The Last Witch Hunter Parent Guide

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 36^th 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.

About author

Rod Gustafson

Rod Gustafson has worked in various media industries since 1977. He founded Parent Previews in 1993, and today continues to write and broadcast the reviews in newspapers, on radio and (of course) on the Internet. His efforts also include writing and researching media in all its forms and observing how it effects society and culture. He and his wife Donna have four children.