Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Burn, Witch, Burn!

Play trailer Poster for Burn, Witch, Burn! 1962 1h 30m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
88% Tomatometer 16 Reviews 66% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
When a British professor (Peter Wyngarde) ties his success to his wife's (Janet Blair) black magic, he destroys her voodoo kit.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Burn, Witch, Burn!

Critics Reviews

View All (16) Critics Reviews
Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader Atmospheric and underplayed in the tradition of Val Lewton. Dec 10, 2007 Full Review Time Out Sidney Hayers shoots the whole thing with an almost Wellesian flourish, and the script (by Charles Beaumont and Richard Matheson) is structured with incredible tightness. Jan 26, 2006 Full Review James Verniere Boston Movie News It's a real smack in the face of the skeptical male ego. An atmospheric fever dream based on a novel by Fritz Leiber and transplanted to a small English college. Margaret Johnston is a formidable villain as the head rival witch. Rated: A Nov 4, 2024 Full Review Sarah Boslaugh TheArtsStl What makes these films so therapeutic? Maybe it’s the simplicity necessitated by low budgets, maybe it’s the better-than-expected acting, maybe it’s the economical storytelling and straightforward progression from start to finish. Rated: 6/10 Oct 1, 2024 Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com Lovers of classic supernatural cinema should appreciate this underrated gem from Sidney Hayers. Rated: 3/5 Oct 21, 2020 Full Review Michael Barrett PopMatters It's like a full-length episode of Boris Karloff's Thriller TV series, very stylishly done. Rated: 6/10 May 1, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (42) audience reviews
Michael B This Is Absolute Classic, WONDER Movie,Thank You.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/17/24 Full Review Dave S It's always a bit surprising to stumble across what appears to be a low-budget movie with the American International Pictures studio logo attached to it that isn't a piece of crap. Surprisingly, Burn, Witch, Burn! is one of those movies. When a professor and skeptic (Peter Wyngarde) discovers that his wife (Janet Blair) is a witch, he does what any concerned skeptic would do – burn everything that even closely resembles something associated with the dark arts. Unfortunately for all involved, this unleashes a string of unfortunate occurrences, leading to mayhem and death. It's nowhere as dumb as it sounds, thanks to solid performances, a decent script, and a genuinely eerie atmosphere throughout. It's the kind of film that will be forgotten about the day after you watch it, but it's interesting enough to hold your interest for ninety minutes. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/07/23 Full Review Audience Member Based upon the 1943 Fritz Leiber novel Conjure Wife, this movie was called Day of the Eagle in the UK before getting a title that sounded more like a horror movie for American audiences. The book had already been adapted once before as Weird Woman in 1944 and then one more time afterward in 1979 as Witches' Brew. The American version also has an opening in complete blackness where the voice of Paul Frees reads a spell intended to protect the audience from the evil within the film. Filmgoers also were given a special pack of salt and the words to an ancient incantation. Man, going to the movies used to be awesome. American-International Pictures knew how to sell an occult movie! Written by a combination of Charles Beaumont (The Masque of the Red Death, several great Twilight Zone episodes), Richard Matheson (I Am Legend, Duel) and George Baxt (Shadow of the Cat, The City of the Dead), this is the story of Norman Taylor (Peter Wyngarde, Klytus from Flash Gordon), a man who discovers that all of his career success is due to the magic skills of his wife. As soon as he demands that she burns all of her magical ephemera, everything in his life goes wrong By the end of the movie, his rational view of the world must confront the fact that magic truly exists. It also posits that women are the magic workers of the world and that men just stumble through, a view I can completely agree with. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member Adoro las cintas como Night of the Demon o esta Arde, Bruja, Arde, que juegan con la fina línea de la paranoia, elescepticismo, la superstición y la conspiranoia, hasta tal punto con incluso viendo lo paranormal bailando frente a nosotros, aun somos capaces de encontrar aspectos logicos en ella. Por supuesto ayuda que las actuaciones estan mucho más a la altura de lo que una película como esta se suele merecer. Además se consigue crear una historia oscura e interesante con poca parafernalia y trucaje, lo cual siempre es un más. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Audience Member A superb horror film in all respects. It's got a wonderful creepy atmosphere which builds and builds and builds as the story progresses. The ending of this film is what really sticks with the viewer. "Burn, Witch, Burn" manages to build a lot of suspense along the way to it's impressive climax. It's creative cinematography and flip-flopping of traditional horror movie gender roles make it a unique movie experience. Intelligent English horror. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review joel h Burn, Witch, Burn feels like a 30-minute episode of Twilight Zone stretched into 90 minutes. There's a lot of unnecessary filler and repetitive plot points. It's an interesting concept, though, and there are some suspenseful moments. It just needed a stronger third act and it could have been something special. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Burn, Witch, Burn!

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Hands of the Ripper 88% 48% Hands of the Ripper Watchlist Dracula Has Risen From the Grave 81% 61% Dracula Has Risen From the Grave Watchlist Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary 88% 73% Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary Watchlist The Sorcerers 100% 59% The Sorcerers Watchlist Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde 86% 64% Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis When a British professor (Peter Wyngarde) ties his success to his wife's (Janet Blair) black magic, he destroys her voodoo kit.
Director
Sidney Hayers
Producer
Samuel Z. Arkoff, Albert Fennell
Screenwriter
Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, George Baxt
Production Co
Independent Artists Pictures
Genre
Horror
Original Language
British English
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 13, 2017
Runtime
1h 30m
Most Popular at Home Now