Gretel & Hansel
We all know the story of Hansel and Gretel, but what if the familiar tale was re-spun into something far more sinister, focusing not just on survival, but on the awakening of dark power? "Gretel & Hansel" is a stylish, atmospheric horror film that plunges deep into the psychological shadows of the classic Grimm fairy tale. Prepare to step into a beautifully unsettling world where hunger is not the only threat lurking in the woods—and where true evil might mirror the heroines themselves. This film reimagines the classic fairy tale as a dark, coming-of-age horror story, shifting its focus to Gretel's evolving powers. The witch, Holda, possesses a tragic and twisted backstory that connects directly to the prologue's mysterious 'beautiful child'. Critics praised the film's stunning visuals and atmospheric dread, even while acknowledging its deliberately slow pacing.
AI Summary
We all know the story of Hansel and Gretel, but what if the familiar tale was re-spun into something far more sinister, focusing not just on survival, but on the awakening of dark power? "Gretel & Hansel" is a stylish, atmospheric horror film that plunges deep into the psychological shadows of the classic Grimm fairy tale. Prepare to step into a beautifully unsettling world where hunger is not the only threat lurking in the woods—and where true evil might mirror the heroines themselves.
- This film reimagines the classic fairy tale as a dark, coming-of-age horror story, shifting its focus to Gretel's evolving powers.
- The witch, Holda, possesses a tragic and twisted backstory that connects directly to the prologue's mysterious 'beautiful child'.
- Critics praised the film's stunning visuals and atmospheric dread, even while acknowledging its deliberately slow pacing.
A Grim Reimagining
In 2020, director Osgood Perkins presented a haunting new vision of the Brothers Grimm classic, titled simply "Gretel & Hansel." This dark fantasy horror film takes the familiar story and imbues it with a pervasive sense of dread and an emphasis on supernatural elements. It garnered generally positive reviews, with its stunning visuals and unique take on horror earning significant praise.
A Dark Origin Story
The film opens not with our protagonists, but with a chilling prologue. We hear the tale of a mortally wounded baby girl, taken by her father to a witch for healing. This mystical intervention bestows upon her extraordinary powers—abilities that grow alongside a wicked nature. As an adult, this 'beautiful child' descends into murder, even killing her own father, before being imprisoned in the woods, where she begins to lure unsuspecting children to their doom.
Cast Out into the Wild
Our story then shifts to a teenage Gretel, a perceptive and protective older sister, and her younger brother, Hansel. Destitute after their father's death, their mother cruelly casts them out to find work. Gretel's refusal of a dubious housekeeping job further enrages their desperate parent, leaving the siblings with no choice but to flee into the unforgiving wilderness.
Their journey is fraught with peril. After a terrifying encounter with a ghoulish man, they are briefly aided by a kind huntsman, who sends them on their way. Lost and starving in the deep woods, the irresistible scent of baked cake leads them to a secluded hut—the home of an enigmatic woman named Holda. She welcomes them with food and an offer of shelter in exchange for work around her eerie cottage.
The Witch's Apprenticeship
While Hansel finds simple contentment in woodcutting, Gretel's innate intuition and disturbing visions fuel her suspicion of Holda. The witch, sensing Gretel's burgeoning supernatural abilities, begins to initiate her into the ways of witchcraft. She teaches Gretel to levitate a wooden staff, hinting at the power that lies dormant within the young girl.
The unsettling calm is shattered when Hansel stumbles upon a sinister pentagram carved into a tree, awakening his own fear. A heated argument between the siblings ensues, driving Hansel away from the hut. He soon falls victim to one of Holda's traps, disappearing into the dark forest.
Holda's Twisted History
Gretel confronts Holda, who chillingly claims she's doing Gretel a favor by eliminating Hansel. It's then that the full, horrifying truth of Holda's identity is revealed: she is the very witch from the prologue, the mother of the wicked 'beautiful child.' Driven by a desire for revenge against her daughter, who murdered her husband and countless innocents, Holda consumed children to gain power, ultimately killed her own daughter, and took her place at the cottage to continue the cycle of luring victims.
