Gretel & Hansel

A beautifully dark fairy tale in an ethereal atmosphere which, with the right choice of lenses, marvellous photography and an overall simple but effective fantasy imagery, develops into a fascinating gothic gem.

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.

Não entendo o motivo das pessoas não gostarem desse filme, ele é bem assustador e tem excelentes atuações, um figurino espetacular, e o enredo é excelente, só acho que as vezes é um pouco confuso e a Gretel é meio sem noção, mas fora isso, o filme é incrível.

Uneventful and bland. Hard to stay engaged.

The cinematography of this film is splendid, and the actors are sensational, particularly G&H despite, or perhaps because of, their youth. Overall, a very satisfying reboot of a classic cannibalism story. My full review is at: https://thecannibalguy.com/2021/01/24/gretel-and-hansel-2020/

Amazing cinematography and sound design can't make up for the paper-thin scenario at the core of the experience. It sure does look pretty though.