I also checked out yet another January horror flick called Gretal and Hansel. Based on the folklore but aiming to alter the original’s themes and plot, this film was dumped because odds of it being a crowd favorite are low. But odds of it possibly gathering an audience once people realize it’s a deliberately out-there emo mood piece that has no interest in being mass entertainment.
So Gretel and Hansel follows the basic plot of the folk lore. The brother and sister live in a time of famine and are sent from their home, in this case to find an apprenticeship with others (and, who knows, maybe to die in the woods). They quickly stumble upon the (non-food-based) home of a witch who offers them feasts and a place to stay before they venture on. Soon Gretel is ensorcelled by promises of power and Hansel goes missing.
So this is a confusing movie. On the one hand, it’s an impressively gothic movie that oozes the feel of an old country forest. The atmosphere has a surreal dreamlike feel. It’s a remarkably good looking film. On the other hand, the dialog is sometimes just terrible and the good cast struggles to make it work. The movie reminds me of The Witch with how that movie committed to ole-timey dialog. But this movie feels like the screenwriter thought they could reproduce that dialog but failed. And then would occasionally throw in dialog that feels far too modern (the witch drops something on the ground and says, “well, that bit the dust”).
The frustration with the dialog carries into the cast. Gretel is played by Sophia Lillis who played the young Bev in the recent It films and she’s really good in those. But half the time her line readings in this film are stilted and unconvincing. But I’m not sure if that’s not unintentional since this movie just plays with tone and meaning so much. It’s possible the dialog is bad and the actress can’t handle that… it’s also possible it might be intentional. But I am sure the little boy playing Hansel is just a bad actor (take that, 8 year old!). But the witch it played by Alice Krige and she’s very haunting and mysterious.
There’s also a bit of (probably intentional?) confusion about where and when this movie is taking place. Pretty sure it’s not medieval Germany… but it could even be colonial America. Certainly nobody has a consistent accent and the houses and clothing are uncertain too. Plus the music occasionally slips into 80s synth when it’s being particularly phantasmagorical. Again, I think this is all intentional… but maybe it’s not.
One thing I will say for sure is that this movie is a slow burn. If you aren’t the type of person who has any interest in slow, ponderous, mystical, dream-like storytelling, this movie will totally turn you off. If you like a feeling of dread and don’t mind if the story doesn’t always follow a logical flow, you might find the drifty, Gothic, surrealism will just carry you along.
This isn’t a great movie but I think I enjoyed it. If it weren’t for the acting and the possibility the dialog was written by someone who thought they knew what they were doing (but didn’t), I’d highly recommend it. Or maybe I just didn’t “get it”. I dunno… I can say it sets a goth mood and sticks with it to the end. So credit to the dedication. It’s a mild recommendation, dependent on your taste.
Score: 81