Season of the Witch (originally released as Hungry Wives) is a 1972 American drama film[4] written and directed by George A. Romero, and starring Jan White, Raymond Laine, and Anne Muffly.

The film failed to find an audience on its initial release and was re-released years later under the title Season of the Witch.

Joan and her friends learn about a new woman in the neighborhood named Marion Hamilton who is rumored to practice witchcraft.

Prompted by curiosity, Joan and one of her friends, Shirley, drive over to Marion's house one night for a Tarot reading.

As she explores witchcraft further, practicing rituals and researching spells, Joan's world continues to change.

After another terrifying nightmare involving the masked intruder, Joan shoots and kills her husband, who has unexpectedly returned home early from his trip.

[7] While working with public television in Pittsburgh, Romero became aware of the Feminist movement, which also influenced his script.

[8][9] Romero was pressured by the distributor to make two sex scenes between the characters of Joan and Gregg pornographic, but refused.

[16] Anchor Bay released the film under its Season of the Witch title in 2005 on DVD at its partly-restored 104 minute running time.

"[20] Newman noted that the acting varies from the "nicely underplayed (Jan White, Virginia Greenwald) through the desperately hammy (Anne Muffly) to the dangerously laid-back (Ray Laine).

Club compared the film to Romero's Night of the Living Dead stating that the film "looks significantly less impressive [...] Where Night Of The Living Dead sandwiched some undistinguished, talky bits featuring actors of widely varying skill between the zombie horror, Season Of The Witch is nearly all undistinguished talky bits featuring actors of widely varying skill.

[23] The review went on to note that "this is as effective a film as the director has made, in many respects years ahead of its time, assuming a position more extreme than The Stepford Wives or even, for the most part, Thelma and Louise.

[24] Scholar Bernice Murphy referred to the film as "cheaply made and jarringly edited," and noted it as an effort for Romero to distance himself from the supernatural horror themes he had become known for.