Two Witches (2021) Review – Grimmfest
Two Witches, the first feature from Pierre Tsigaridis features a pair of somewhat connected tales of modern-day witchcraft. These aren’t the witches of Hocus Pocus or Sabrina though, these are the evil, baby-eating witches of legend and of films like Suspiria. Something the brief prologue makes quite clear.
The first of Two Witches’ chapters “The Boogeywoman” begins with the pregnant Sarah (Belle Adams, The Manor, This World Alone) out to dinner with her partner Simon (Ian Michaels, Easy Targets) when she sees a white-eyed old crone staring at her through the restaurant window. She begins having hallucinations and experiencing strange phenomena that she blames on the woman.
Simon, who is skeptical and blames it on hormones, takes her to see his friend Dustin (Tim Fox, Shadows on the Wall, Palmdale).and his girlfriend Melissa (Dina Silva) who claims to be a psychic healer. She suggests using a Ouija board to contact whatever is causing Sarah to experience this negative energy. Do I have to tell you that this is not a good idea?
Filled with very effective scares, both of the jump and the “what’s that in the shadows?” variety, “The Boogeywoman” manages to be fun despite a lack of likable characters. Simon and Dustin are a pair of assholes, the infuriating kind, not the amusing kind. Melissa starts out as bad but at least she cuts the shit and becomes more likeable when things start to get serious.
The second story “Masha” revolves around a young woman named Masha (Rebekah Kennedy, Let Me Make You a Martyr, A Dark Foe) who we’re introduced to as she tries to strangle a man during sex. She lives with her roommate Rachel (Kristina Klebe, Slay Belles, Halloween) and claims it’s her destiny to inherit her grandmother’s dark powers when she dies, which could be any day. She also appears to be batshit insane.
“Masha” is the weaker of Two Witches’ segments. It’s more strange than scary, with a somewhat rambling and unfocused story that doesn’t start to make sense until around the midway point. That is also, coincidentally, when it’s connection to “The Boogeywoman” is revealed. It does deliver some scares toward the end but really needed to get down to business a lot sooner.
Don’t turn Two Witches off right away. The fade-out at the end of “Masha” is followed by an epilogue. And the “To Be Continued” at the end of that is followed by a post-credits scene that hints at where the sequel would be taking the story.
I’m not sure exactly who wrote Two Witches. The film itself simply credits Tsigaridis as writer and director. IMDB also lists Kristina Klebe and Maxim Rancon as writers. In the one interview with Tsigaridis that I’ve read he talks about co-writing with Rancon and credits Klebe with revising her segment. Which makes the lack of credit in the actual credits seem odd.
Regardless of who wrote it, Two Witches is, for the most part, a fun and scary ride that includes several disturbing and disturbingly gory moments. There’s no elaborate set pieces, but what we do get is perfect for the stories. Thankfully apart from some CGI flames, and perhaps a scene of a body part moving in a way it shouldn’t be able to, they were all created with practical effects.
Two Witches made it’s UK premiere as part of Grimmfest 2021’s live presentations. It will be available as part of the virtual film fest on November 17th, you can check their website for details. Two Witches is currently doing the rounds of the festivals looking for distribution, you can check the film’s Facebook page for future dates and release plans.
Thanks again to Phil at Nerdly for the screener, check them out for more Grimmfest coverage.