally considered one of the best non-English-language horror films of all time, Suspiria was a truly unique vision of terror. When a young American dancer enrolls at a prestigious German dance school, she finds herself at the center of a weird conspiracy involving witchcraft and murder.
Director Dario Argento put his entire vibrant color palate on display in the film, and each scene is crammed with nightmarish imagery. Showing witchcraft from the outside, everything about the practice seems alien and terrible. Though the film is somewhat light on plot, it more than makes up for it in the gore, and suspense departments.
Häxan (1922) - 7.6
Told in faux-documentary style, the classic silent film Häxan is still one of the spookiest examples of witchcraft in film. Supposedly recounting the history of witchcraft from the early days until it lead to anti-witch hysteria in Europe, Häxan used many frightening images to enthrall its audience.
With no real plot to speak of, the film is a feast for the eyes as the 'information' is presented entirely through visual reenactments. Done with a somewhat stagey and theatrical tone, the film's devils and witches are uncanny. While most modern audiences are turned off by silent films, there is a hypnotic quality to Häxan that keeps viewers engaged.
Spirited Away (2001) - 8.6
While most witchcraft stories in film are told from a distinctly European perspective, animated films like Spirited Away offered an entirely different cultural look at witches. A young girl's life is flipped upside down when she moves to the suburbs with her family. On her way there, she accidentally discovers another world that is inhabited by magic and fantastical creatures.
Showing that magic has its good and bad sides, Spirited Away is one of the most creative stories ever put to film. Unlike a lot of horrific witch stories, the film is essentially about finding magic in the mundane, and that discovery can often come from change. Outside of that, it also features several recognizable witchcraft tropes, including an evil witch who turns people into animals.