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9

I consider George Romero to be one of the most important filmmakers of any era. He elevated horror to cultural phenomenon heights with the walking dead films and always used his art as scathing criticism on contemporary western society... especially focused on capitalism, consumerism, race relations and power dynamics. And this film tackles gender inequality stemming from social norms.

I am embarrassed that this is a first time watch for me. Why it took me 40 years to finally watch this, I don't know. But I am happy I was able to see it for the first time in optimal conditions with the Arrow Films Blu-ray.

In all, it's not one of my favorite Romero's. But I see themes being…

3

Romero’s satirical suburban housewife nightmare, Season of the Witch (not so subtlety) tackles quite a bit... monotonous domestic life, gender roles in society, powers of belief, and eventually the allure of witchcraft that catapults a housewife’s liberation. Romero’s (in my opinion, fantastic) editing is on full display here—adding a special quality to Season of the Witch that I just don’t think would’ve worked in someone else’s hands. 

Undervalued and often overlooked (probably because of its hungry wives title or whatever... you guys are insufferable sometimes lol) even though it totally shouldn’t be, Season of the Witch is to Witches what Martin is to Vampires—both movies kinda feel on the same wavelength and I love that.

*Special shoutout to when our main Witch tosses a real MasterCard on the counter while buying witch supplies, if you look in close, the card reads George A. Romero.

Review by Will Menaker ★★★

Romero was hired to do a softcore sexploitation film about horny housewives who get turned on by grass and casual sex and instead made this, a deeply felt and sympathetic portrait of a woman turning to the occult as a way out of middle-aged, suburban ennui and being married to a dumb asshole. This is a self consciously feminist film about what feminism is really about: convincing women to get some dick on the side, visit the crossroads and kill their husbands.

Chills and Thrills: Ambient spookiness but not really a scary movie.

Gore/Ownage: Almost none.

Horniness: Medium level. There is a horny housewife.

13

overthrow the patriarchy a living death where day and night are the same, a drift between sleeps filled with dreams which bring no relief only a mirror-well of exhaustion for years and years and years buried alive we call upon you satan so that we would wake so that you would help guide us to us by your illumination that we would see ourselves finally as we are to know ourselves free beholden to none but by our choosing we call upon you satan to help break that which shackles and binds us to an us which serves not as liberator but as prison forged by millennia of abuse received and given may we rise from our waking dream to an unholy night of constellations never before noticed despite having always been it is not the stars which have changed

Review by CinemaVoid 🏴‍☠️ ★★★

Ladies, is it girlboss to fuck your daughter’s boyfriend and dabble into the black arts just to escape suburban ennui?

11

This is it. This is my thing.

After I saw The Witch, I thought about the movie for days. Its profound way of imprinting womanhood and power, isolation and fear, to guide our young woman into the forest to bare naked before nature. Hallelujah.

So here I am, completely enamored with Season of the Witch. A story that echoes Rosemary’s Baby and Stepford Wives — a woman can easily convey another woman’s story, so when a man can empathize and capture an era, an impression, it really strikes a chord with me. While saying so much about Stepford culture, Romero, despite being coerced to do a more salacious story on housewife liberation, maintains the struggle between patriarchal norms and feminist…

1

This is a rather odd film - I can see why distributors had such a hard time marketing it. Most people no doubt went in expecting a horror movie - but instead it's the story of a woman, bored with her suburban existence and longing for something more - eventually finding meaning in witchcraft. Jan White is great in the lead role, and writer-director George Romero puts all the focus on her for about the first hour - her situation and her disconnect with it. It's cleverly put together by Romero - it's a real slow burn but it allows us to really get into the head of the lead character, before the witchcraft starts in the final third (ushered…

19

At times, it's almost impossible to believe that Season of the Witch was written and directed by a man, because George Romero's portrayal of the ways in which suburban life was suffocating to women is both thoughtful and remarkably sensitive. Never is Joan Mitchell (Jan White) mocked by the movie for her discontent, or her fears, or even her dabbling in witchcraft. Instead, we see and understand the reasons for her growing desperation — for what, she doesn't know, but if something doesn't change (if she can't cry, or scream, or fuck) we know that might not survive at all.

The narrow specificity of white, middle class feminism and the way it is all too often applied to women as…

6

A drama with feminist leanings directed by the king of zombies, George A. Romero. Hungry Wives (aka The Season of the Witch) is a very interesting movie. It is dialogue-heavy, has surreal flourishes and contains more than a few nightmarish moments. It tells the story of a housewife who dives into witchcraft to escape the monotony of suburban life and an unfulfilling (and abusive) marriage. The movie explores issues as gender roles, the generation gap between parents and children and personal empowerment.

A slow but very rewarding movie.

Good times watching this with Romero fangirl, Michelle.

8

i wanna be a witch

5

More an irable experiment than satisfying narrative experience, George A. Romero's "Season of the Witch" is part horror film, part statement on gender roles of the mid-20th century. It is a dark satire that works when it focuses on nightmarish imagery but fails when it takes narrative sideroads that detract from its core thrust.

Built around a woman who has grown dissatisfied with her life, husband, and child, "Season of the Witch" follows her as as she becomes enamored with witchcraft and, eventually, murder. This story is simply a set up for Romero's commentary on gender politics, women in society, and domestic life. The story itself is slight, but the undergirding criticism is progressive, witty, and compelling.

Romero's execution of…

9

Psychological occult as female liberation cinema from American treasure and counter culture horror master George Romero that finds a wonderfully ambiguous balance between belief, reality, and how we use the former to change the latter.

A precursor in spirit to his masterpiece, Martin, this is mostly all good fun as Romero continues to excavate the times he lived in.

There are two or three montages (which Romero also shot and edited) that are just absolutely fantastic cinema, including the needle drop on Donovan's Season of the Witch.

Jan White is amazing to watch. Sadly she's often acting opposite some real hams and amateurs, which mars several scenes.

Lastly, I have never wanted to see a motherfucker die in a movie as much as I wanted to see Greg die in this flick. What an intolerable prick.