AtoZ2018 - W is for ... #MovieMonsters #AtoZChallenge

W is for ... Witch/Warlock/Wizard

There seem to be a lot of theme within a theme posts near the end of the month, and today I have lots of magical people for you - all of them bad to the bone, which is what makes them monsters :).

Scariness Rating

The little skulls by their name are my scariness rating as to how monstrous and scary I think the creatures are when seen in their films.

•  1 skull (not scary at all) - 5 skulls (very scary)
•  and there is a special rating for a few - 5 red skulls (utterly terrifying)

The Witch Queen (The Last Witch Hunter)

The Witch Queen is the most powerful witch in the world, and 800 years ago she unleashed the Black Plague to wipe out humanity. She has very powerful magic, but like all witches has a weakness when it comes to fire. Her body was burned, but her heart survived and was hidden.

In the present her followers plan to resurrect her using the heart. Her main aim is to use her power and a coven of dark hearted witches to unleash another plague, this one unstoppable.

The Witch Queen is evil to her core, twisted by dark magic and her hatred of humanity. A true monster.

I really enjoyed The Last Witch Hunter, although many didn't agree. I love the characters and plot and wish there had been a sequel.

Maax (Beastmaster)

Beastmaster is a classic 80s sword and sorcery movie, complete with a buff chap running around in not many clothes and an evil wizard. Maax (Rip Torn) is the evil wizard.

He is the high priest of the god Ar and at the beginning of the film is given a prophecy that he will be killed by the first born son of King Zed. As ever it is a self-fulfilling prophecy, because he tries to have the son killed by removing him from his mother's womb with magic and sacrificed to Ar, but manages to set Dar on the path to defeating him instead.

He is exiled and becomes the high priest of the Juns - a barbarian horde, who help him spread his evil. He uses his magic for his own gain, and enjoys sacrificing children to Ar to increase his own power. He is a monster of the worst kind.

Muriel (Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters)

Muriel (Famke Janssen) is the leader of all the witches in the world, the Grand Witch, and she is incredibly powerful. Her magic is very strong and she hides in plain sight, but when in her natural form the decay caused by the dark magic shows clearly on her body.

Her greatest weakness, just like all witches is fire, and in Hansel & Gretel, she has gathered her fellows and they are kidnapping children in a bid to make themselves immune to the flames.

She is evil to the core, willing to kill even the innocent to suit her own purposes. Sometimes she looks human, sometimes she looks like the monster she is.

This movie is an unrepentant action adventure with witches and witch hunters - it does not require great thought, but what it does it does well. I thoroughly recommend it.

Bavmorda (Willow)

Willow is another sword and sorcery adventure film and it is brilliant. This one is more PG than Hansel and Gretel, but the evil sorceress is just as bad to the bone.

Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh) is once again the subject of prophecy, that a female child with a special birthmark will be her downfall. To prevent this she wishes to sacrifice the child.

Bavmorda has great magic, but Elora Danan, the girl child, has Willow (Warwick Davis), a Nelwyn farmer who would like to be a sorcerer himself, but who's crowning achievement is his disappearing pig trick. Of course evil magic is no match for the good guys.

Warlock

Now Warlock is definitely a film for adults and star Julian Sands as the Warlock and Richard E. Grant as the witch-hunter, Giles Redferne, who chases him through time.

This Warlock is the true servant of Satan and he is evil incarnate. He cares not about who he kills or hurts in his quest to assemble The Grand Grimoire, a book that will reveal the true name of God and give the Warlock the ultimate power to unmake all of creation.

The only thing that stands between him and total victory is Giles and Kassandra (Lori Singer) who he meets in his future. With his powerful magic, the Warlock has them at a great disadvantage, but they will not give up.

There are 3 movies in the Warlock franchise, the first 2 which are both great and star Julian Sands, and the 3rd, which I haven't seen staring Bruce Payne.

Wendol Mother (The 13th Warrior)

If you haven't seen The 13th Warrior, I must recommend it very highly, it is a fantastic movie. It didn't do well in the cinema, but that must have been bad marketing, because it's brilliant.

Antonio Banderas plays Ahmad ibn Fadlan, a court poet to the Caliph of Bagdad, who is exiled as an Ambassador to the North because of an affair with another man's wife. He ends up in the company of the Norsemen and becomes the 13th Warrior to accompany a band of them on a quest.

The enemy are the Wendol, a tribe of people who think they are bears and who raid the villages of the Norsemen, slaughtering all, taking heads and eating the flesh of those they slaughter. The seems as mosters, with no fallen ever left behind, and looking more like beasts than men. The ultimate power rest with the Wendol Mother, a woman and a witch, who lives underground, from whom they believe comes their strength, and her will is carried out by their Warlord.

She is a monster who controls a hoard.

Queen Gedren (Red Sonja)

I have definitely mentioned Queen Gedren before - she is the big bad from Red Sonja, another classic 80s sword and sorcery movie. She is power hungry and so greedy for magical dominance that she steals the Talisman, an orb of great power that only women may touch.

The thing is, when exposed to light the Talisman becomes more and more powerful, until it is capable of not just sacking cities, but destroying the world.

Gedren is so intent on her own ends that she's completely oblivious to the danger and, really, she has something of a screw loose. She wanted Sonja for her very own, which is how she ended up with the pretty mask, because Sonja scared her face to get away.

This is one monster in a very sexy package.

Scarabis (Waxwork II - Lost in Time)

Scarabis is a very evil warlock who has his eye on the English throne in an alternative timeline in Cartagra, or as Sir Wilfred puts it, God's Nintendo game. In Cartagra good and evil battle forever and if Satan ever tips the delicate balance in his favour, things do not go well in the real world.

Scarabis uses dark magic in a complex ceremony where he transmutes a young woman into a half human, half cat like creature, to give himself the ability to shapeshift. He is a decadent, self-centred man, who is all monster wrapped up in a civilising shell.

Waxwork and Waxwork II are both really good examples of 80s horror, with an edge of humour amid all the darkness. I love them both.

Fenella (Chorlton and the Wheelies)

I'm betting most have never heard of Fenella or Chorlton. This classic style witch is from a stop-motion children's TV show from the 70s. She is the enemy of the Wheelies.

She hates anything happy and has caused the Wheelie World to come to a virtual standstill so she does not have to put up with the usually cheerful Wheelies. Then along comes Chorlton who is a happiness dragon. He brings Wheelie World back to life, causing Fenella to go apoplectic with fury.

She, of course makes it her life's work to make the Wheelies unhappy so she can have quiet back, but Chorlton always stands in her way.

Honourable Mentions

The Red Queen (Sarah Douglas) from Witchville,
Profion (Jeremy Irons) from Dungeons and Dragons,
Dark Willow (Alyson Hannigan) from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Saruman the White (Sir Christopher Lee) from The Lord of the Rings

Q: Do you have any favourite bad witches, warlocks or wizards who should be mentioned?

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