Gretel & Hansel

Gretel & Hansel is a 2020 American supernatural dark fantasy horror film directed by Oz Perkins. The movie stars Sophia Lillis, Samuel Leakey, and Alice Krige. The screenplay is penned by Rob Hayes and the story leans heavily on the Brothers Grimm's fairytale Hansel and Gretel, but it offers a fresh, imaginative perspective with a distinctly dark twist that can be characterized as cinematic artistry horrifica.

As the movie name suggests, it puts Gretel (Sophia Lillis), the elder of the two siblings, in the driving seat, presenting a maturer and more realized character compared to the iconic tale. The younger brother Hansel (Samuel Leakey) acts more as a side character in Gretel’s arc and the story takes a woman-centric approach, with the antagonist also being a woman, Holda (Alice Krige), the eerie witch in the woods.

The siblings find themselves driven out of their own home due to poverty and their mother’s spiraling madness. The grim medieval-era world that the siblings inhabit is beautifully photographed with an unsettling minimalist aesthetic, accentuated by the eeriness of the dense forest, and the mystic witch's secluded abode laden with an abundance of mysteriously delicious food. The movie artfully showcases the perilous journey through the eerie, labyrinthine woods to the hidden recesses of a mystical witch who nurtures a sinister secret hidden behind her seemingly kind, wrinkled face.

Gretel soon locates the mysteries shrouding their host, Holda who dwells in a home that never starves. As precocious and intellectually astute Gretel grows friendly with the witch, she begins to find her psychic abilities burgeon, her dreams becoming nightmarish and too real. As the story unfolds, it breaks away from the original threads of the story moving towards a new feminist reinterpretation where Gretel must confront the appalling facts and make choices not only for her survival but also for her brother.

Sophia Lillis's portrayal of Gretel is undoubtedly commendable as she navigates her character through fear, maturity, and self-discovery with a certain grace. Samuel Leakey with his innocence does justice to the anxious young brother Hansel. Alice Krige is completely captivating in her role, both generous and menacing, bringing depth to the character of Holda steering clear from clichéd portrayals.

The movie uses its horror elements subtly and sparingly, leaning more towards the creation of suspense and eerie atmosphere than relying on sudden jump scares. With its rich cinematography, the film creates a visually immersive experience, delivering a relentless eerie discomfort through its use of angles, color schemes, and shadow play. Detailed sets and locations lend an authenticity to the storyline and amplify the spring of dreadfulness.

The core of Gretel & Hansel is not just its horror and suspense but also its fairytale roots which have given way to reinterpretations focusing on feminine power and self-discovery. It showcases not just the strife of survival, but also the contention with other hard themes like adolescence, morality, and the questioning of instinctive nature, and provides a reimagination of the age-old story where the protagonist forges her way, growing from an insecure girl to a confident savior.

Gretel & Hansel, thus, straddles the world of horror, suspense, and childhood fairy tales, crafting an chillingly unforgettable interpretation of a childhood story, dimly lit with the horrors of sinister reality and the glimmers of self discovery and empowerment. A fantastic movie for viewers looking for a reconceptualization of fairy tales through a grim, fear-tinted lens.