Holda drugs Gretel and prepares to cook Hansel in a massive fire pit. But Gretel, empowered by her burgeoning abilities and a desperate will, breaks free. Using the flying ointment on her hands and face, she channels her magic through her staff, pinning Holda against the wall, where the witch slowly burns to death. As Holda's spells unravel, Hansel awakens from his drugged state, narrowly escaping his gruesome fate.
A New Path for Gretel
The following morning, Gretel assures her brother that Holda is truly gone, sending him home to begin a new life as a woodsman—their mother having presumably perished in the interim. Gretel, however, chooses to remain. She stays to hone her newfound powers, witnessing the freed spirits of Holda's child victims finally ascend, their tormented souls released.
In the film's chilling final moments, Gretel looks at her hands. The tips of her fingers have begun to turn black, a haunting echo of the witch's own blackened digits. The cycle of power, and perhaps corruption, seems poised to continue.
Behind the Grimm Curtain
The journey of 'Gretel & Hansel' to the big screen began in October 2018, when Orion Pictures announced its plans for the adaptation. Director Oz Perkins, known for his atmospheric horror work, co-wrote the initial screenplay with Rob Hayes, though Hayes ultimately received sole credit. Sophia Lillis, celebrated for her roles in 'It' and 'Sharp Objects', was quickly cast in the titular role, anchoring the film's intense focus.
Shifting the Focus
Perkins revealed that the film's title change—from 'Hansel and Gretel' to 'Gretel & Hansel'—was a deliberate choice. He envisioned a story that centered on Gretel's coming-of-age, making her older than Hansel to emphasize her role as a caretaker and exploring how such attachments can both support and impede personal growth. This subtle shift profoundly influences the narrative's themes of agency and evolving power.
Principal photography commenced in November 2018 in Dublin, Ireland, capturing the film's distinctively eerie European aesthetic. Reshoots and additional filming later took place in January 2019 in Langley, British Columbia, Canada, blending diverse landscapes to create the film's isolated forest setting.
A Distinctive Soundscape
The film's haunting score was crafted by Robin Coudert, known professionally as Rob. Eschewing traditional symphonic orchestral themes common in horror, Rob focused on creating memorable, almost 'whistle-able' melodies. This unique approach aimed to provide a surprising contrast, grounding the film's ethereal horror in something more melodically accessible for a story centered on children.
Release and Critical Eyes
United Artists released 'Gretel & Hansel' in theaters on January 31, 2020. Despite its relatively modest $5 million production budget, the film grossed $22.3 million worldwide, demonstrating a solid financial return. Following its theatrical run, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment made the film available digitally in April 2020, with DVD and Blu-ray editions released in May.
Box Office Performance
In its opening weekend in the United States and Canada, 'Gretel & Hansel' performed quite well, debuting to $6.1 million. This placed it fourth at the box office, surpassing initial projections and indicating a strong initial interest from audiences curious about its dark fairytale premise.
Divided Opinions, Striking Visuals
Critics generally offered positive, if somewhat divided, reviews. Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 63%, with a consensus that praised the 'rich visuals' but noted the storytelling sometimes 'gets a little lost in the woods.' Metacritic assigned a score of 64 out of 100, indicating 'generally favorable' reviews, though audience polls reflected a more lukewarm reception.
Many critics lauded the film's aesthetic achievements. Andrew Barker of Variety praised its 'wealth of eye-catching compositions,' while Kimber Myers of The Los Angeles Times called it 'a stunning feast for the eyes.' However, both noted that the film's substance sometimes left viewers feeling 'hungry' for more.
Others championed the film's unconventional approach. Chandler Levack of The Globe and Mail found it 'weirder, smarter and way more cinematic' than expected. Kate Rife from The A.V. Club suggested that those who 'trust the darkness' and the film's patience-testing pace would be richly rewarded by its unique atmosphere and style.
Conversely, some critics found the deliberate pacing to be a detriment. Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press deemed it 'visually arresting as it is tedious,' suggesting it felt like 'dread for 90 minutes.' Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times described it as 'quietly sinister, yet too underdeveloped to truly scare,' highlighting a key point of contention among viewers.
