Osgood Perkins' 'Gretel & Hansel' is a visually arresting and atmospherically rich horror tale with a script that doesn't quite reach the heights of the storyline told through imagery. The movie loses itself too often in a dreamscape horror without rectifying or clarifying, which leaves the metaphor foggy and the horror muted. The performances are decent: Sophia Lillis holds the screen with a quiet confidence as Gretel and the sensational Alice Krige making for a supremely chilling The Witch.
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pmdotr-7301431 January 2020....it just falls short, and kind of leaves you unsatisfied. It's beautiful and dark visually, and it had so much potential to be a great movie, but ends up being something better watched at home.
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truemythmedia3 February 2020There are many scenes in this movie that are very good, there are many images that are very creepy, and the overall story is one that feels somewhat unique even though it's based on a story that could date back to the 1300s, during the time of the Great Famine in Germany, and has been retold thousands of times, and recently too (remember "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters"?). This movie looks gorgeous- from production design to cinematography, everything is beautiful. It's shot in a smaller aspect ratio than normal (1.55:1), giving the film a squarer look. The way that Holda's home is designed, to look incredibly triangular, works amazing when shot in this aspect ratio, because it gives everything a more perfectly aligned look. There are honestly very few shots in this whole film that don't look gorgeously grim. The way that some of the dream sequences are shot are awesome too, and the hidden chamber behind the wall, where most of those dream sequences take place, is probably the most chilling use of minimalism I've seen in a PG-13 mainstream horror flick. It's there in that room that some of the gorier images arise, and also where a fair amount of the chilling sequences come from. If you like slower, more atmospheric horror films then this movie is a good way to kill an hour-and-twenty-five minutes, but if you're looking for a fast-paced, jump-scare-filled PG-13 horror flick aimed at teenage couples who want to squeal with delighted terror every time a loud bang is made, then look somewhere else; this movie isn't that at all. As a whole, I thought this movie was incredibly watchable, but it also had plenty of small flaws throughout.
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pastorisaiah2 February 2020This movie LOOKS great. Seriously, great camera work, great production design, just a beautiful movie. It's a crying shame the story was so poorly written and the film so poorly directed and edited that the craftsmanship of the cinematography is lost. This is an ambitious story that, sadly, the director and writer weren't able to execute. There are a lot of ideas that aren't fleshed out, a lot of symbolism that is robbed of deeper meaning, and overall there is a story that doesn't get told. Which is a shame, because I feel like the story they WANTED to tell would have been very intriguing, but sadly they didn't know how to tell it. Maybe they can revisit this in a decade or two when they've learned their craft a bit more. I'd pay to see that.
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An eerily creepy vibe permeates the entire film, and though it's nominally set as a horror film, the terror is more in the eye of the beholder than anything experienced on screen. An opening narrative of a young girl who achieves 'second sight', is expanded in the story to include one of the protagonists. Gretel (Sophia Lillis) becomes an unwitting benefactor of the dark knowledge shared by an old witch (Alice Krige), who's influence over the girl requires separation from her younger brother Hansel (Samuel Leakey). Hallucinogenic mushrooms, mysterious shadowy figures in the forest, and the apparition of a 'pink hat girl' all contribute to Gretel's understanding of where her mission lies after being turned out from her home by a widowed mother who no longer has the room or patience for her children. At times, the viewer is left wondering, like Gretel, whether what's occurring in the picture is reality or a dream, until suddenly being jolted back to Gretel's awareness of her surroundings. Eventually, events in the story conspire to bring Gretel full circle to the realization that she's become a witch in her own right, but instead of using her second sight for a malign purpose, she frees the spirits of the old witch's captive children, and sends her brother on a path to find his own destiny. It's a unique take on the classic fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel, with a creative variation on the twist of pushing a witch into an oven.
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amypjs1 February 2020I have so many questions about this movie, but I'll narrow it down to 3 questions: 1. Was that a zombie??? Why??????? 2. Gretel just yeets Hansel out of her life so she can be ~witchy~ and do ~witchy~ things??? 3. WHY WAS GRETEL THE ONLY PERSON IN THE MOVIE WITHOUT AN ENGLISH ACCENT???
