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Two Witches – Arrow Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 2021
Director: Pierre Tsigaridis
Writers: Kristina Klebe, Maxime Rancon, Pierre Tsigaridis
Cast: Rebekah Kennedy, Kristina Klebe, Tim Fox, Belle Adams, Dina Silva, Danielle Kennedy, Ian Michaels

Release Date: October 17th, 2022 (UK), October 18th, 2022 (USA)
Approximate Running Time: 98 Minutes 14 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 15 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 English, LPCM Stereo English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region A,B
Retail Price: £24.99 (UK), $39.95 (USA)

"Expectant young mother Sarah is convinced she has been given the evil eye from a mysterious blank-eyed old hag while she is dining with her bullish and insensitive partner Simon. When the couple go to visit his new-agey friends Dustin and Melissa, dark forces are unleashed after an ill-advised attempt at consulting a Ouija board to allay her fears. Meanwhile, tensions grow between grad school student Rachel and her new roommate Masha after a violent incident involving a man that the strange and impulsive young woman has brought home." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "The High-Definition master was provided by The Rancon Company."

Two Witches comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 44.6 GB

Feature: 31.1 GB

The image looks crisp, the colors and flesh tones are correct, the black levels are strong, and there are no issues with compression.

Audio: 5/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 English), 4.5/5 (LPCM Stereo English)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English and a LPCM stereo mix in English. Both the audio mixes sound clean, clear, balanced, and robust. That said, as great as the stereo track sounds, the 5.1 track is the stronger of the two tracks. Included with this release are removable English SDH subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery with music from the film playing in the background, a theatrical trailer (1 minute 32 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), teaser trailer 1 (1 minute, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), teaser trailer 2 (54 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a teaser trailer titled Silent Night (1 minute 17 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a teaser trailer titled Masha and Grandma (1 minute, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Grimmfest 2021 Q&A with director Pierre Tsigaridis and producer Maxime Rancon (30 minutes 15 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), test footage (1 minute 33 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Pierre Tsigaridis who discusses the inspiration behind the piano score for Two Witches titled The Piano Score (10 minutes 50 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with composer Gioacchino Marincola titled The Original Score (10 minutes 44 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Marina Parodi titled The Boogeywoman (7 minutes 47 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress and associate producer Dina Silva (15 minutes 54 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Behind the Movie Episode 1 (4 minutes 27 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Behind the Movie Episode 2 (8 minutes 10 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with Pierre Tsigaridis, an audio commentary with Maxime Rancon, reversible cover art, a slipcover (limited to the first pressing), a two sided poster (limited to the first pressing), and a twenty-four-page booklet (limited to the first pressing) with cast & crew information, an essay titled The Changing Faces of Womanhood in Pierre Tsigaridis’ Two Witches written by Anton Bitel, Director’s Statement, Producer’s Statement, and information about the transfer.

Summary:

Two Witches is a film that proudly wears its fluency. which includes films like Suspiria, Don't Look Now, and Rosemary’s Baby. There are many elements throughout Two Witches that can be linked to those aforementioned films. Especially when it comes to the appearance and sound of the Two Witches.

The narrative is two stories which come together in the finale. The first story revolves around an expectant mother named Sarah who's been targeted by a witch who wants her unborn child. The second story revolves around roommates, one of whom is a witch.

despite the fact that both stories are well-executed. The first story is the stronger of the two stories. The narrative does a great job of building unnerving tension by juxtapositioning Sarah’s pregnancy with her deteriorating state of mind, which becomes more unstable as the witch gains more control. Though the second story follows the foundation laid out in the first story, the result is something that checks all the right boxes but lacks the potency of the first story.

From a production standpoint, the premise is well-executed, the narrative does a good job of building tension, and there are an ample number of well-timed jump scares. Other strengths include striking cinematography that features some disturbing imagery and a fantastic score that perfectly reinforces the foreboding mood. Ultimately, Two Witches is a technically sound film that depends greatly on how well you connect with its characters.

Two Witches gets an excellent release from Arrow Films that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and an abundance of extras, recommended.