{ "id": "eph93w8prn", "slug": "witching-and-bitching", "title": "Witching and Bitching", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror", "label": "Horror films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror.comedy-horror-films", "label": "Comedy horror films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror.comedy-horror-films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror.comedy-horror-films.2000s-and-2010s-comedy-horror-films", "label": "2000s and 2010s comedy horror films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror.comedy-horror-films.2000s-and-2010s-comedy-horror-films" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror", "label": "Western Europe · 2001 to 2020: Horror films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror", "path": [ { "id": "geo.weu", "label": "Western Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001", "label": "Western Europe · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror", "label": "Horror films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Witching and Bitching (Las brujas de Zugarramurdi), a 2013 Spanish-French horror comedy by Álex de la Iglesia: Madrid jewel thieves fall into a Basque witch coven; eight 2014 Goya awards, Metascore 73.", "snippet": "Witching and Bitching (Las brujas de Zugarramurdi), a 2013 Spanish-French horror comedy by Álex de la Iglesia: Madrid jewel thieves fall into a Basque witch coven; eight 2014 Goya awards, Metascore 73.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror.comedy-horror-films.2000s-and-2010s-comedy-horror-films", "markdown": "# Witching and Bitching\n\n**Witching and Bitching** (Spanish: *Las brujas de Zugarramurdi*) is a 2013 Spanish-French horror comedy directed by Álex de la Iglesia, in which a gang of jewel thieves fleeing Madrid falls into the hands of a coven of Basque witches near the French border. It was written by de la Iglesia with his frequent collaborator Jorge Guerricaechevarría, produced by Enrique Cerezo P.C. with La Ferme Productions, and screened out of competition at the 61st San Sebastián Film Festival and in the Midnight Madness section of the 2013 [Toronto International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-international-film-festival).[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243759/) • [2](https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/2013/secciones_y_peliculas/7/610009/es)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original title | *Las brujas de Zugarramurdi* (\"The Witches of Zugarramurdi\")[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243759/) |\n| Director and writers | Álex de la Iglesia; screenplay by de la Iglesia and Jorge Guerricaechevarría[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243759/) |\n| Country and year | Spain, France; 2013[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243759/) |\n| Running time | 112 minutes per festival and Cineuropa listings; other sources give 110 to 119 minutes[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243759/) • [3](https://www.cultura.gob.es/dam/jcr%3A98fb258a-5202-48b9-b49b-191fe6151ec3/L2_BD_2013.pdf) |\n| Release | Spain 27 September 2013; France 8 January 2014[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243759/) |\n| Principal cast | Hugo Silva, Mario Casas, Carmen Maura, Carolina Bang, Terele Pávez, Santiago Segura, Macarena Gómez, Carlos Areces[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243759/) |\n| Awards | Eight Goya awards in 2014, including Best Supporting Actress for Terele Pávez[4](https://www.crossingeurope.at/jart/prj3/crossingeurope/data/uploads/Crossing_Europe_Katalog_2014_2022-11-17_1211780.pdf) • [1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243759/) |\n| Reception | Metascore 73 (generally favorable); Rotten Tomatoes 83% from 30 reviews; IMDb 6.4/10 from about 16,000 votes[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/witching-and-bitching/critic-reviews/) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/witching_and_bitching) • [7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2404738/ratings/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nJosé (Hugo Silva) and Tony ([Mario Casas](https://www.edgepedia.org/mario-casas)) rob a Cash-for-Gold shop in Madrid's Puerta del Sol, disguised as street performers, and flee with José's young son Sergio toward the French border, with a plan to reach [Disneyland](https://www.edgepedia.org/disneyland).[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243759/) • [2](https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/2013/secciones_y_peliculas/7/610009/es) The Spanish film registry synopsis adds a supernatural premise: the loot is a sealed bag of 25,000 wedding rings that radiates a negative energy more powerful than the [Ark of the Covenant](https://www.edgepedia.org/ark-of-the-covenant), laying a curse on the getaway taxi.[3](https://www.cultura.gob.es/dam/jcr%3A98fb258a-5202-48b9-b49b-191fe6151ec3/L2_BD_2013.pdf)\n\nAt the border the fugitives fall into the hands of Basque witches, or *sorginak*, who keep up the ancient customs of their craft and of laughing at men, and who need a sacrifice for an ancient ritual.[2](https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/2013/secciones_y_peliculas/7/610009/es) • [8](https://cinegraph.org/movies/witching-bitching-2013) Pursuing them are two hapless national police officers, Calvo (Pepón Nieto) and Pacheco (Secun de la Rosa), and José's controlling ex-wife.