Anyway, watch if you want. Wasn't the worst movie I've seen, but I wasn't a fan. -
seen1956-587-98892028 April 2020A film that you can fill in the blanks from your own imagination. Loosely following the story Hansel and Gretel. The soundtrack certainly adds to the film. It's not an ott typical USA film. Using the fantastic scenery of Ireland, that can be made to be very haunting. My only criticism is sometimes the sound of dialogue is not clear enough and difficult to understand a few mumbled lines. Otherwise watchable.
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claudio_carvalho22 April 2020The poor girl Gretel (Sophia Lillis) and his little brother Hansel (Samuel J. Leakey) are left by their mother and they must cross a dark wood seeking out work and food. They stumble upon a house with a feast on the table and Hansel opens the door to get some food. Out of the blue, an old woman (Alice Krige) surprises the little boy and offers a job to the siblings. But soon the smart Gretel feels that something evil lives in the house.
"Gretel & Hansel" is a film slightly based on the Brothers Grimm's fairytale. The wonderful cinematography is impressive, the cast is great, but the pointless screenplay does not help. The pace is also too slow for the genre. My vote is five.
Title (Brazil): "Maria e João: O Conto das Bruxas" ("Mary and John: The Witch Tale") -
Ahmedsalem3931 February 2020This movie was beautiful, dark, and suspenseful. the cinematography is just... amazing. this movie isn't your ordinary the conjuring or IT type of movie, its a movie that will let you leaving the theatre with a lot of questions. if you love movies like the witch, midsommar, or hereditary, gretel and hansel will definitely grab your attention.
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Parentalguide4431 January 2020When the most memorable part of a movie is how many times characters 'oink' like pigs, it's not a good thing. The movie is pretty. That's about it. The story goes nowhere, the plot is unengaging, and I was left underwhelmed. The film tries too hard to be artsy, stylish, and taken serious. Unfortunately, this makes the movie feel slow and pointless. Movies should evoke emotion, making the audience feel something- whether it be sadness, fear, or excitement, etc. This one felt equivalent to sitting in a 3 hour long college lecture on cinematography. I'm not gonna say don't see this movie, but I will say that if you REALLY want to see it, I recommend you wait until you can rent/stream it to save your money and potentially time if you decide to turn it off.
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kosmasp24 July 2020The only thing (apart from the title), I knew going into this, was that this was supposed to be trash. Now I like me some trash movies from time to time, so I was prepared for that. Turns out that's not the case at all. Actually this is more of an art excercise than anything else. Anything else also including the Hansel & Gretel stories we know - which the title switch of the names might be the first indicator of.
That's not all that is different - certain aspects seem to be as you may have seen them in other movies, but the majority of the movie dares to be different. In a lot of ways - character wise, story wise, setting wise, incidents wise ... Now that should answer the question some might have had, about the necessity of the movie: are there not enough of these already? Well apparently you can spin this another way - and it works.
Now having said that, it is surely not without flaws, yet the fact it goes places you probably don't expect it to go, handles horror in a way I personally prefer to the in your face jump scares (it is about mood and setting it) and how it is shot (visually) is quite exceptional! You have to be in the mood for this type of film and some may have issues with the pacing - but you can't please everyone anyway! -
tvdvaart31 January 2020During the movie, a couple of people left the theater. I think those were the kind of people who don't know what a good film looks like. If you appreciate good acting, suspense, cinematography and a very spooky vibe during a whole movie, you should definitely go see Gretel & Hansel. However, if you go and expect a movie like The Conjuring or IT, I can only say one thing "don't go".
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robfollower31 January 2020I enjoy atmospheric, visual-driven horror films. Gretel & Hansel delivers both aspects in spades.
After the death of their father and the mental break-down of their mother, Gretel (Sophia Lillis) and her younger brother Hansel find themselves lost and alone. As they wander, a virtuous huntsman directs them to a woodsman's family that will care for them, if they can safely traverse the foreboding forest - which is the abode of a mysterious witch (Alice Krige).
