Season of the Witch

Season of the Witch (1973)

Runtime: 105 minutes; that’s the cut I saw, anyhow

Directed by: George A. Romero

Starring: Jan White, Raymond Laine, Ann Muffly, Joedda McClain, Bill Thunhurst

From: The Latent Image

No, I won’t be going through a run of George A. Romero films. Rather, the impetus behind viewing this a night after Knightriders… I mentioned Season of the Witch as (based on hearsay) possibly being even stranger than Knightriders. IMO, it is. To clarify right away, the film was watched on Arrow’s streaming service—and it was the 104 minute extended cut. I’ve heard different explanations for why there were several versions under several different names (the title on the print was Jack’s Wife, and it was also released as HUNGRY WIVES as some bizarre attempt to make people think this was sexploitation, which it isn’t in any cut) before coming out as Season of the Watch after Dawn of the Dead in a re-release. A 90 minute version was restored in 4K and well, the added footage was clearly not, so that made identification obvious.

As for my ultimate opinion of Witch… “weird” and “odd” are the words that come to mind. It’s not even “good,” “bad,” or even “indifferent”—the movie was just weird. After all, it was Romero learning about both feminism and witchcraft; deciding to incorporate them both… why not? As with George A.’s most famous films, social commentary is a-plenty. A middle-aged woman (named Joan Mitchell who hilariously is sometimes referred to casually as Joanie; Joni Mitchell had already found fame by this point) who has a lout of a husband (Jack) always away on business and a carefree 19 year old daughter is also suffering from the banality of suburban ennui (to borrow more than one phrase). Joanie randomly hears about witchcraft; after a LOT of discussion over how she and her galpal Shirley are miserable as aging ladies, Mitchell decides to take the plunge.

There is not that much witchcraft on display, and don’t expect anything supernatural. The story is more about Joanie attempting to take agency of her life and finally find happiness again. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any frightening moments; there are various nightmare sequences, including an extended one in the opening scene. Unfortunately, the movie didn’t grab me like it did for many others on Letterboxd. It’s no fault of Jan White, who portrayed Joan Mitchell; she was swell as the housewife who had to run the gamut of emotions. Now was it the at times masterful editing by Romero or the 70’s electronic score from Steve Gorn. Speaking of that decade, between the décor and the clothing, the gaudy, brightly-colored looks greatly amused me.

Even if the film didn’t blow me away, its oddity and how it was about an unhappy middle-aged woman becoming a feminist and gaining confidence in the process will be noted by me. Sure, there were some questionable decisions on her part, but… to close this out, yes the audience does hear Donovan’s Season of the Witch. That’s a better title for the film than Jack’s Wife and especially Hungry Wives.