[3](https://www.cultura.gob.es/dam/jcr%3A98fb258a-5202-48b9-b49b-191fe6151ec3/L2_BD_2013.pdf) • [9](https://videolibrarian.com/reviews/film/witching-bitching/) Carmen Maura plays the coven's matriarch Graciana and Terele Pávez plays Marichu; the cast also includes Carolina Bang as the witch Eva, Jaime Ordóñez, Macarena Gómez, Javier Botet, Santiago Segura as the cross-dressing Miren, and Carlos Areces as Conchi.[3](https://www.cultura.gob.es/dam/jcr%3A98fb258a-5202-48b9-b49b-191fe6151ec3/L2_BD_2013.pdf) • [10](https://www.screendaily.com/witching-and-bitching/5060695.article)\n\n## Production\n\nThe film is a Spain-France co-production, about 90 percent Spanish and 10 percent French, made by Enrique Cerezo Producciones Cinematográficas with La Ferme Productions and ARTE France Cinéma, with the participation of TVE.[3](https://www.cultura.gob.es/dam/jcr%3A98fb258a-5202-48b9-b49b-191fe6151ec3/L2_BD_2013.pdf) Shooting ran from 1 October to 5 December 2012.[3](https://www.cultura.gob.es/dam/jcr%3A98fb258a-5202-48b9-b49b-191fe6151ec3/L2_BD_2013.pdf) It was shot in Navarra and Madrid.[10](https://www.screendaily.com/witching-and-bitching/5060695.article) Kiko de la Rica was the cinematographer, Joan Valent composed the score, and Pablo Blanco edited.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243759/) Cinegraph lists the budget as $8.0 million.[8](https://cinegraph.org/movies/witching-bitching-2013)\n\nThe title village, Zugarramurdi in Navarre, is a real place with a recorded history of witch persecution: six of its accused witches were burned in an auto-da-fé (public ritual sentencing heretics, often burning) at Logroño in 1610, during what one regional account describes as the largest, longest and last witch hunt in the history of the [Spanish Inquisition](https://www.edgepedia.org/spanish-inquisition).[11](https://www.xareta.eus/en/descubre/basque_mythology_and_witches/1)\n\n## Festivals and release\n\nThe film premiered in 2013 on the festival circuit. It screened in the Midnight Madness section at the Toronto International Film Festival, in the official selection out of competition at [San Sebastián](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-sebastian), and at Austin Fantastic Fest.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243759/) • [10](https://www.screendaily.com/witching-and-bitching/5060695.article) It was nominated for the People's Choice Award in the Midnight Madness section at Toronto.[12](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/witching-and-bitching/2030308441/) It opened in Spain on 27 September 2013 and in France on 8 January 2014.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243759/) In the United States, IFC Films released it, with a listed US release date of September 2013 and a Metacritic-listed US theatrical date of 13 June 2014.[8](https://cinegraph.org/movies/witching-bitching-2013) • [13](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/witching-and-bitching/details/)\n\n## Awards\n\nAt the 2014 [Goya Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/goya-awards), the Spanish film academy's prizes, the film won eight Goyas.[4](https://www.crossingeurope.at/jart/prj3/crossingeurope/data/uploads/Crossing_Europe_Katalog_2014_2022-11-17_1211780.pdf) According to Cineuropa, the awards it won were for artistic direction, costume design, editing, sound, special effects, supporting actress (Terele Pávez), and director of production (Carlos Bernases).[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243759/) It was also nominated for Best Original Score and Best Cinematography.[12](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/witching-and-bitching/2030308441/)\n\n## Reception\n\nProfessional critics received the film favorably. Its Metascore of 73 on Metacritic is based on nine positive and one mixed review, with no negative reviews.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/witching-and-bitching/critic-reviews/) On Rotten Tomatoes it holds an 83% Tomatometer from 30 reviews, with a critics consensus calling it \"dark, nasty, and delightfully subversive... gross-out genre fun with a heaping helping of warped comedy\"; audience approval there is lower, at 60% from over 1,000 ratings.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/witching_and_bitching) IMDb users give it 6.4 out of 10 from about 16,000 votes.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2404738/ratings/)\n\n**Critical response.** Reviewers consistently highlighted the film's energy and tonal blend. The New York Times found that the buddy comedy, gross-out humor and horror elements \"make for a harmonious mix\" under a director who rarely lets the pace flag.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/witching-and-bitching/critic-reviews/) The Dissolve's David Ehrlich described it as moving \"from Reservoir Dogs to From Dusk Till Dawn with a lunatic's grace,\" resolving into a gory war between men and the literalized image of how the worst men see women.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/witching-and-bitching/critic-reviews/) [Roger Moore](https://www.edgepedia.org/roger-moore), writing for McClatchy-Tribune, called it \"the best Almodovar movie Almodovar never made.\"[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/witching-and-bitching/critic-reviews/) Recurring criticisms concerned length and thinness: RogerEbert.com called it \"overlong, and conceptually thin\" while still \"freakishly energetic,\" and the New Orleans Times-Picayune called it \"a bit overlong, and prone to meandering.\"\n\nScreen's Fionnuala Halligan, reviewing at San Sebastián, took a more reserved view, calling the film an \"uneasy marriage\" of an absurdist heist comedy and full-on horror, and finding its attitude toward women at times \"troublingly hostile,\" moving \"from the darkly jocular to ill-concealed anger.