Gretel & Hansel (Review)
Disney could stand to take a few notes from Gretel & Hansel, because it’s the first really good live-action fairy tale that I’ve seen in years. The story might be simple, but the film introduces enough new elements to the classic story to make it worthy of the big-screen adaptation. Of course, there is a fair amount of padding and the film’s slow pacing goes a long way in stretching it out without bogging it down. Those elements carry Gretel & Hansel deep into the realm of horror which is exactly where Grimms’ Fairy Tales belonged.
Gretel & Hansel tells the classic tale of two siblings, Gretel (Sophia Lillis) and Hansel (Samuel Leakey), who find themselves lost in the woods. Luckily, they come across a cabin before they starve and find a kind old woman (Alice Krige) living inside. She takes pity on the two and feeds them plenty of good food and gives them work to do around her home. Grateful as they are, Gretel can’t help feeling suspicious due to her paranoia that no good deed is ever done without ulterior motives. Her suspicions prove correct as she learns the kind woman is actually a witch. The real question is if she’s a good witch or a bad witch, and what she really has planned for the two children.
Director Osgood Perkins (AKA Oz Perkins) creates a hauntingly surreal aesthetic in Gretel & Hansel. Most notably through the use of intense artificial light. The film is filled with harsh yellow and blue light streaming through windows. It’s quite a contrast to the gray overcast skies that we see outside of the witch’s cabin in “the real world.” Within it though there’s a dream-like atmosphere thanks to not just the lighting, but the darkness that seems to always keep the details just a little too blurry to make out. Just as Gretel starts to question the good samaritan’s true motives, we question just where reality ends and the witch’s illusions begin. It’s incredibly effective at creating a dark fantasy effect that Grimms’ Fairy Tales were known for.
This mood also bleeds into all the other production values of Gretel & Hansel. There’s a general sense that the film takes place in medieval times, but there’s nothing to really place the time period or location. Instead, it feels like it is set in a parallel fantasy world. The clothing is puritan in nature with the women wearing long sleeve dresses and impressive hats. The few men that appear also get some spiffy headwear, most notably the Huntsman (Charles Babalola). The witch’s cabin straddles the line between beautiful and unsettling. The ambiance goes a long way in selling the fairy-tale elements of the film and creates a constant sense of foreboding that never becomes too oppressive. The actors take full advantage of this to tell a truly creepy tale.
I really liked Sophia Lillis in the two recent It movies and I’m glad to see that she’s sticking with the horror genre. She brings a withdrawn and skeptical quality to Gretel, which makes her narrations insightful and foreboding. Her caution and suspicion throughout the film is infectious and leaves the audience feeling just as wary as her character. In contrast, Alice Krige has an air of serene overconfidence in her character. She is unphased by anything and speaks with a sense that her words are never simply mere suggestions. Toss in the fact that her shawl and striking features give her an almost inhuman look, and it is easy for her to sell the creepy aspects of her witchy character. The two circle each other like prizefighters sizing one another up before finally throwing punches in the final act. It’s a short-lived battle, but that anticipation makes it a worthwhile one.
Gretel & Hansel isn’t exactly scary, but it is really creepy. It’s a well-crafted film that’s much more about creating a sense of storytelling than trying to scare the pants off you. I found myself engulfed by the film, fascinated by every aspect of it. The slow pacing means that it’s more about making your hairs stand on end rather than trying to make you jump out of your seat. It’s more along what I would call an art-house horror movie, a cult classic in the making. Gretel & Hansel is a far cry from exciting, but it’s wonderfully ominous and I wish there were more films that focused on creating such intense moods. I’m not sure I’ll be rushing to watch Gretel & Hansel again anytime soon, but I’m glad that I got a chance to see it.
