Not Bewitched

Wilmington’s review of “The Witches” leads parents to believe that this movie is appropriate for children. I think he is mistaken. I’m well into my 30s and I had trouble dealing with the graphic images and primal terrors the film presents. I read the book when I was 9 years old. It sent thrilling shivers up my spine, but a child’s own imagination will conjure up images only as frightening as those to which they’ve been exposed. Someone else’s larger-than-life conception, solidified on celluloid, influenced by the benefit of however many hardships Nicolas Roeg has endured (warts, scabs and all), is more than most kids can swallow.

I saw a large 10-year-old boy climb onto his father’s lap in the theater. Six- and 7-year-olds were dragging their parents into the lobby saying “Get me out of here!” as Anjelica Huston rotated her pelvis in anticipation of a young boy’s transformation from Homo sapiens to rodent.

This is strong psychological material for a child to assimilate. As a parent, my rating on a scale of “Thoughtful” to “Junk Food” would be “Nightmares for a Year.”

TERRI MILLER-SHULMAN

Los Angeles