New details about the Robert Zemeckis remake of The Witches have revealed a promising twist!

The Witches is Roald Dahl’s take on the children vs. witches fairy tales of old and frankly, it’s terrifying. It tells of a world where fairy tale witches walk in the guise of everyday women. Their one objective? Hunting children. It brings a whole new meaning to the idea of “stranger danger” and definitely increased the paranoia level of many a young reader. The novel was previously adapted by director Nicholas Roeg in 1990, with an iconic turn by Anjelica Huston as the Grand High Witch.

But Zemeckis is planning to take his adaptation in a new direction, far from the British setting of the Dahl novel. His version of The Witches will be set in the 1960s American South. In an interview with the French news outlet, Allocine, Zemeckis states;

“We’re going to set it in the Gothic South in the 1960s. It’s an exciting way to put a sociological spin on this kind of witch story.”

When it was revealed last year that Robert Zemeckis would helm The Witches, it seemed like a perfect pairing. Zemeckis is a uniquely creative director with a fantastical and darkly humorous vision. While he has created iconic, nostalgic films like Back to the Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, he always has one foot, if not two, in horror. From morbidly creative humor and effects in Death Becomes Her to going full-on horror in What Lies Beneath, Zemeckis is a fiend at heart. His creative spin on a dark Roald Dahl fable promises to be unique.

This new detail opens up the potential for a brilliant new perspective on the story. The novel is a classic, but its vision of witches is somewhat dated. A historical setting and southern gothic flavor could be just the ingredient needed to make The Witches a fresh horror story for today. And with creative juggernauts Guillermo Del Toro and Alfonso Cuaron producing, The Witches is shaping up to be a major title to look out for.

Are you as excited for this new take on The Witches as we are? Let us know on Twitter, Reddit, and over in our Facebook group! And make sure to check back with us at Nightmare On Film Street for updates and news about all the film!