Look, in this movie, Hansel and Gretel trip out on some magic mushrooms at one point early on in the film, and I think that’s about when I fell in love with it. I mean, what’s not to like about that? Although, jokes aside, there is a bit of a hurdle that I’m sure most mainstream moviegoers will have to deal with when it comes to the brand new take on the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale. And it’s all rooted in the sensibilities of the man behind the camera, Oz Perkins, who is working alongside writer, Rob Hayes, with the adaptation.
For anyone who hasn’t seen Perkins’ previous films, The Blackcoat’s Daughter and I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House, he has a very particular way of pacing out his films. They linger, they’re patient, and things often quietly reveal themselves in ways that leave a lot of room for interpretation. He is not the kind of guy who you’d expect to make a wide release horror film, but I guess you could have said the same about Nicolas Pesce with The Grudge, but all you gotta do is look at that big fat F Cinemascore to see how that turned out. If you are familiar with Perkins’ filmography, the slow burn of Gretel & Hansel will not be surprising.
Anyway, moving on – first impressions of Gretel & Hansel will likely draw comparisons to The Witch, but I think those comparisons are largely superficial, and mostly due to it’s slightly similar aspect ratio, which is 1.55:1, and the use of language. The foundation of the film is less like The Witch in the sense that it feels very much set in a fairy tale world, and the dialogue is not going so much for staunch realism as much as it goes for a vibe that is more lyrical and theatrical, long winded at times, but amusing in their construction.
As the title indicates, this take on the material focuses more on Gretel (Sophia Lillis), and by casting her much older than her brother Hansel (Sam Leakey), it explores the story through a coming-of-age lens while still providing the chills you’d expect from the story. Here, a famine is overtaking the land, and their tormented mother scares them away. They head into the woods to find shelter, work, and food, and they eventually come upon a seemingly helpful woman, Holda (Alice Krige), who invites them in her place to feast. But Holda seems to have other things in mind.
The setup is classic, but the details place some interesting twists to the story we know. By tackling it like a coming-of-age story, the film becomes all about how Gretel comes into her own as a woman, and finds the bravery to face against the darkness and cruelty in the world, even touching on the idea of whether she herself is capable of the same kind of darkness – particularly the kind people that kids will talk about in folk tales. It’s a distinctly feminine spin on the material, and while the execution of those themes are a tad on the clunky side – mostly because of some unnecessary narration, it works because of how strong everything else it.
The film is beautifully made. The production design is stellar, bringing a nasty, tactile quality to every nook and cranny, especially in Holda’s house. Each shot is meticulously composed and staged for maximum spookiness, with every sequence having a moment where the frame is made to look like it’s taken directly from a page in a picture book of the fairy tale. It’s all enhanced by the ominous score by Rob, and the eclectic performances from the cast, who take dialogue that might sound stilted on the page, and turn it into something memorable and eerie.
Gretel & Hansel is 100% my jam, but I get why that might not end up being the case for some folks out there. It’s leisurely pacing might be too much, the dialogue might come across as too unnatural to connect with, and the ending might leave some puzzled. However, I was enthralled practically from frame one. There wasn’t a single moment where I wasn’t admiring something on the screen, be it a performance, the sets, the score, a thematic idea, or the composition of a certain shot. The style of it is certainly what carries the film, but while some might see that as a downside, I think it further enhances everything the filmmakers were going for, and it makes for a deeply impactful and memorable cinematic experience.