SHANNON’S DRIVE-IN: SEASON OF THE WITCH

It’s finally October and Shannon celebrates with George Romero’s Season of the Witch.

A bored housewife changes her life by becoming a witch.

Director: George A. Romero

Writer: George A. Romero

Stars: Jan White, Raymond Lane, Joedda McClain, Bill Thunhurst

Happy October and welcome to the season of the witch!

The phrase “season of the witch” evokes many a fall-tinged image and there’s many titles in media which use the phrase. First off, the subtitle of one of my all-time favorite movies,1982’s Halloween III is Season of the Witch. There’s the 2011 Nicholas Cage film Season of the Witch, which, from what I hear, is an entertaining movie. Then there’s the Donovan song “Season of the Witch” with its many covers, including the Lana Del Rey version, which you’ll hear all over TikTok videos of many a practicing witch and burlesque dancer during this time of year.

This week I’m going to pay homage to the 1972 film Season of the Witch, a George Romero film which also goes by the title Hungry Wives (which conjures up the image of a softcore porn film; the film was promoted as such upon its initial release).

Joan Mitchell (Jan White) is a typical ‘70’s bored housewife living in the suburbs of Pittsburgh with her husband Jack (Bill Thunhurst) and daughter Nikki (Joedda McCalain). She has strange arthouse dreams of following her husband through the woods, finding babies there, and being locked up in a cage. At first glance it’s obvious she’s repressed and her psyche is giving her (and the audience) unsubtle images of what she’s feeling.

She goes to therapy. She goes to suburban parties. The ennui oozes off of her.

It’s at one of these parties where there’s talk of a witch named Marion (Virginia Greenwald). Joan accompanies her friend Shirley (Ann Muffly) to meet with Marion for a tarot reading, which kickstarts Joan’s curiosity into dabbling with witchcraft.

As the movie progresses, she has more dreams, this time featuring a home invasion involving a man in a Satan mask (played by Night of the Living Dead’s first zombie Bill Hinzman), Nikki runs away from home, and Joan experiments more and more with witchy rituals. She takes a trip to the big city to procure the supplies for her rituals, a strange place away from the more suppressed suburbs in which she dwells. The Donovan song plays over the city scenes, showcasing Joan’s attempts to change herself by going outside of her comfort zone. The song originally came out in 1966, a time of huge cultural shifts, which is perfect in showcasing Joan’s transformation.

The less said about the plot the better, as it’s a journey of uncomfortable self-discovery, best left to unravel before the audience’s eyes.

Season of the Witch is the third film Romero released and it’s an interesting relic from his filmography. Romero never shied away from social commentary with his films, and Season of the Witch is no exception. He considered it his feminist film, exploring the edge of the ‘70’s women’s rights movement in a very forward-thinking way. Nowadays, modern witchcraft is becoming more popular among women as a way to take back their power. Though the movie also never makes it clear if Joan’s witchcraft is working or it’s helping her to grow confidence within herself.

This movie isn’t your usual Romero scare-and-gore fest, but something quieter. It’s an arthouse drama exploring the horror of the suburbs and being trapped inside society’s gender roles. It’s meant to be thoughtful and stifling. It’s amazing in its own right and shows what kind of variety Romero provided as a filmmaker. Season of the Witch is definitely not for everyone, but it’s beautiful and erratic, taking a simple story about a woman’s stifling life and turning it into a character study about a woman reclaiming her life through the power of witchcraft.

Shannon Grant is a writer, performer, adventurer, and horned cryptid living in the wilds of upstate New York. Her work can be found in many small press anthologies such as A Guide to Useless Sidekicks, Catskill Chaos, and The Lizzie Borden House Anthology. She is currently at work on a vampire novella. When not writing, she can be found haunting drive-in movie theaters, karaoke bars, and looking for ghosts in the woods.

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