Film

Matilda

Name: Matilda
Genre: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Released: 1996
Cast: Mara Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Embeth Davidtz, Pam Ferris

Danny DeVito's adaptation of Roald Dahl's book is a fairy tale with real teeth: a genius five-year-old ignored by her parents and terrorised by a headmistress who throws children by their pigtails, until she discovers telekinesis and starts fighting back. It's stylised, funny, and genuinely a little frightening in places — a comfort watch that never loses its edge.

TMDb rating

7.2

If you liked this

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British, magical, and warm-hearted, with Emma Thompson bending an unruly household into shape through supernatural means and a lot of charm.

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The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Carrie1976

Both stories run on the exact same engine: a girl with suppressed rage discovers telekinetic power and turns it on the adults who abused her. Matilda is that idea as wish-fulfilment comedy; Carrie is what happens when the same premise is played completely straight, as tragedy.

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But This is a horror film with a genuinely devastating ending, not a fable with a happy resolution — there's no comic relief cushioning the cruelty.