Is Witch’s Ghost Underrated?

[dravencroft]

Witch’s Ghost is my personal favourite Scooby Doo film, but in all of the rankings I’ve seen, it’s always out of the top four. Zombie Island is always number one, and as far as I can see, Witch’s Ghost and Zombie Island are basically the same. Down to the “ghosts are real” twist, soundtrack, production team and writing. It’s all so similar, the only real difference is that Witch’s Ghost is less frightening.

I would argue that Sarah Ravencroft is a far more interesting villain than the Cats. The Hex Girls were an incredible set of side character. The reveal that the town was behind the haunting followed by the reveal of Ben Ravencroft, I think it has a lot more going for it.

If Witch’s Ghost opened the exact same way that Zombie Island did, but, instead of ending the “Ghost is fake” montage at the market, it ended with the gang meeting Ben Ravencroft I think Witch’s Ghost would be more popular. The only thing Zombie Island does better than Witch’s Ghost is the introduction, since the gang has split. If Witch’s Ghost had the same opening, I think it would be considered the best Scooby Doo Film.

Thoughts?

[90s2000sDoo]

My top 4 would probably be: Zombie Island, Witch’s Ghost, Camp Scare, and Alien Invaders. Abracadabra Doo, Monster Of Mexico, Cyber Chase, and Moon Monster Madness would round OT my top. For me I think all the first 4 DTVs are great and you wouldn’t want to put only those in your top 4. Zombie Island is also definitively better

[jonathanmuddlemore]

I think Witch's Ghost is super overrated personally. The three Scooby movies that people who don't really follow Scooby usually list as their favorites are Zombie Island, Witch's Ghost, and Ghoul School. I still see Hex Girls clips shared on Facebook. It's a gorgeous movie with some creepy atmosphere but I don't think it does as much with the "real monsters" twist as Zombie Island. Also, I find the use of the Salem Witch Trials in cheap supernatural narratives to be somewhat offensive but YMMV.

An interesting thing about Witch's Ghost is that the first script was actually written by non-HB writers and didn't originally end with a real witch. Davis Doi and Glenn Leopold rewrote it to give the movie a most exciting climax. That's why I prefer Alien Invaders as a sequel to Zombie Island because it was written completely by the same creative team without any studio interference. 

[drtewksbury]

I don't think it is underrated, as many people really love it. Personally, it has some of my favorite Scooby DTV aesthetics. Perfect autumn viewing.

[scoobylover]

I remember being obsessed with it for those autumn vibes and it always made me want to visit New England. Still one of my faves

[Doo]

I love Witch's Ghost, though I don't think it's underrated. It's pretty close to being as well liked as Zombie Island. The Hex Girls are indeed pretty amazing characters, and this movie introduces them so that's a big factor in its favor. I think the only difference comes down to the creepiness/darkness of the two films like was said earlier in this thread. Though I guess I have to agree that I like Sarah Ravencroft better than the cat gods to be honest, but Zombie Island's dark feel slightly tops Witch's Ghost for me. The whole town being behind it is a really cool twist as well! You bring up an interesting point, Dravencroft, as there are a lot of things that Witch's Ghost does slightly better than Zombie Island, yet we still gravitate towards Zombie Island. I guess it maybe comes down to how different of an introduction Zombie Island has, with the gang being split up and all. Zombie Island is also super dark, whereas Witch's Ghost isn't as much until the end.

[vakanai]

I don't really know what is and what isn't overrated in the fandom, since I only recently started paying attention to said fandom, other than that Zombie Island is definitely at least a little overrated in my opinion. But Witch's Ghost is by far my favorite Scooby Doo movie.