Movies and TV about magic not to be missed

"Tremble, tremble, the witches are back" and at least in Scotland they have also taken their revenge since it is a law that has just rehabilitated the 4,000 "witches" tortured and executed from 1563, when the Witchcraft Act was introduced, to 1736, when it was finally repealed. From the fires of the inquisition to the hysteria of Salem, if there is a concept that has accompanied man from the beginning it is magic. It is easy to think that the most congenial context for stories about old ladies with crooked noses and warts are horror films or dark fairy tales, yet films starring women who use magic transcend genres and eras and are always a success: from horror, more obvious, to comedy, from children's films to animated ones, witches are particularly versatile figures and the films that have them as protagonists are appreciated by different types of public. So here is a list of films and TV series of different genres capable of satisfying your need for thrills, such as (The Witch or Suspiria), good feelings and fun (The Witches of Eastwick), or a romantic comedy with some unexpected (Stardust).

The Witcher (2019)

The Witcher, a fantasy TV series conceived by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, with Henry Cavill and Freya Allan and inspired by the books of the Geralt of Rivia saga by writer Andrzej Sapkowski, catapults us into a world of unstable equilibrium inhabited by humans, elves , dwarves and other magical species. The civilized races must in fact live with the monsters that threaten them and for this reason mutant warriors have been created able to kill them: the Witchers. Between strange prophecies, comic gags and action moments, the Netflix series certainly deserves all the success it has to tell.

A Discovery of Witches (2018)

The British series based on the Deborah Harkness trilogy starring Teresa Palmer and Matthew Goode tells the story of Diana Bishop, not only a successful historian at Oxford University, but also a witch. The plot thickens when he accidentally finds a manuscript that could endanger the existence of all magical creatures. The charming Matthew Clairmont, a vampire passionate about genetics, comes to her aid to save the wizarding world. Between the two, as is logical to expect, a tormented love story will break out. Not to be missed if you love complex plots, time travel and attention to historical reconstructions.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018)

The Netflix original TV series, now in its third season, with Kiernan Shipka, Ross Lynch and Miranda Otto is inspired by the graphic novel by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (in turn inspired by the Archie Comics) as well as Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, the US television series broadcast from 1996 to 2003 on the ABC channel. The protagonist of the story is the young half-witch Sabrina Spellaman, forced to choose between her human and magical nature. Accompanied by her aunt Hilda and Spellman and her cousin Ambrose, but also by her group of "mortal" friends, Sabrina will have to face numerous adventures, from forays into Purgatory to real trips to Hell, where she will discover some unexpected backstories linked to her past .

The Witch (2015)

Robert Eggers debut feature film is an extremely popular horror film for its masterful photography and attention to historical reconstruction, both in the settings and in the costumes. The Witch, set in the early 1600s, tells the story of the preacher William and his family, forced to leave the Puritan community in which they live due to his particularly radical religious ideas. The seven members of the family thus decide to settle on the edge of a forest and build a new farm, but dark presences will question everything they have always believed in.

American Horror Story - Coven (2011)

The third season of the famous anthological horror series with Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson and Taissa Farmiga is full of witchcraft: the protagonists are the witches of the New Orleans Coven, led by Cordelia Foxx and the "Suprema", the cruel Fiona Goode, grappling with lessons in magic, supernatural creatures and power games. The witches of American Horror Story - Coven will return in the eighth season, Apocalypse, ready to face enemies more diabolical and "hellish" than ever.

Stardust (2007)

Stardust, directed by Matthew Vaughn and loosely based on the novel of the same name by Neil Gaiman, follows the story of a young man named Tristan tries to win the heart of the icy and beautiful Victoria, the object of his desire, trying to bring her as a gift a fallen star. Where (and what) this fallen star is, as well as all the opponents who have embarked on the mission of looking for it are details that Tristan does not know and that will take him beyond the walls of the kingdom in which he lives in the sign of adventure and at the mercy of magic.

Love & Spells (1998)

Love & Spells, the film directed by Griffin Dunne, based on Alice Hoffman's The Magic Garden, is a classic that boasts an exceptional cast: Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock, in the role of the protagonist sisters, but also Stockard Channing, Evan Rachel Wood and many others. At the center of this story we find the Owens family, a lineage of witches who have been victims of a terrible curse for many generations: every man who falls in love with an Owens is destined to die. Vicissitudes, spells and diametrically opposed life choices, will the young witches be able to solve a centenary "problem"?

The Witches of Eastwick (1987)

Featuring a mind-boggling cast - Jack Nicholson, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer and Cher - the George Miller-directed film, based on John Updike's novel of the same name, tells how three young women (and friends) learn to use their innate powers. thanks to Daryl Van Horne, incarnation of the Devil they involuntarily evoked with whom they start a polyamorous relationship, scandalizing their fellow citizens. Over time, the protagonists will realize that the presence of Daryl in their lives - actually interested in having an heir from each of them - endangers them as well as the inhabitants of the town of Eastwick, so they devise a plan to get rid of him. 

Suspiria (1977-2018)

You choose which version to watch: the 2018 reinterpretation by Luca Guadagnino or the classic horror created by Dario Argento in 1977. Or better: see them both. Although with different styles, the two directors manage to return the disturbing danger of the witches of Suspiria, centered on the super evil clan of the three mothers, with Elena Markos as leader of the Academy of Freiburg, a school of dance and occult sciences. Ok, the "original" version, seen in 2022, is quite cringe, especially for the very unrealistic special effects, but the scenography and lighting are nothing short of superb and then, in short, It's a Classic. As for Guadaglino, his passion for Tilda Swinton and Dakota Johnson is confirmed, and how to blame him.

Charmed (1998)

Perhaps the most famous of the TV series of this type, Charmed, aired between 1998 and 2006, has fascinated several generations of viewers. The story is that of the three Halliwell sisters - Prue, Piper, and Phoebe (Shannen Doherty, Holly Marie Combs and Alyssa Milano) - who one day discover extraordinary magical powers and belong to an ancient lineage of witches. Trying to balance daily life and struggle against demons and evil creatures of all kinds, the three sisters will overcome any obstacles that arise in their path by staying together.