The director of "The Blackcoat's Daughter" and "I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House," Oz Perkins is certainly a fan of scary movies. He's not one to embrace shock value by using cheap jolts, I applaud him for that. Wisely embracing a sinister creep of malevolent forces as they attempt to corrupt the seemingly pure. "Gretel & Hansel is a proper fit for Osgood Perkins, presenting us with a disturbing tale of caution. I very much enjoyed the art-house sensibilities . The visuals are suitably baroque and sinister. Very clever cinematography Oz Perkins adds to his horror films. 'Gretel & Hansel' has Perkins stamp throughout the film. Sophia Lillis made a phenomenal impact with her work in this film she is so talented . Albeit I love a costume period piece , Sophia Lillis missteps not speaking with a foreign accent to match the other lead characters ; the lack of one took me out of the intended period setting. I do not think this would be a huge deal for most it is my pet peeve watching a Period horror flick set in the 1300 century in the Baltic states. The thematically stylistic sense of dread outweighed my slight quibble. Gretel & Hansel is a very stunning film with plenty of visual flourishes and memorable imagery.
The film was very served by South African actress Alice Krige, she was excellent. Perkins bathing in his mood of tight aspect ratio, and his love of Alice Krige, who's handed every opportunity to act her heart out as the wrinkled, black-fingered antagonist witch. "Gretel & Hansel" has its gruesome moments and is worth a watch for the arthouse sensibilities & classic Gothic fiction. I think most fans of the genre will, at the very least, appreciate this film for what it is. 7/10 -
indonesia-6905131 January 2020I know the story as a kid, and I went in expecting this to be scary and totally different from the story as a kid, the same as they have turned other childhood stories into horror films. This film missed a lot of opportunities to develop the story to make it a great horror film. It was very boring, confusing and not scary at all. It seem like it was a prequel to a much bigger story. I wouldn't waste my money going to the theater to see this, wait until it hits DVD or a streaming app.
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MovieDude3131 January 2020Absolutely awful, insulting to be in the horror genre, nothing about this film was scary or horrifying. First movie i ever considered walking out on or falling asleep to. Only good thing i can say is the witch was perfectly. Movie was extremely slow paced and never picks up at all, truly dreadful and waste of money. Even the music choice was awful, robotic techno sounds like i was watching tron
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maxim-delaet2 February 2020Most people rate this super low because they have no clue what's good, what's bad and how to properly review a movie. Their standard of a good movie and reason to view this one: "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters" is one of the biggest disasters I've ever seen. The only reason I watched this one in theater, is in fact because people who liked crappy movies like Witch Hunters were apparently hating on this one. Great reviewers actually called this movie "decent", while metacritics even tend to use the word "good" reviewing this!
And YES, this movie definitely beat all others of its kind, which isn't really a difficult accomplishment on its own. The acting, word plays, and atmosphere were good. The directing and scenery overall was decent to say the least. Somehow, it felt like the movie missed something though...
**MINOR SPOILER** There was some unused potential in the pink capped daughter slash main character of the evil fairy tale. As well as the cat that drew some attention throughout the movie, but just seems to be an ordinary cat.
Overall, it was a good, not yet great movie. Nothing Oscar worthy, but definitely something to remember! -
Kirpianuscus5 May 2020...because the only important thing is the atmosphere in every adaptation of a classic fairy tale. The story is familiar and it is almost impossible for director to give to the viewer his expected story version. And the film gives a honest perspective about a world who lives, from decades in ourselves, serves, in beautiful manner, difficult themes, propose the fair supports for reflection . I do not expecting a horror, a fantasy, a moral lesson. Only a new side of a fairy tale Not original but decent. And Gretel and Hansel is a good one.Because, in simple and precise way, gives the tools for understand yours stories. Because, more than a fairy tale, it becomes, scene by scene, a parable. Because the special effects is well used , the tension is delicate buided, the end is the fair one. And the performances are real good. A film of brotherhood , life purpose and black fingers.
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Well this movie has nothing to do with Hansel and Gretel really they just used the name to get publicity. Hansel seems like an afterthought in this movie without no real impact.
