Imperfect, but I enjoyed it (spoilers)
Everyone knows the story of Hansel and Gretel. It’s been retold in a variety of ways over the years, most recently by Tommy Wirkola as a bonkers action fantasy starring Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton. It heads into more conventional sinister fairytale territory in this adaptation from director Oz Perkins (‘The Blackcoat’s Daughter’, ‘I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House’) that puts Gretel first in the title.
In order to fill out a feature film adaptation of Hansel and Gretel, you have to come up with a lot of other elements than the very basic story provides. 'Gretel & Hansel' fills the void with feminist themes, unnerving silence, plenty of suspense, and a folksy kind of horror. Fast cuts, creepy violin cues, and unsettling country imagery ensue, making the Brothers Grimm’s story a little darker.
The sets, the Argento-esque visuals and camerawork via cinematographer Galo Olivares, the music by Rob (who also scored Coralie Fargeat’s ‘Revenge’)? All A+. What an absolutely gorgeous and stylish movie. It oozes atmosphere, using surreal and strange choices to really bring the fairy tale elements to the forefront - it really drew me into the world quickly. All three lead actors (and Jessica De Gouw, in a smaller role) are great as well, with Alice Krige being particularly captivating. She is never overtly menacing, never raises her voice, but her character just seems off from the jump.
Criticisms are similarly difficult to nail down. It felt like everyone involved in the making of the movie set out to do an “A24” sort of film, but failed to commit fully to the idea. The result doesn’t land as effectively.
Think ‘Saint Maud’, ‘Midsommar’ and ‘Hereditary’. An A24 horror film is patient, atmospheric, often esoteric. They're nothing like the pop-culture/main-stream sort of horror movies, that rely on quips and jump scares and simplistic supernatural elements. These pop-horror movies - after you've seen them a time or two and know where all the "scary moments" are - tend to become tedious and boring. You realize that there have long stretches of nothing in between fleeting “moments” (literally) of scares.
In comparison, A24 films create a feeling of dread and rely on a palpable, unshakable mood to keep the audience unsettled. These movies are often able to be revisited time and again, with that same foreboding and unsettling feeling coming back every time you watch. When you watch jump-scare horror films like ‘The Conjuring’ or ‘Annabelle’ or ‘The Nun’ enough times, you know when every scary moment is going to happen, so you're not scared anymore. Can it really be called a horror film at that point? You’re just kind of sitting through it. But I can watch ‘Midsommar’ for the umpteenth time and still be unsettled by it.
‘Gretel & Hansel’ wants to be an A24-sort of horror movie. It has long, slow takes, a lot of slightly unnatural, almost dreamlike, dialogue, bizarre imagery with little explanation, and a moody atmosphere. Where the film stumbles is in the failure to wholly embrace those ideas. It's made with a lot of confidence but I wonder if a desire to be more accessible didn't interfere with Oz Perkins' vision for the movie. Gretel’s narration, in particular, felt out of place (unlike the narration in ‘I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House’). I also would have preferred that it kept things more ambiguous, like ‘The Blackcoat’s Daughter’.
The movie feels like a slightly missed opportunity, one that could have been close to becoming a cult favourite, had it only been a little more daring. But if you liked ‘The Witch’, ‘The Lighthouse’, ‘It Follows’ or ‘The Babadook’, you’ll enjoy ‘Gretel & Hansel’, too. It’s slow, spooky, and moves at a steady crawl towards a satisfying ending. It definitely isn’t a meal for everyone, but it is a nice pallet cleanser from the endless buffet of Blumhouse and ‘The Conjuring’ films that audience’s are force fed throughout the year.
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