Entertainment Weekly
The 15 best witch movies, from The Wizard of Oz to Weapons
By By Clark Collis, Kevin Jacobsen, and Britt Hayes
Sept 5, 2026
Since the early days of cinema, witches have haunted heroes of all ages.
The classic archetype shows them as magical beings who brew potions and cast spells.
However, these archetypes often served devious purposes.
Film helped define witches’ iconography, including the familiar pointy-hat-and-broomstick look, and it evolved over the years.
Hocus Pocus (1993) became a notable example that shaped modern portrayals.
The familiar look has evolved, and later films expanded the range of witches.
For instance, Häxan (1922) and The Wizard of Oz (1939) later shared the screen with newer heroines.
Examples include The Witches of Eastwick (1987) and Practical Magic (1998).
As witches have increasingly been depicted as complex characters, like Hocus Pocus, they can’t be neatly defined as heroes.
Moreover, films have moved away from the cartoonish stereotypes of heroes and villains.
We tossed an eye of newt, some frog’s breath, and a few eyeballs into a cauldron to summon this list of the 15 best witch movies of all time.
Häxan (1922) Maren Pedersen in ‘Häxan’ Maren Pedersen in ‘Häxan’. Everett. This silent faux-documentary chronicles the sociological phenomenon of witchcraft from the Middle Ages to the modern age.
Moreover, interspersed with dramatic reenactments, the influential Swedish film explores superstitions and witch hunts through history, which, as demonstrated by the rest of this list, would fascinate filmmakers over the next century. Hocus Pocus.
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Frank Morgan’s wizard may get titular billing, but it is Margaret Hamilton’s vengeance-seeking Wicked Witch of the West (and her platoon of flying monkeys) who brings the scares in this terrifying-for-small-kids classic movie musical. —Clark Collis
I Married a Witch (1942)
The plot of this hilarious romantic comedy is absurd, but that’s part of its charm. Centuries after being burned at the stake, a witch named Jennifer (Veronica Lake) magically reappears and tries to torment the descendant of the puritan who led the charge against her — only to fall in love with him. Hi-jinks ensue! —K.J.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
The Wizard of Oz’s Glinda proclaimed there are good witches and bad witches, and Miss Eglantine Price (Angela Lansbury) falls decidedly in the good witch camp. In this delightful children’s fantasy film, Miss Price is an apprentice witch left in charge of three orphans during World War II, and she recruits them to aid in her magical quest to find spells to fight against the Nazis. —K.J.
Suspiria (1977)
“The only thing more terrifying than the last 12 minutes of Suspiria are the first 92.” So declared the unnerving trailer for giallo master Dario Argento’s gorgeously atmospheric tale of spooky goings-on at a German dance school. —C.C.
The Witches of Eastwick (1987)
A trio of witches — played by Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Michelle Pfeiffer — summon up the ideal man: Enter Jack Nicholson’s “horny little devil.” George Miller directs, in his first non-Mad Max outing, from the novel by John Updike. Come for the air of louche sexuality, the terrific performances from the three female leads, and Nicholson’s larger-than-life performance. Stay to see Veronica Cartwright’s uptight rumormonger vomit her weight in cherry stones. —C.C.
The Witches (1990)
The great Anjelica Huston is unforgettable as a witch leader hellbent on turning children into mice in director Nicolas Roeg’s Jim Henson-assisted adaptation of Roald Dahl’s fantasy novel. Another adaptation of Dahl’s story was released decades later starring Anne Hathaway, but we suggest you stick with the 1990 version. —C.C.
Hocus Pocus (1993)
Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy are a trio of 17th-century witch sisters resurrected in 1990s Salem in director Kenny Ortega’s beloved Halloween favorite. The film finally earned a sequel 29 years later on Disney+. —C.C.
The Craft (1996)
Rachel True, Neve Campbell, Fairuza Balk, and Robin Tunney are a quartet of put-upon high school students who turn things around for themselves by forming a coven. What could go wrong? Except, like, everything. —C.C.
Practical Magic (1998)
The good news? Sally (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian (Nicole Kidman) are witches with supernatural powers. The bad? Every man with whom they fall in love dies an untimely death in this movie from An American Werewolf in London star Griffin Dunne. —C.C.
The Witch (2015)
Anya Taylor-Joy is Thomasin, the eldest child of an isolated Puritan family in writer-director Robert Eggers’ creep-fest. All hell breaks loose when the clan’s baby disappears while in Thomasin’s care. Could a woods-dwelling witch be responsible? Spoiler alert: Yes! —C.C.
The Love Witch (2016)
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actress Samantha Robinson plays the titular character, a potion-making seductress whose attempt to find her Prince Charming has disastrous consequences, in this singular and highly-stylized pastiche of ’60s movies. —C.C.
Suspiria (2018)
Luca Guadagnino reimagines the Argento classic in this haunting film about a dancer (Dakota Johnson) who uncovers a sinister coven at a dance academy in Cold War-era Berlin. Featuring Tilda Swinton in a trio of roles, Suspiria is as brutal as it is breathtaking. —Britt Hayes
Gretel & Hansel (2020)
The slow-burn aesthetic of director Oz Perkins works perfectly in this new version of the sinister fairy tale, starring Sophia Lillis as Gretel and Alice Krige as the witch. —C.C.
Weapons (2025)
Zach Cregger’s second solo feature explores the fallout after an entire classroom of children abruptly run out of their homes in the middle of the night and disappear. The mysterious event coincides with the arrival of the eccentric Gladys, played by Amy Madigan in an Oscar-winning performance. —B.H.
