Witching & Bitching (Spanish: Las brujas de Zugarramurdi; "The Witches of Zugarramurdi") is a 2013 Spanish comedy horror film co-written and directed by Álex de la Iglesia. It is loosely based around the historical episode of the Zugarramurdi Witch Trials.
A gang of robbers, led by José, a divorced father, and Antonio, former PR for a nightclub succeed in robbing a pawn shop, collecting a full of gold rings and jewelry. Unfortunately, the robbery turned sour as several people died in the resulting gunfire. José and Antonio, along with José's 10-years-old son Sergio (it was also his visiting day) hijack a taxi and stowed its unwilling passenger in the trunk, then force the driver, Manuel (Jaime Ordóñez), to drive towards the border to France.
The group is followed by Sergio's mother and José's ex-wife Silvia as well as two police investigators Pacheco and Calvo, who are following Silvia. The men end up in the Basque town of Zugarramurdi, famously known for its Witch Hunt (pretty much the Spanish Salem) where they come across a family of really weird women: Graciana, the mother, her smoking-hot daughter Eva and the senile grandmother Maritxu (Terele Pàvez). The women turn out to be a glorious dynasty of witches, who need Sergio to perform an ancient ritual to a pre-historic goddess and that the rest of them will likely be killed as part of the ritual... or for merely dinner.
This movie evokes the following tropes:
- Action Prologue: A pretty absurd one with the main characters robbing a pawn shop while dressed up as street performers and the subsequent high-octane chase with the trigger-happy police.
- Big Damn Kiss: José and Eva exchange one towards the end, before running away from the cave.
- Bumbling Dad: José is utterly clueless in child-caring, the reason why Silvia wants to withhold visiting days from him.
- Cassandra Truth: Manuel, the taxi driver usually says the most sensible thing only to be ignored by the rest of the gang.
- Chased by Angry Natives: More like chased by angry witches, after the climactic final battle.
- Creepy Child: Sergio is successfully converted into the Antichrist, and performs mundane black magic with a devious twinkle in his eyes.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Eva decides to single-handedly fend off the Great Mother by ripping off the cord headpiece that covers her eyes, which causes her great pain and forces her to retreat.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Eva lures the protagonists into a trap by doing a voyeristic strip-tease.
- The End... Or Is It?: Eva helps defeat the Great Mother throwing the coven in chaos and escapes with José's group, then a Time Skip later we see her and José living together raising Sergio, before it's revealed that Graciana, Maritxu and Silvia are still alive and decide to just wait until they grow discontent with their happiness and return to them.
- Enemy Mime: In the opening robbery scene, José and Antonio are introduced posing as living statue mimes (a silver Jesus and a completely teal World War II soldier, respectively).
- Eldritch Abomination: What the Great Mother turns out to be, a giant human-like female modeled after the Venus of Willendorf.
- Evil Matriarch: The witch coven has a long history of terrible matriarchs, with Gracian not being an exception. Just ask her own children.
- Face–Heel Turn: Silvia is turned into a witch after being captured and joins the coven in place of Eva. Also the ending implies that the rite of converting Sergio into the Antichrist judging by his dark powers and Slasher Smile.
- Foot-Dragging Divorcee: José and Silvia are still fighting over the custody of their only child. The plot is kicked by José robbing a pawnshop, abducting their son and trying to flee to France.
- Giant Foot of Stomping: Maritxu gets stomped on with a Sickening "Crunch!" by the Great Mother. She comes back for the ending, though.
- The Hecate Sisters: The main trio are Graciana (the mother), Eva (the maiden??) and Maritxu (the crone).
- Heel–Face Turn: Eva, out of falling in love with José and growing tired of her family lifestyle.
- Heel–Faith Turn: Graciana mentions that her husband left her to become a priest.
- Hot Witch: Eva, the daughter, played by beautiful blonde Carolina Bang. Also Silvia, José ex-wife, after she's turned into a witch by Graciana's clan.
- I'm a Humanitarian: The witches eat human flesh. They are delighted in finding a chunk of grown men to literally serve at a party.
- Love Epiphany: Being almost sacrificed in a wacky pagan rite make Pacheco and Calvo realize that they are in love with each other.
- Made of Iron: The main characters survive falls and injuries that would normally kill a person.
- Mama Bear: As soon as Silvia learns her ex husband kidnapped their child she drives following the child's IPhone localization app.
- Saw a Woman in Half: Sergio does a rather gory take of this magic trick during the talent show in the ending.
- Sinister Shades: The witches are characterized wearing them. The Hecate Sisters wear them indoors as they watch Sergio at the talent show in the ending.
- Shout-Out:
- José and Antonio's helpers in the robbery conceal themselves by dressing up as Mickey Mouse and Minnie, SpongeBob and Patrick Star, Elmo, Winnie the Pooh, The Invisible Man and a Xenomorph.
- Some of the more energetic camera shots and editing, the witches flying around and Silvia's Prophet Eyes akin to a Deadite, seem to homage Sam Raimi and his Evil Dead films.
- The Great Mother, being a giant, grossly fat female abomination that devours people whole brings to mind Vera's final form in the climax of Braindead.
- Sergio vomiting green goo at José when he's possessed as the Antichrist.
- In the ending Pacheco and Calvo talk about going to see The Lion King after the talent show.
- Supernaturally-Validated Trans Person: Male actors Santiago Segura and Carlos Areces portray two supposedly female witches that are clearly crossdressers, for the comedy value and express that witches are women, but a born male can be a woman, thus he can also be a witch.
- Swallowed Whole: Sergio gets gobbled up by the Great Mother, before he passes through her and emerges alive.
- Tom the Dark Lord: Sergio, a Mouthy Kid of ten, is the Antichrist.
- Two Decades Behind: In Maritxu's diner the television streams old VHS feauturing comedians from The '80s and doesn't know what Wi-Fi is.
- Villain: Exit, Stage Left: After being wounded by Eva uncovering her eyes, the Great Mother just waddles away back to wherever she came from.
- Visit by Divorced Dad: José chooses the day he has the custody of his son to go along with the robbery, so he can flee with the child.
