Chattanooga Film Festival 2025 Coverage
They Were Witches review
A slow burn horror story leading to a bloody ritual.
Festival movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
They Were Witches
Directed by Alejandro G. Alegre
Written by Alehandro G. Alegre
Starring Tania Niebla, Karina Lechuga, Sebastian Ladron de Guevara, Daniela Porras, Micho Camacho and Blanca Ferreyra
They Were Witches Review
The term slow burn can cause some apprehension but movies like They Were Witches are the reason it exists. Attaching the word “slow” to any form of entertainment creates a negative, but earned, designation for the property. “Slow burn” should be taken a bit differently. “Slow burn” is more purposeful. It means that while the piece of media takes its time to develop…it leads to a worthwhile destination. A slow burning fuse that eventually reaches an explosion. That’s the way I try to use it anyway. While They Were Witches is patient in how it chooses to progress its story…it does so with purpose and direction, making the destination worth the time.
But it’s also slow. Enough for me to feel like it needed that extra word of acknowledgment. It’s atmospheric…but slow. Well shot…but slow. Well-acted…but slow. Sometimes the slow movie literally starts moving in slow motion. I’m sure you get the point. They Were Witches has a lot going for it. It just happens to all come with a little asterisk that leads you to a footnote that reads: “but slow”.
The deliberate pacing is bookended by some truly great horror scenes. They Were Witches opens hot with a young woman getting a hammer to the head and waking up tied to a chair with a bag over her head. A man questions her about her mother while a woman watches on in the background. After saying her mother died in childbirth…the man cuts her throat and collects smoke rising from the wound. It’s an intriguing beginning that hints at They Were Witches larger story.
That story revolves around a paranormal radio host named Mia (Tanis Niebla). She needs an escape after big marital problems and finds herself at an unhospitable rural motel with an electricity outage. While there she meets a group of young people, one of whom is familiar with her work. Sara (Karina Lechuga) befriends her and takes a special interest in a specific thing Mia covered on her show. The story of how witches gain power…through the sacrifice of three orphans.
If you think back to the opening scene…you can see where this is going. It’s going to take a while to get there. As far as rituals go…They Were Witches has a pretty damn good one. Showing an example of it in the film’s opening is a strong visceral way for Mia’s story to connect. Sara’s interest…and her consistent feeding of drugs to her friend group…don’t attempt to hide the story’s destination. Especially when her friends start being picked off one by one.
The cast does a great job from top to bottom. The scary stare Karina Lechuga puts on Sara’s face does a lot of heavy lifting for the character. Tania Niebla ably leads the increasingly smaller ensemble. Her story doesn’t end up where you’d expect it too…which is one of the true highlights of They Were Witches.
The slow burn leads to a fun conclusion that makes the trip worth taking. Things get bloody, of course. It’s a strong ending to a story that is always interesting…just…you know. I wrote an entire paragraph about it earlier. That’s really what it all boils down to with They Were Witches. 90 minutes of slow burn that results in a memorable finish. An intriguing tale about empowering a witch. Slowly.
Scare Value
They Were Witches uses deliberately deliberate pacing to build up its protagonist and antagonist in quietly equal measure. It might be too much for viewers who need constant action to maintain their attention…but it largely works for the story it’s telling. It’s a good-looking picture with a cast delivering fine performances. The witchy aspects are intriguing and, ultimately, bloody fun. With that pesky asterisk.
