The Love Witch
USA 2016
Written by Anna Biller
Directed by Anna Biller
Watched on 01.10.2016

“The Love Witch” was a lot of fun. What I loved most about it is how closely it imitated the style of movies from the 60s. The visuals, the vibrant colors, the costumes, the sets, the art direction, the hair, the acting, the illumination, the back projection, the soft focus lens, the sound, the music, the camera moves (like the zoom on details), the editing, and the overall, entire look and feel of the thing… “The Love Witch” lives and breathes the 60s. If it weren’t for a few instances of modern technology making an appearance – like computers and cell phones – one might think that after completion, this movie was kept in a vault for 50 years, and only now came to see the light of day. For me, that was the most remarkable thing about it. The fact that most of the costumes, set decorations and so on were made by writer-director Anna Biller herself, only makes this achievement all the more impressive.

It’s not just the look and the style of the movie, though. I also quite liked the story it told, which deals with the way society treats women, and also packs a nice feministic punch. The acting was also great, especially Samantha Robinson as the titular love witch, Laura Waddell as her friend, and Gian Keys (who really looks like he belongs straight in the 60s) as the cop who investigates her. And it also featured a couple of very funny scenes. However, its biggest selling point, without a doubt, is its great 60s-retro-look. My only two complaints are that firstly, it’s a tad too long (like so many movies at this year’s slash, unfortunately). After the medieval festival, it started to drag a little bit. And secondly, I would have preferred it if it had actually played in the 60s, instead of “just” looking like a movie from that time period. However, everyone who loves movies from that era, owes it to him- or herself to give this glorious homage a try.
8/10

IMDB