Article
Gretel & Hansel
Gretel & Hansel (also known as Gretel & Hansel: A Grim Fairy Tale) is a 2020 dark fantasy horror film directed by Osgood Perkins and written by Rob Hayes, based on the German fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel" by the Brothers Grimm. Sophia Lillis and Sam Leakey portray the titular characters, with Alice Krige and Jessica De Gouw also starring. The film follows the siblings Gretel and Hansel as they become lost in the forest and then stumble upon the home of a witch.
Gretel & Hansel was released in the United States on 31 January 2020, by United Artists Releasing. The film grossed $22.3 million worldwide against a $5 million production budget and received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its visuals and cinematography as well as the horror elements and acting, but criticism for its pacing and screenplay.
Plot
Gretel & Hansel
The prologue opens with a story about "a beautiful child with a pretty pink hat", a mortally wounded baby girl. Her father takes her to the woods to be cured by a witch, who performs healing spells, bestowing supernatural abilities on the child in the process. As the girl grows up, the villagers come to hear her premonitions, but her wicked nature is soon revealed when she begins murdering innocent people, including her own father. The rest of the village imprison her in the woods, where she begins to lure children to their deaths.
The scene shifts to teenage Gretel, who often takes care of her younger brother, Hansel, and is implied to also have some sort of supernatural powers. As their father dies, their mother sends them out to find work. Gretel is offered a housekeeping job but turns it down when the master of the house asks about her virginity. Their mother rebukes Gretel for failing to provide for them and threatens to kill both children if they do not leave the house.
The siblings flee and find temporary accommodation for the night, but a ghoulish man appears and attacks Hansel. A huntsman saves the children and takes them to his home for the night, before sending them off to find work the next morning. They get lost in the woods and, suffering from hunger, are attracted by the scent of baked cake to a hut in the forest, in which a woman named Holda lives. She invites the children in for a meal and allows them to stay, in exchange for performing work around the house. Hansel is sent into the woods to practice woodcutting with an axe, while Gretel assists with housekeeping. Hansel is happy with their new home, but Gretel is suspicious of Holda and troubled by disturbing visions and nightmares. Sensing Gretel's abilities, Holda initiates her into witchcraft and teaches her to levitate her wooden staff with the aid of flying ointment.
Hansel soon becomes wary of Holda after discovering a satanic pentagram carved into a tree. The siblings have an argument that night, and Hansel leaves the hut and is then lured into a trap by Holda. Gretel confronts the witch, who insists she is doing Gretel a favour by getting rid of Hansel. It is then revealed that Holda was the mother of the wicked girl from the prologue story; Holda loathed her daughter for killing her husband and other innocents and was the one who imprisoned her in the woods. In order to get revenge on her daughter, Holda ate children to gain magical powers, killed her daughter, and took her place at the cottage, luring in children, in the guise of an elderly woman.
Holda drugs Gretel and straps her down in the cellar, where she plans for Hansel to be eaten. Now in the form of a young woman, Holda lures Hansel into a cage atop a large fire pit so she can cook him. Gretel manages to free herself and uses flying ointment on her hands and face to levitate a wooden staff and pin Holda against the wall, where she slowly burns to death over the fire, which causes the spells she has cast to cease working. This awakens Hansel from his drugged state.
The next morning, Gretel assures her brother that Holda is gone for good and sends him back home (their mother is implied to have died in the meantime and Hansel should be able to start working at home as a woodsman). Gretel stays behind to hone her craft. She sees the ghosts of the children murdered by Holda, now finally free to pass on.
In the closing moments, her fingertips begin to turn black, just as Holda's had been.
