Gretel & Hansel

Wow, one of my favorite dark movies. The interesting thing, and I am at times out of the loop, is I have loved this movie since first watching it a few years ago. A dark, creative take on Gretel and Hansel. Such a dark, visually(I have no clue how more reviewers don't recognize this impressive part of the movie) stunning movie that moves at a pace, creating a very dark vibe. The entire cast is well-matched and enjoyable. Alice Krige as the WITCH had these dark moments of intensity where not many words the WITCH spoke much but REALLY SPOKE in delivering the scenes. Krige brings characters that give me something to take in. I hate it when a character is kind of there, kind of in it, but I want MORE. Krige's character the Witch here gives MORE, ALOT more and it felt so real. Thank you. One perhaps would wonder what ALTAR this Witch had going on well watch the movie to find out whether that happened or not. Yes, that is usually what I think in this genre of movie, ALTAR. Yet not giving cards away, you can also wonder what power base does the WITCH bring? If WITCH are powerful, can they handle it here or go nuts like Nancy in the original The Craft? So what happens with this WITCH, go watch the Gretel and Hansel movie to find out. The movie was dark, yes, but it felt AUTHENTIC. It was impressive. Yet most know this story so, well, it does have a spin even at the ending, so go watch it.

Definitely feels closer to the darker more gothic Grimm fairy tale. This truly has a female empowerment vibe too. More of the emphasis is on Gretel. She has to be the parent/sibling to Hansel since their mother kicks them to the curb. They need the money to eat so they venture out for themselves for a better life. The film is pretty harrowing given how dour the world they live in is. The cinematography is slick using almost the pan and scan ratio, the music feels like 1980s synthesizer, the backlighting is spooky, Sophia Lillis makes for a great Gretel and Alice Kriege fits the witch so wickedly. The women here don't want to feel subjected to the rules and expectations set by the men in this time period. So they decide to take out the poison on their lives their own way. Gretel wants to find her own path and to be brave. But first she has to find out why she's having these nightmarish visions. Although Hansel here is more like a prop and the Huntsman only has 1 scene. The crux of the whole thing doesn't pick up until the end. Even if this story is very familiar to most and the movie itself is just come-in-and-go it's still a lovely looking work of art. Almost like a painting of a horror story in its own right.

A very enjoyable retelling of the classic tale. Artsy and tense. By the end of the movie you have felt like you have lived through something and the audience certainly gets the ending they deserve. A satisfying, mysterious horror flick.

Exquisite visuals. Striking production design. It's incredible to look at, but the script doesn't match the caliber of the visuals.

man it was trash lost of words its just over hyped I got bored but till watched it all man take this back to the drawing bords do better wasn't even scary not a single jump scare -_- smh

Beautiful cinematography, Oz Perkins is one of the most promising director of these years !

Aesthetically superb, Gretel & Hansel relies heavily on atmosphere and allegory rather than on plot development, which may leave some viewers wanting more substance in terms of narrative progression.

"Gretal & Hansel" from Osgood Perkins, is beautifully shot in manner that becomes memorizing with it's eerie & often unsettling atmospheric setting, lost deep in the woods. All supported by two excellent leading performances from Sophia Lillis & the experienced, Alice Krige.

The screenplay is a bit thin but Perkins adds so much visual complexity that it almost completely negates the somewhat pedestrian plot.

Based on the Grimm folk tale, Gretel & Hansel follows the titular kids as they are sent away by their troubled mother and are left to fend for themselves in the woods. On their way to a potential shelter, they encounter a house where an old woman treats them to endless feasts. This being a horror movie take on the classic tale, you'd expect director Oz Perkins to turn an already pretty gruesome story into something even more unpleasant and that's exactly what he does here. After a bizarre prologue where a young girl, who was taken to an enchantress as a baby when she fell ill, is given a power that turns into a curse when she uses it to kill others, we finally meet Gretel (Sophia Lillis) and her little brother Hansel (Sam Leakey) as they set off to meet a man who might give them a job. Unfortunately, the housekeeper position Gretel was hoping to fulfill turns out to be a lie with nefarious intent so they go home empty-handed to find their mother on the verge of sanity, threatening them to leave the house for good or else. This leads Gretel and Hansel to wonder the woods in search of food and work. One bad night later, a helpful huntsman points them to a place where they would be fed and housed. On their way there, Gretel and Hansel find a peculiar house with a slide that smells like bacon and the rest is an even darker and, well, grimmer version of the original tale. 2015's The Witch explored similar territory ​by taking classic folk tales and giving them a realistic yet brutal makeover, thereby delivering a truly odd and unnerving experience. Where that film cleverly kept you in the dark the whole time about a key element, giving things a whodunit sort of vibe, Gretel & Hansel isn't quite that subtle and, although a lot of it works really well, none of it works quite as well as it did in The Witch, except perhaps the witch herself. The ever-reliable Alice Krige is once again caked in makeup, made to look as otherworldly as possible and her witch, as a result, is quite a sight. Creepy doesn't even begin to cover that performance. This is one of the most unsettling witches in any movie and Krige does an amazing job at losing herself in such a vile character. Sophia Lillis once again proves herself to be a young actress to look out for as her Gretel is smart and strong yet innocent and scared, a sharp contrast to the very naive, younger Hansel who just goes with the flow. The film looks the part: gloomy as hell but beautifully haunting in its depiction of the woods and its dangers, with some excellent cinematography throughout and a witch's house worthy of Midsommar's yellow pyramid barn. Unfortunately, Gretel & Hansel is never quite as scary or as impactful as it could have been. This is due to a distracting electronic soundtrack, some odd character design choices (the young version of the witch shops at Hot Topic, clearly) and magic being treated like a cool superpower instead of something alien and scary. Spoilers if you haven't seen it but having Gretel develop magic herself takes a lot away from the real threat of having two little kids take on a powerful witch, so the ending lacks punch because of that and feels anti-climactic. It may not be quite as good as The Witch but Gretel & Hansel is still well worth seeing for the excellent performances by Lillis and Krige, for the moody visuals and the creepiness of it all. Tasty.