Alex de la Iglesia is one of the most interesting Spanish directors. His movies always carry a mix of violence and comedy (and sometimes horror) . He is able to get good production values; but most of the times humor is basically a gross exaggeration of Spanish idiosyncrasy and history which sometimes limits the audience's understanding of what is going on. "Las Brujas de Zagarramurdi" aka "Witching and Bitching" starts with a not very well-orchestrated pawn shop robbery . The main characters Jose (Hugo Silva) and Tony steal a bag full of golden rings with the help of Jose's 10 years old son. They escape kidnapping a taxi drivers and his passenger and try to cross to France. They are immediately identified and pursued by Jose's ex-wife and two dumb policemen. When they reach Zagarramurdi they had to confront a huge cove of witches with plans to eat them and destroy the world (or at least men). In is in its first half, the film is a crude (and very funny) commentary about Spain's dominant maternal society. The technical aspects like the car chase are very well staged and produced.
The second half is an horror story played for fun with a few extreme gory / bad taste scenes and happy (or not so happy?) but far from politically correct ending. The FX are fine but could use some improvement. The cast is very good ; Hugo Silva is fine as the conflicted divorced / thief and Mario Casas (the most reliable commercial actor currently in Spain) is really funny.
The women are OK; but nothing special. Carmen Maura and Macarena Gomez deliver very bitchy performances; but usually you expect far more from them. Carolina Bang is sexy but her character is underwritten. The same happens with Santiago Segura and Carlos Areces; two excellent comedians working as witches with timid results . In brief; it is very dark comedy; and very unusual comedy. It is really worth watch it.
The second half is an horror story played for fun with a few extreme gory / bad taste scenes and happy (or not so happy?) but far from politically correct ending. The FX are fine but could use some improvement. The cast is very good ; Hugo Silva is fine as the conflicted divorced / thief and Mario Casas (the most reliable commercial actor currently in Spain) is really funny.
The women are OK; but nothing special. Carmen Maura and Macarena Gomez deliver very bitchy performances; but usually you expect far more from them. Carolina Bang is sexy but her character is underwritten. The same happens with Santiago Segura and Carlos Areces; two excellent comedians working as witches with timid results . In brief; it is very dark comedy; and very unusual comedy. It is really worth watch it.