Cast
Gretel & Hansel
• Sophia Lillis as Gretel, a 16-year-old girl and Hansel's older sister. • Sam Leakey as Hansel, Gretel's 8-year-old brother (the role was Leakey's acting debut). • Alice Krige as Holda, a terrifying and powerful evil witch who lives in the forest and kidnaps Gretel and Hansel. • Jessica De Gouw as young Holda • Charles Babalola as Huntsman, a young man who helps Gretel and Hansel early in the story. • Fiona O'Shaughnessy as Mother • Donncha Crowley as Master Stripp • Melody Carrillo as Enchantress • Jonathan Delaney Tynan as Father • Jonathan Gunning as emaciated man • Ian Kenny as Knight • Abdul Alshareef as Knight • Manuel Pombo as Knight • Giulia Doherty as Beautiful Child • Beatrix Perkins as Clicky (uncredited)
Production
Gretel & Hansel
In October 2018, the Hollywood Reporter wrote that Orion Pictures had started developing a film adaptation of the German folklore tale Hansel and Gretel, with Oz Perkins directing a screenplay he had co-written with Rob Hayes, and Sophia Lillis starring as the lead character. Sinister producer Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and The Autopsy of Jane Doe producer Fred Berger, partners at Automatik Entertainment, were announced as producers, with Sandra Yee Ling and Macdara Kelleher as executive producers. Hayes eventually received sole screenplay credit.
In November 2018, Charles Babalola was cast as the Hunter, a new character who helps Gretel and Hansel navigate the woods. In April 2019, Alice Krige, Jessica De Gouw, and Sam Leakey joined the cast, with Leakey making his acting debut.
Perkins explained in an interview that the title was changed because this version focuses on Gretel:
"It's awfully faithful to the original story. It's got really only three principal characters: Hansel, Gretel, and the Witch. We tried to find a way to make it more of a coming of age story. I wanted Gretel to be somewhat older than Hansel, so it didn't feel like two 12-year-olds – rather a 16-year-old and an 8-year-old. There was more of a feeling like Gretel having to take Hansel around everywhere she goes, and how that can impede one's own evolution, how our attachments and the things that we love can sometimes get in the way of our growth."
Principal photography on the film began on 9 November 2018 in Dublin, Ireland, and wrapped up in December 2018. Additional filming and reshoots started in January 2019 in Langley, British Columbia, Canada.
Music
The score was composed by Robin Coudert, also known by his stage name, Rob. With the soundtrack in mind, Rob avoided using typical symphonic orchestral themes to create a unique film score saying, "I find it essential to create melodies that we can sing or whistle as, in horror cinema, it is usually the opposite, where the music rather has a tendency toward structure and abstraction. For this project, which is a film about kids, it seemed important to have that." The soundtrack was released by Waxwork Records in 2020 as a single LP.
Release
Gretel & Hansel
The film was released on 31 January 2020 by United Artists.
Home video
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment released the film digitally on 7 April 2020, and on DVD and Blu-ray on 5 May 2020.
Reception
Box office
In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside The Rhythm Section, and was projected to gross $4–7 million from 3,000 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $2.3 million on its first day (including $475,000 from Thursday night previews). It debuted to $6.1 million, finishing fourth.
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 63% based on 115 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Gretel & Hansel's rich visuals satisfy, even if this adaptation of a classic fairytale gets a little lost in the woods on the storytelling front." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C−" on an A+ to F scale.
Contrarily, Andrew Barker of Variety wrote, "The film certainly looks nice, with a wealth of eye-catching compositions," but added, "The problem is that so many of its virtues feel compromised." Kimber Myers wrote for The Los Angeles Times, "While [Perkins] offers a stunning feast for the eyes, the substance is likely to leave viewers still hungry."
Chandler Levack from The Globe and Mail wrote, "Everything about Gretel & Hansel is weirder, smarter and way more cinematic than I'd expected, thanks to some fascinating movie choices made by director Oz Perkins." Kate Rife from The A.V. Club wrote, "If one of the boundaries being tested in this film is viewers' patience, the reward for—to use a refrain repeated throughout the film—'trusting the darkness' is well worth the commitment." Frank Sheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Gretel & Hansel may alienate some horror movie fans with its extremely leisurely pacing and emphasis on atmosphere and mood rather than visceral shocks. But while the film certainly demands patience, it provides ample rewards with its lush stylization."
Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press wrote, "Gretel & Hansel is as visually arresting as it is tedious, a 90-minute movie that really should have been a 3-minute music video for Marilyn Manson or Ozzy Osbourne. It's in the horror genre only loosely. It's more eerie, if that's a genre. Actually, it's like dread for 90 minutes. It's dreadful." Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times labeled the film "Essentially the story of a young woman coming into her power, Gretel & Hansel is quietly sinister, yet too underdeveloped to truly scare."