Gretel and Hansel Movie Review

This ain’t your Brothers Grimms’ original fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel

Gretel and Hansel was directed by Oz Perkins and written by Rob Hayes.

The very first thing I noticed about the movie is, of course, the title. I like that it listed Gretel’s name first, which was a big hint that this movie was focused on the sister’s perspective and adventures in the tale, played convincingly by Sophia Lillis and her little brother Hansel was played by Samuel Leakey.

The Look and Feel of Gretel and Hansel is Very Dark, Shadowy, Gloomy and Spooky, just like a Haunted Forest Movie should look like…

It was filmed in Dublin, Ireland and re-shoots were done in British Columbia, Canada, so maybe that’s why it has such a great authentic look.

This is a serious fairytale y’all. If you didn’t know the original story, here is the summary of the new version “Gretel and Hansel”:

Gretel and Hansel’s family has fallen onto really hard times, with their father, a wood cutter, recently dying who was the family’s only breadwinner, and the mother is left half-crazy with grief and strife, because the land they live on is practically barren. There are no crops growing, and it’s believed the land is cursed by the nearby Witch of the Forest. There is so much folklore surrounding the area, and really scary tales of children that go missing, and other wicked stories being passed around on the regular between the woodland people.

This makes the outlook for anyone that lives in the populated wooded area quite depressing, and the woodland people are leaving one by one to find a better way of life. At this point, Gretel and Hansel’s mother is totally distraught, at the predicament that they are literally starving to death. So the mother sends the older child Gretel to town to apply for a job with one of the rich men seeking household help. Gretel goes on the interview only to be told that the man did not want to hire her for housemaid services—he just wanted “services”. Gretel who is a mere 16-year-old innocent teen, a good girl so to speak, turns the nasty old man down flat.

When Gretel returns home and conveys the news to her mother, the mother goes completely off! She put Gretel out, and threatened to kill her if she didn’t leave—so Woohoo!!! Gretel was scared to death, and realized she had to leave her childhood home, but she takes her little brother Hansel along with her because she clearly realizes her mother is incapable of taking care of either one of them.

Gretel’s plan is to find shelter, food and work for she and her brother, as they look for opportunities while traveling through the Spooky Forest.

And, lo and behold, they do come upon a kind stranger who not only feeds them, beds them for a night, and then leads them directly towards the witches’ home...

As the children come upon the Witch’s cottage, through the windows Gretel and Hansel can clearly see a plethora of food and desserts, cakes cookies all laid out… y’all know the tale, the witch offered everything a starving child could want and more.

All they had to do was a little work around the house "Holda", the Witch of the Forest, who was portrayed effortlessly by the great Alice Krige, who wanted to keep Gretel and Hansel against their wishes for her own evil purposes.

Alice Krige brought Witch Holda’s character to life…

And, when I first saw her appear on the screen, I definitely believed she was a witch—she is excellent in this role! Alice Krige happens to be one of those really great actresses that appear in very memorable productions, such as the female Ghost in the movie Ghost Story, a super scary flick that came out in 1981, and she was in Chariots of Fire, and I recall she was in Mary Shelley’s Haunted Summer. Listen up—in Gretel and Hansel, “the Witch” is pinnacle—and, when you see her on screen, you’ll agree that without Alice Krige, specifically as Witch Holda, it could not have been made any scarier.

After working awhile in the home for the Witch, Gretel and Hansel soon start to get very suspicious of all the delicious foods, the easy life, and even some spooky sightings of ghost, etc. They then decide that they need to trick the witch and leave, and you know the rest—or so you think…

LAST THOUGHTS

Gretel and Hansel is a very good movie. I thought the twist of telling the tale from the perspective of Gretel was very cool, and it also has another nice twist ending….

If you like spooky folklore, this move is definitely worth seeing. I give Gretel and Hansel a 3.75 out of 5. However, I thought the ending could have had, let’s say other possibilities. Yet, I do think that the twist ending left the movie open to conjecture and a quite possibly a Gretel and Hansel sequel.

Alright now, then folks, that’s it that’s all.

And, if you’ve seen the movie Gretel and Hanson, please let me know what you think in the comments, did you like the ending?

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