The Book of the Witch (PANIC) Offers Secret to Eternal Life
Title: The Book of the Witch
First Non-Festival Release: November 20, 2024 (Digital/Streaming Platforms)
Director: Joshua Sowden
Writer: Joshua Sowden
Runtime: 73 Minutes
Starring: Krishna Smitha, Danny Parker-Lopes, Ali Williams
Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here
This film’s review was written after its screening at the Panic Film Festival in 2025.
It’s understandable that many people fear death. Be it the finality, unknowing, or otherwise transitory nature of the facet of life, death is something all humans understand all too well.
Victoria (Krishna Smitha) is one such person who is terrified of death. A night security guard alongside her colleague, August (Danny Parker-Lopes), Victoria has a secret that leads her down a dark path one day when she takes a trip out to the desert. Hot on the trail of a witch (Ali Williams) who carries out a deadly ritual to maintain her youth, Victoria steals the witch’s spell book, which instructs the user how to live forever. Victoria gets cold feet, however, when certain complications prevent her from actualizing the book’s purpose.
The Book of the Witch uses simple supernatural horror to explore the fear of dying with middling results.
An interesting setup, story progression, and characters gives The Book of the Witch all the ingredients it needs to tell its tale of supernatural terror. Victoria’s journey into the witch’s fold is one borne from obsession and fear. Harnessing the power of an inescapable belief and the sheer determination of a mentally ill woman, the promise of eternal life pushes Victoria down a dark path that threatens her and those around her. Despite whatever good she has in her life, Victoria is fixated on how traumatic it was to lose her mother. This tunnel vision becomes central to her character and serves as the driving force behind The Book of the Witch.
The cast largely does a fine job of bringing their characters to life even if there are some iffy moments that show cracks within the film. Krishna Smitha does a solid job as lead, making her crisis of conscience feel earned and dynamic. There’s real hesitation with her take on Victoria, and Smitha isn’t afraid to show vulnerability when her character takes a turn for the worse. Danny Parker-Lopes serves as a fine foil to Smitha, bringing the appropriate sense of goodness and charm to balance out her quirks. Still, the chemistry only takes the pair so far and the pacing issues start to show when either is on their own.
Possibly the biggest issue with The Book of the Witch is that it’s titular witch is simply not that imposing. Ali Williams does her best to imbue a sense of dread into the role, but unfortunately there is a lack of urgency afforded to her character that makes much of the horror feel hollow. Multiple times this all-powerful being simply watches as others make moves against or away from her, and she doesn’t move. Or act. Or say anything. Barring a few moments where we finally see her powers, the witch here is toothless to a fault.
Surprisingly solid production values help elevate the terror to new levels, especially once it reaches its final act. Good camerawork and some nice set design ground The Book of the Witch firmly in reality, which works to its benefit. Thanks to the film’s indie constraints, it boasts a nice atmosphere. The emptiness of the desert serves as a wonderful parallel to the openness and isolation of the empty skyscraper where Victoria and August work. Showing restraint with the supernatural happenings, The Book of the Witch uses its paranormal elements decisively to hammer down its messaging on immortality. This is most evident in Victoria’s relationship with death and her subsequent confrontation with it, which feels both raw and relatable.
Fun and scary enough but not quite quality work, The Book of the Witch is an average supernatural horror film that will engage viewers one way or another. There are neat ideas about the acceptance of death and what sort of life this promises someone, but they are sadly hard to extract from the more pedestrian take on supernatural horror. Some good moments aside, The Book of the Witch is a perfectly fine Tubi movie to turn on to pass the time. Anyone expecting much more beyond this may be cursed appropriately.
Overall Score? 5/10