\"[10](https://www.screendaily.com/witching-and-bitching/5060695.article) The Wee Review, covering its Glasgow Film Festival 2014 screening, judged that the director got \"the pitch between comedy and horror just right\" but that the film topples \"under the weight of its own ideas.\"\n\n## Themes and interpretation\n\nThe film stages the battle of the sexes in deliberately extreme terms: men complain about women, and women are witches who eat men alive.[10](https://www.screendaily.com/witching-and-bitching/5060695.article) ScreenHub read the caricature as two-sided satire, arguing that the performances keep neither the men's status as sympathetic victims nor the women's as aggressors intact, and that the film both embraces and challenges the gender stereotypes it draws on.[14](https://www.screenhub.com.au/news/reviews/witching-and-bitching-243575-1396246/) The Video Librarian review made a comparable point, noting that a case could be made for the film being anti-woman, but that, as in [Pedro Almodóvar](https://www.edgepedia.org/pedro-almodovar)'s cinema (some of whose regular actors appear, notably Carmen Maura), no gender escapes unscathed.[9](https://videolibrarian.com/reviews/film/witching-bitching/)\n\nDe la Iglesia himself framed the film's women as figures of power. In a 2013 Cineuropa interview he said that famous and important women appear in the film, including [Greta Garbo](https://www.edgepedia.org/greta-garbo), Margaret Thatcher, Angela Merkel, Frida Kahlo and [Simone de Beauvoir](https://www.edgepedia.org/simone-de-beauvoir), calling this \"a declaration of intent\" about \"women who inspire respect, fascination and fear.\"\n\nAcademic work has taken up the film as well: a [University of St Andrews](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-st-andrews) thesis on female suffering and spectatorship ethics lists it among contemporary witch films, and a 2025 study of the monstrous-feminine in Spanish horror analyzes the film alongside de la Iglesia's series *30 Coins*.[15](https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10023/6312/KathleenScottPhDThesis.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=6) • [16](https://idus.us.es/server/api/core/bitstreams/dbaf08b6-80be-424a-9b2b-67d85c640f1c/content)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Witching & Bitching (Las brujas de Zugarramurdi), Cineuropa](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243759/)\n2. [Las brujas de Zugarramurdi / Witching and Bitching, Festival de San Sebastián 2013](https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/2013/secciones_y_peliculas/7/610009/es)\n3. [Las Brujas de Zugarramurdi, film registry entry, Ministerio de Cultura de España (2013)](https://www.cultura.gob.es/dam/jcr%3A98fb258a-5202-48b9-b49b-191fe6151ec3/L2_BD_2013.pdf)\n4. [Crossing Europe Film Festival Linz 2014 catalog](https://www.crossingeurope.at/jart/prj3/crossingeurope/data/uploads/Crossing_Europe_Katalog_2014_2022-11-17_1211780.pdf)\n5. [Witching and Bitching critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/witching-and-bitching/critic-reviews/)\n6. [Witching & B...ing, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/witching_and_bitching)\n7. [Witching and Bitching (2013) ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2404738/ratings/)\n8. [Witching & Bitching, Cinegraph](https://cinegraph.org/movies/witching-bitching-2013)\n9. [Witching & Bitching review, Video Librarian](https://videolibrarian.com/reviews/film/witching-bitching/)\n10. [Witching And Bitching review, Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/witching-and-bitching/5060695.article)\n11. [Basque mythology and witches, Xareta](https://www.xareta.eus/en/descubre/basque_mythology_and_witches/1)\n12. [Witching and Bitching, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/witching-and-bitching/2030308441/)\n13. [Witching and Bitching details, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/witching-and-bitching/details/)\n14. [Witching & Bitching review, ScreenHub](https://www.screenhub.com.au/news/reviews/witching-and-bitching-243575-1396246/)\n15. [Cinema of exposure: female suffering and spectatorship ethics, PhD thesis, University of St Andrews](https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10023/6312/KathleenScottPhDThesis.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=6)\n16. [Abject Births and the Monstrous-Feminine in Álex de la Iglesia's Witching and Bitching and 30 Coins, Universidad de Sevilla](https://idus.us.es/server/api/core/bitstreams/dbaf08b6-80be-424a-9b2b-67d85c640f1c/content)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Horror films (individual works) › Comedy horror films › 2000s and 2010s comedy horror films*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/witching-and-bitching", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/witching-and-bitching.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Witching and Bitching\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/witching-and-bitching. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Witching and Bitching](https://www.edgepedia.org/witching-and-bitching)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/witching-and-bitching](https://www.edgepedia.org/witching-and-bitching). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Witching and Bitching\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/witching-and-bitching. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Witching and Bitching, a 2013 Spanish-French horror comedy by Álex de la Iglesia: Madrid jewel thieves fall into a Basque witch coven; eight 2014 Goya awards, Metascore 73." }