The Last Witch Hunter parents guide

The Last Witch Hunter Parent Guide

What begins as an interesting premise soon flounders into a game of hide and seek, and comes to the inevitable conclusion.

Overall C

Vin Diesel plays an immortal witch hunter, whose quest brings him to modern-day New York City where he stalks a dangerous foe.

Release date October 23, 2015

Violence C-
Sexual Content B+
Profanity B
Substance Use C+

Why is The Last Witch Hunter rated PG-13? The MPAA rated The Last Witch Hunter PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images.

Run Time: 106 minutes

Official Movie Site

Parent Movie Review

Kaulder (Vin Diesel) walks the streets of New York City with nothing but time on his hands. An occasional tryst with a flight attendant (we see her leaving his apartment) is all that punctuates his otherwise long days. And so it has been for the last 800 years since he stabbed the witch queen (Julie Engelbrecht) and was cursed with immortality—thus rendering him unable to join his wife and children in the afterlife. All around him is a world unaware that they are only shielded by fragile truce from a host of witches that are constrained to behave like they are ordinary people. For eight centuries, Kaulder has taken it upon himself to police this secret society and insure any oath-breaking spell casters face the witches’ council and the penalty of prison.

Recognizing that some of these witches may still desire to seek vengeance against the man who killed their queen, a succession of Catholic priests from a clandestine order has been assigned to watch over Kaulder. His current protector, called Dolan 36th (Michael Caine), is aging. Knowing their close friendship is about to make the inevitable transition, Dolan 37th (Elijah Wood) is introduced. The two parties of this fledgling relationship receive little time to get acquainted because Dolan 36th mysteriously dies and the two are forced to investigate the suspicious circumstances together. Delving into the underworld for answers, Kaulder meets Chloe (Rose Leslie). But is this beautiful witch someone he can trust or just part of a devious plan to revive the once-thought-dead Witch Queen?

While this film features few blood effects and frequent dark scenes to prevent the action from looking too explicit, there are still gruesome depictions of burnt bodies and a scene where a sword extracts a beating heart. Other violent confrontations include knives and swords, some gunplay and fantastical beings shot on screen. For families with religious sensitivities this script could go either way. It is a classic good versus evil story (we will leave it to you to figure out which is the victor), however the entire plot revolves around supernatural characters. Fortunately, there are only a handful of mild profanities and Kaulder’s implied sexual interlude is the only sexual content.

Yet what begins as an interesting premise soon flounders into a game of hide and seek with the inevitable conclusion of immortal protagonist squaring off against the all-powerful antagonist. Sadly, the battle turns into a snooze-fest. Perhaps that’s because the worm and dirt encrusted Witch Queen isn’t as scary as you’d expect. Or maybe it just the monotony of Vin Diese’s one-note gravely voice. Either way, the script’s pairing of Mr. Manley with Frodo should have left us chuckling just a few times. Even if hunting witches isn’t exactly a comedic platform, some humor might have helped keep us interested in this darkly brewed story.

Directed by Breck Eisner. Starring Vin Diesel, Rose Leslie, Elijah Wood, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson. Running time: 106 minutes. Theatrical release October 23, 2015. Updated

The Last Witch Hunter
Rating & Content Info

Why is The Last Witch Hunter rated PG-13? The Last Witch Hunter is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images.

Violence: Many violent conflicts involving swords, knives and guns, although there are few blood effects. In a couple of scenes we see a fantastical female human being stabbed and attacked by men who pull out her beating heart. A character’s hand is impaled by a knife. Another character is seen with a sword through his leg. Frequent scenes depict grotesque imagery of burnt and rotting corpses. Corpses and live characters are sometimes seen covered in worms and one is shown cooking with the wriggling creatures. A hand is seen dislocating in order to remove a handcuff. Vines from a plant pull characters into the ground.

Sexual Content:

A man speaks to a female flight attendant on an airplane: In the next scene we see her leaving his apartment implying she slept with him during the night.

Language: Infrequent profanities include scatological slang and mild profanities.

Alcohol / Drug Use: A character inhales an unknown substance through a water pipe: when she exhales into another character’s face it has hallucinatory affects.

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The Last Witch Hunter Parents' Guide

How is this movie similar to a police detective story on the streets of New York? Who is the detective? Who is the sidekick?

Would you accept an opportunity to become immortal? What are some of the benefits and disadvantages of living forever?

News About "The Last Witch Hunter"

From the Studio:
The modern world holds many secrets, but the most astounding secret of all is that witches still live amongst us; vicious supernatural creatures intent on unleashing the Black Death upon the world. Armies of witch hunters battled the unnatural enemy across the globe for centuries, including KAULDER, a valiant warrior who managed to slay the all-powerful QUEEN WITCH, decimating her followers in the process. In the moments right before her death, the QUEEN curses KAULDER with her own immortality, forever separating him from his beloved wife and daughter in the afterlife. Today KAULDER is the only one of his kind remaining, and has spent centuries hunting down rogue witches, all the while yearning for his long-lost loved ones. However, unbeknownst to KAULDER, the QUEEN WITCH is resurrected and seeks revenge on her killer causing an epic battle that will determine the survival of the human race.
Written by Lionsgate

Home Video

The most recent home video release of The Last Witch Hunter movie is February 2, 2016. Here are some details…

Home Video Notes: The Last Witch Hunter
Release Date: 2 February 2016
The Last Witch Hunter releases to home video (Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy) with the following extras:
- “Crafting the Magic: The Last Witch Hunter” Featurette
- Animated Short Films - The Origins of the Axe and Cross
- The Last Witch Hunter Sizzle Reel / “Paint It, Black”
- Audio Commentary with Director Breck Eisner
- Deleted Scenes

Related home video titles:

Four siblings try to put the end to a witch’s reign in The Chronicles of Narnia The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Vin Diesel takes on a more family-friendly role in The Pacifier.