Timothy Brannan

Also known as Akelarre and Coven of Sisters it is not to be confused with the 2019 movie Coven. This one just sneaks in with the theme. Maybe Great-Great Grandmothers of the Craft is a better descriptor for this one. This one is horror, but not for the reasons the first two are. In 1609 in the Basque Country of Spain five girls are all arrested and charged with witchcraft. One of their friends tries to rescue them and she is captured too. At first, the girls are afraid but then they begin to joke about it, not believing that this is happening to them. Then the torture begins. It's all rather horrible to be honest. Worse, because you knew this sort of thing happened all the time. Amaia Aberasturi stars as Ana and she is the real stand-out here. She keeps stringing along her accusers to drag out the proceedings to help save the other girls. Ana easily strings along the horny men till the full moon. The girls decide that in order to delay their execution longer they tell the judge they will re-enact the Black Mass, or the Sabbath, for his records. They do so and get him all involved as Lucifer. Once they had frightened the men, or turned them on, enough they run into the woods. They are chased by the men and soldiers till they get to the edge of a cliff over the ocean. The other women, the ones not accused of witchcraft, sing a song about the full moon and the high tide. Ana, realizing the message, tells the other girls they can jump. They jump over the side, not knowing if they lived or died. I thought this movie was great honestly. Not the typical sort of horror, but also not exactly what I thought it was going to be either.

Motherland: Fort Salem is a series on Freeform TV (and repeated on Hulu) featuring witches working for the U.S. Army. If you have not been watching then you are missing out. Motherland gives us an alternate history where witches rose up during Salem and forged a pact with the then Colonies to protect the new country from their enemies. There are fewer states in the US and a large portion, The Cession, was given back to the Native Americans in return for their help and magic. The series follows three new witch recruits, Abby, Tally, and Raelle, as they go through Basic Training and survive as a unit. There is a terrorist organization of rogue witches known as the Spree who resent the servitude that sends all witches to the Army. The show features a full cast of strong, interesting women characters. The leader of the Army is General Alder, a 300+-year-old witch, their drill sergeant is a woman. Even the President is an African-American woman. Men are either tertiary characters at best (the Witch-Father) or eye-candy (Abby's two boy toys). Tally doesn't even see a man until one gives up his seat for her so she can fly from California to Massachusetts. Not that men are put into a bad light. The Witch Father is respected and well-liked. Raelle's dad is proud of his daughter and worries about her. It's just their stories are not as important here. That's a nice change of pace really. The witches are also not a Ms. Pac-Man trope. They are warriors, witches but also women and they are allowed to be all three. It really is quite enjoyable and very different from what I have seen in the past. It has been a fantastic first season. Now with Season 2, we have two different witch factions (the Army and the Spree) and an ancient group of Witch Hunters called The Camarilla. I am also looking forward to learning more about the "Mother Language" that witches can speak called Méníshè. All the actresses are great. In particular, Taylor Hickson as Raelle Collar is fantastic. She is the “star” but by no means does she hog the spotlight. This is an ensemble show and the cast work fantastic together. Indeed you want them to work together to succeed together. The first two seasons were fantastic and I have high hopes for the third. I hope we can get more after that!