Gretel & Hansel

“Tell me the fairy tale again.”

Filmology Rating: 3.25 out of 4

‘Gretel & Hansel’ is the the one-hundred and eighth adaptation of 'Hansel and Gretel.' This time around, Oz Perkins (Quigley) and Orion Pictures gets a crack at it. Orion Pictures' last film was the 'Child's Play' remake from last year, which I was very fond of.

A young girl leads her little brother into a dark wood in desperate search of food and work, only to stumble upon a witch and her cabin of sweets.

Oz Perkins is probably one of the most underrated names working in horror today. I would highly suggest seeing 'The Blackcoat's Daughter' and 'Quigley,' which is a horror film in its self.

This is probably one of the best horror films I've seen in many years. Though I loved this film, it does have some issues.

The cinematography of this film is utterly spectacular. The use of very wide angle lenses creates this visually distorted world that become a character in itself. It lends to an atmosphere that feels just slightly off-kilter and the ceiling of tension is constantly pressing down on the audience. The usage of color is utilized so beautifully to create this very cinematic world of contrast in the tighter aspect ratio of 1.55:1 that contributes to this claustrophobic nature of the film.

The pacing of the film is admittedly very slow, but that is why the film works. It moves at such a creaking pace to let the audience dissect the frame and soak in the atmosphere that you become transported into. And I'm sure the pacing is the reason why audiences hate this film. "It was boring and nothing happened." The lack of "stuff" in the film I found to be relieving. So many horror films today are so dependent on jump scares every ten minutes to keep you awake that something like 'Gretel and Hansel' felt like such a one-eighty turn.

The swapping of the title from 'Hansel and Gretel' to 'Gretel and Hansel' also contributes to the idea that this is a feminist-driven film. This is no 'Captain Marvel' in that regard, but one that's actually done correctly. It's a film that has that subtext there, but there is more than you can take away and interpret from a film like 'Gretel and Hansel' than 'Captain Marvel.

The score is also something to praise because it is not your typical horror movie score. Instead, it adds this delicate score under some scenes with Gretel to display her coming-of-age story. I found the score beautiful.

One of the issues I had with the film was the constant need to constantly tell the audience what was happening. Gretel has these internal monologues that spell out exactly what was happening and it felt like a studio mandate at the very last second so that the less-intelligent members of the audience, who are used to 'The Conjuring' movies, would understand what was happening.

I'm still troubled by the criticism of a lack of story. 'The Witch' from a few years ago had almost less story than 'Gretel and Hansel' and other critics, as well as myself, praised the film. There was also very little character in 'The Witch' as well. So the criticism just feels odd because of how creative and distinct 'Gretel and Hansel' truly is. In fact, 'The Witch' and 'Gretel and Hansel' are kind of similar...

I'm not the type of hack critic to call a film "an instant classic," but I can definitely see this film having a strong cult following because it has such a strong vision behind the camera.

I loved this film so much that a very rare thing happened to me in theater, I teared up. Not because it was "sad," but because of how beautiful the movie was and I felt like I was watching a film made by someone who loved film. It was during a very small moment where Gretel was experimenting with something given to her on a tree. The score, the subtext, and the visuals combined made for a truly beautiful cinematic moment.

This is one of the best-looking films I've seen in a long time (other than '1917'), it's a great horror film that doesn't rely on jump scares -- but instead actual creepy and creative visuals, the atmosphere is eerie, the acting is flawless, and the pacing is perfect. It's a film that managed to physically move me to the edge of my seat.

Rating: See It

-Nolan