George A. Romero’s Season of the Witch is a slow-burn feminist occult drama

After inventing the modern zombie, Romero made a feminist film about a suffering house wife turning to witchcraft.

Terrence O'Brien

Oct 11, 2026, 3:15 PM UTC

Image: Arrow Films

Part OfWhat we’re listening to, watching, and reading right now.see all updates

Terrence O'Brien

is the Verge’s weekend editor. He’s covered the tech industry for over 18 years and knows a thing or two about synths.

George A. Romerois obviously best known as the father of the modern zombie movie. But between inventing the genre withNight of the Living Deadand his outbreak horror,The Crazies, Romero made two much lesser-known films:There’s Always Vanilla, which I’ll admit I’ve never seen, andSeason of the Witch, or, as it was originally titled,Hungry Wives.

Hungry Wiveswas supposed to be an exploitation film. The studio marketed it as a softcore porn, but it failed to find an audience — probably because the movie features minimal nudity, just one sex scene, and lots of talking. It was an undeniable flop upon its release in 1973. It was eventually rereleased asSeason of the Witchafter Romero’sDawn of the Deadsparked renewed interest in his work.

While sadly, Romero’s original 130 minute cut of the film has been lost, parts of it have been recovered and restored, expanding the 89 minute original release to 104 minutes. An obvious reason for its failure, beyond the distributor butchering it it by cutting 40 minutes, is that, what Romero made wasn’t a softcore porn, instead it’s a slow-burn feminist drama where the occult is almost incidental.

Protaganist Joan Mitchell is trapped in an abussive marriage and unhappy with her role as submissive housewife. She eventually turns from therapy, to witchcraft in an attempt to escape her humdrum life.

Season of the Witchhas its issues, for sure. The production value is quite low — apparently the movie was made for just $100,000 (around $800,000 adjusted for inflation). The acting is also wildly uneven. While star Jan White turns in an excellent performance, others appear to be reading off cue cards or chew scenery with Pachino-levels of camp.

Still, there’s something compelling about Romero’s directing and his, for the time, boldly progressive take on feminism. For all of its reliance on dialogue over action,Season of the Witchstill manages a tense and, at times, halucinatory atmosphere. And it all leads to a somewhat predictable, but still extremely satisfying ending.

Season of the Wichis available to stream onMubiandKanopy.

Follow topics and authors

from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.