The movie is really really boring and even though it is only 87 minutes it feels like a life time. This movie is like a dj who keeps building up and up and up but it never drops the beat never and you end up blue.
Buying couple beers will provide much more entertainment for you than watching this. -
TwistedContent8 April 2020Oz Perkins, director of the overlooked spookfest called "The Blackcoat's Daughter" (and "I Am the Pretty Thing that Lives in the House" which I regretfully haven't seen yet), serves up a new rendition of Grimm Brothers' fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel" with a twist - it's now called "Gretel and Hansel". Suppose they wanted the female character to be named first. Jokes aside, "Gretel & Hansel" is a visually arresting and atmospherically (really trying to be) rich horror tale with a script so lacking it hurts.
I wonder what did Osgood think when he read the script by Rob Hayes, for whom this was the debut in writing a full feature. It seems to me that the director has truly tried to fill a rather eventless script with his by-now-trademark-style (admittedly, the assumption comes from comparing only two movies) atmospheric shock devices. I cannot think of a better word than "spooky" - Perkins definitely has find his own interesting and effective filmmaking approach to horror. The story - which we all more or less know - has been spiced up a little, but the problem is that it halts to a long and nearly tedious stop already after the first act. The first half an hour is arguably the most entertaining one & the ever-awaited witch only appears at the end of it. Gretel and Hansel even trip balls on some fly agaric. After the repetitive and streteched-out second act, the third delivers a little more of the goodies and an perhaps unexpected ending, that's not to say it's very satisfying. "Gretel & Hansel" possesses two great cards, one of which are the performances by a decent ensemble of actors, from which the highlight belongs to Alice Krige in the skin of the witchy witch. The other card is by far the strongest and that is the all-around amazing visual design of the movie, from extraordinary-feeling cinematography to perfect coloring, good editing & subtly odd but interesting original score. Also, as far as pg13 horror movies usually go, this one's one of the most serious and limit-reaching I've seen.
It's the screenplay that punches itself in the nose with its uneven nature, lack of any real substance and a few silly dialogue lines as a bonus. I suppose the apparent and consistent female perspective does wonders for some viewers, but those changes did not save the movie. Other than that, a great art-house fairy tale if You just give it a chance. My rating: 6/10. -
kdogg-646131 February 2020Slow. Boring. Stupid. No payoff. At least 2 people in the theater were snoring. They were the lucky ones.
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Once upon a time (1970), I went to the Dutch fairytale park the Efteling for the first time, and I felt so scared, seeing the witch at the Hansel & Gretel's house 😨👦. That's how fairytales used to be, and -to my opinion- should be told. Intensely funny, touching, and sometimes creepy. Oz Perkins' (direction and co-writing) Gretel and Hansel Movie is free from the moral and peaceful Disney layers, and goes as dark as needed. And that's good because, as the outdated leader logo of producer Orion symbolizes, this must be a low(er) budget production. Only a handful of actors and a compact filming location... it comes down to acting and visuals. The colouring and photography is well chosen and visually attractive, supportive. The dialogues are not quite exciting, the narration is sometimes even tacky, but acting is performed well by the talented and bright Samuel Leakey (Hansel), cheeky/evil smiling Sophia Lillis (IT Movie) as Gretel and especially by Alice Krige (Silent Hill and the Borg queen in Star Trek) as witch Holda. This fairytale is a good take on the classic Brothers Grimm story, but Perkins & Hayes wrote it also as pilgrimage, a self development portrait of the adolescent Gretel, dealing with talents and her sweet little brother, in her way.
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view_and_review2 February 2020The struggle was real. It was a constant fight to stay awake. Twice I succumbed to the Sandman only to wake up in the same dream. "Gretel & Hansel" tried to put me out again but I was determined to stay awake and torture myself.
There's no mystery what the premise of this movie is about. Everyone knows the age old story of "Hansel & Gretel." A young brother and sister go into the woods, they find a house made of delicious treats, they eat from the house, get captured by a witch who fattens them up to eat them except they escape and kill her.
The story has been retold, remixed, and redone several times both literarily and cinematically. The last cinematic version I saw was with Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton in "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" (2013). That was more of a Hansel & Gretel the adult years where they hunt other witches to prevent other kids from getting eaten or worse.
