I guess you can tell by the title, Gretel and Hansel, that this is going to be one of those deals where they try to flip the script and elevate the female character’s role in an already well-established story. That probably isn’t the worst idea in the world given that they cast It’s Sophia Lillis as Gretel. They also made her significantly older than the brat playing Hansel, so she basically has to do all the heavy lifting. In fact, I’m not even sure why they bothered putting Hansel’s name in the title to be honest.
Unfortunately, this is one of those movies that tried to ride the coattails of The VVitch. Like that flick, it’s got a nice sense of time and setting, but it’s mostly a big bore. Sure, the opening scene, which looks a little inspired by The Holy Mountain is cool, but it’s all downhill from there.
That sequence also serves as an origin story for the witch, played by Alice Krige. That is about as perfect casting as you can get. Unfortunately, just like The VVitch, everyone talks in hushed tones and whispers, so it’s hard to hear what they’re all going on about half the time, so it makes it hard for her to build up a sense of menace.
Also, there’s no candy house. What the fuck? That’s like making a Sleeping Beauty movie and beauty don’t go to sleep. They don’t even fuck around with breadcrumbs either. There is a scene where they get high AF on mushrooms though. The witch even turns Gretel against Hansel at one point because… fuck the patriarchy? I guess. You know, you can only change so much stuff about Hansel and Gretel (or Gretel and Hansel) until at some point it stops being Hansel and Gretel.
Another dumb thing: Gretel somehow has Jedi powers too. I guess that’s the Force Awakens influence. Or something.
The movie was directed by Osgood Perkins. (More like OsBAD Perkins, am I right?) He is none other than the son of Norman Bates himself, Anthony Perkins. As for as directorial efforts from the Perkins bloodline go, this ain’t no Psycho 3 that’s for damned sure.
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