Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!
Plot Summary: After robbing a gold store, a group of thieves become the target of a coven of witches bent on taking over the world.
Review: As you can probably guess from the title, there's a whole lot of bitching and witching going on here. Okay, I'm not sure where that title came from exactly, but the original Spanish one is a bit more straightforward: The Witches of Zugarramurdi. I guess some marketing executive figured that title didn't have the kind of oomph befitting of a movie this ridiculous. As for what the hell is a Zugarramurdi...it's apparently a region near the Spanish/French border that was infamous during the Inquisition. Good times. Surprisingly, this was an amusing and genuinely entertaining flick that felt like some kind of heist/fairytale hybrid. I don't watch nearly enough European horror so this was a nice departure from my usual concentrations.
The story can be a bit convoluted, so I'll sum up the important aspects. Thieves, dressed in various costumes, steal a ton of gold from a jewelry store in Spain before fleeing toward France. En route, the thieves stop at Zugarramurdi where a coven of witches want the main thief's son for a ritual as they believe he's a foretold, chosen one. Antics ensue as the thieves try to escape the clutches of the witches all the while dealing with cops and the main thief's wife in hot pursuit. The witches eventually perform the ritual on the son to turn him into the an apparent destroyer of mankind, but this amounts to nothing. Thanks to the help of the sexiest witch, the thieves manage to save the day and live happily ever after...sort of.
Looking at what worked, you must understand the story is meant to be comedic before anything else, and it succeeds admirably in this regard. The dialogue is banter focused, sometimes about poignant issues, and shenanigans occur in a matter-of-fact presentation. The setups are often comical as the characters put themselves in outlandish situations; for example, the thieves get distracted by the sexy witch doing--how shall I say--questionable activities with her broom. Everything feels over the top, but things still work within the confines of this established universe. Although the horror plays second fiddle to the comedy, the tone of the film invokes the sense of a dark fairytale. It's hard to explain, but it feels like watching an R-rated, live-action Disney movie...if that makes any sense. However, it is important to note that the first half hour, or so, serves as an excellent heist film that, again, still manages to be funny. Connected to this were the action scenes, which were decent, but you must ignore the seeming indestructibility of each character. Speaking of which, the characters are as ridiculous as you'd expect but are engaging and likable for the most part; I thoroughly enjoyed the sexy witch, Eva, whom I keep mentioning, the best--played by Carolina Bang. Lastly, the story, while not entirely original, was creative enough to set itself apart from the numerous other witch-themed films that have been popping up in droves as of late.
As for where the film falters, I would say the biggest issue was the running time. With a shenanigan-laden film such as this, you will want to keep things short and sweet so as not to overstay the welcome, but scenes did begin to drag at various points; the film is nearly two hours long. Obviously, gags fall flat, as is to be expected, but that is emphasized due to the prolong time spent on the jokes. There were plot elements that made little sense even if I ignore the outlandish nature to everything. For example, we understand that witches are born yet later we see they can just as easily be created against their own will; this doesn't reconcile properly especially at a late stage of the story. More to the point, many things will not make sense and it depends on the threshold of the viewer to determine the varying degree to which this will hinder the enjoyment.
In the end, I would say check this one out if you're looking for an offbeat tale. The comedy and horror elements blended together well enough, and it's a fun film. It can feel out of place at times given the cornball style of humor mixed with mature themes, but this was not a serious detriment. The actors do a commendable job, and the crazy characters felt unique. I did expect more from the ending, but, keeping with the whimsical approach, the happily ever after conclusion did seem fitting. If you can overlook, or even enjoy, the prolonged running time, this should not disappoint fans of comedy-horror.
Notable Moment: There are nearly endless amounts of ridiculous moments, but I was oddly satisfied with the death of SpongeBob.
Final Rating: 6.5/10
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