This version tries to go the scary route. It was dark and ominous the majority of the movie. They also wanted to give it a new age spin by making Gretel the main focus as you can probably gather by the title: "Gretel & Hansel." They have followed the Hollywood trend of other movies that have taken known and established stories or franchises and remade them to have a feminine focus. Look no further than "Star Wars," "Terminator," "Ghostbusters," "Ocean's 11," and others. It's lazy and it's a disservice. The movies are trash--not because they are feminine centric, but because writers are just rehashing something that has made goo gobs of money and gave them heroines as though that is somehow fresh, radical, or unique. It's none of those. It's tired, lazy, and lame. Do something new and original and maybe, just maybe, it will be good.
In "Gretel & Hansel" Gretel was the older sister and, for the most part, caretaker of Hansel. While wandering the woods in a state of near starvation they found the witch's house. The witch was a child eater, but she only wanted to eat Hansel and not Gretel. In Gretel she saw power and wanted to help her cultivate that power. Hansel, as the witch explained, was only weighing Gretel down. If she would only let him go, then she would be free. Read: if women would only discard the shackles known as men then they could realize their true potential. That same message was intimated elsewhere in the movie when Gretel called the witch "misses" and the witch said, "I'm not married. Do you see a ball and chain on me."
If the message wasn't clear enough from the two aforementioned examples, then there were three men in the movie to make the "male bad, female good" message stronger. Of the three men, one was morally reprehensible, one was some sort of animal, and one was chivalrous. So, two of the three men were dangerous while one was good. If that was analogous to real life then that's sad. I only hope that I'm of the 1/3rd that are good.
Gretel finds the strength to save her brother from being eaten, but she also lets him go. The boy was all of nine years old at the oldest and yet he is a male so she had to cut him loose to be the goddess she was meant to be. It's a pathetic retelling of a classic in which neither Hansel nor Gretel was the dominant character. Maybe one day Hollywood writers will be creative for a change. And maybe pigs will fly. -
I watched the trailer and it looks like a well staged movie. Then I came to Imdb to my surprise, so many bad reviews. I was skeptical but yet I give it a try. The movie itself is captured beautifully, props to the cameraman, almost every scene is an art of some sort.
The story itself, I can say, a bit slow paced, but storyline was good. There are plots that made me wonder, but all are answered in the end. Overall an enjoying remake of Hansel and Gretel with a little bit of twist at the end. DO NOT TRUST THE POORLY RATED REVIEWS!!!
At minimum I'd say around 6.5/10. But for me I loved it so 8/10. -
jimmyhoover-558618 February 2020It was about time for another, more serious adaptation of Hansel and Gretel. It's long been one of my favorites of the Grimm's cannon and it lends itself the easier to a horror adaptation. Unfortunately, this one doesn't always go as dark as it probably should and trades in scares for coming of age drama, long silences, some inaudible dialogue (a la The Witch), and endless dream sequences.
If you like dream sequences, you're in luck, because there are about 400 of them here. I think we spend more time with Gretel in her dreams than we do with her in reality. There's also some very questionable and unneeded narration by her character throughout that just annoys more than informs.
Visually, the film is practically perfect. The set design, costumes, lighting, and shot composition create quite the unnerving mood that the script constantly struggles with. Make no mistake about it - the technical aspects of the film are the highlight and it's a classic case of style over substance. The script never really seems to know what it's trying to say or accomplish. There are a few attempts at girl power feminism, but it feels undercooked and more like pandering than anything meaningful about female nature.
By the time the film finally comes to life, it's already over and you might feel a bit underwhelmed. It might still be worth seeing for production design and cinematography hounds. -
asosa-2659831 January 2020This movie was somewhat disappointing. I did, however, liked the cinematography in this film. The acting was great as well. The problem with the movie is that, it didnt have much going for this movie. I did not connect with the characters in this film and it seemed very plain as far as the story went. I wont spoil anything here but it felt like this could have been much more in my opinion. But, i guess i shouldnt of expected too much from a horror movie in January.