Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases


Witch Hunt (1996)

Director: Paul Schrader

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

You can see why Schrader thought he might make something of this made-for-cable satire, in which the Hollywood of the early 1950s becomes the target for a corrupt egomaniacal Senator whose bid for the presidency is built on a campaign to expose practicing magicians. The film's gimmick is that the magic is real: it conjures up dream hookers, turns a plain stenographer into a star, brings back Shakespeare to write additional dialogue and forces the bad guy to disgorge his evil 'inner twin'. Sadly it all runs aground on the pitifully feeble dialogue and the parallel attempt to spoof the gumshoe genre, while Hopper (as private eye HP Lovecraft!) and Sands (as his evil-eyed foe, with the world's dodgiest Oirish accent) look as if they don't care.

Author: TR

Time Out Film Guide


What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields




Most popular on this site


Top Stories

Has David Cronenberg turned tame?

Has David Cronenberg turned tame?

Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?

The 10 worst date movies

The 10 worst date movies

Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made

Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films

Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films

Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas

10 unlikely badboy biopics

10 unlikely badboy biopics

Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects

Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'

Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'

The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing

Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day

Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day

Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing