"Come, children, and listen, for the story I tell holds a lesson. A lesson that might one day keep you safe. So gather in close and hear me well. It's the story of the Beautiful Child with the little pink cap.
--Holda, Gretel and Hansel
Many of the best horror films have an R rating. Not all of them do. Gretel and Hansel gives a dark PG-13 take on the already grim (get it?) source material without forgoing a somewhat optimistic ending. Its small cast frees it to explore a handful of characters, a welcome thing to any horror viewer who would like to see Sophia Lillis handle a more directly primary role than that of Beverly in the It movies, both of which featured an ensemble cast. In this retelling of the Grimm fairy tale, the cannibalistic witch actually lets Gretel and Hansel stay with her for multiple days before her sinister nature is revealed to them, and she also tries to train Gretel as a witch herself.
Production Values
One of the best opening narrations of the past decade immediately foreshadows the darkness and high production quality of Gretel and Hansel, with everything from the contrast of blues and reds with duller colors to the unique soundtrack giving the film details that stand out from many PG-13 horror efforts--not that an arbitrary MPAA rating has anything to do with quality. It is just that the PG-13 rating can so easily be used as a way to get wider age demographics to watch a horror movie with no substance. Thankfully, there is plenty of substance to this cinematic feast. Sophia Lilis finally gets a horror film that focuses mostly on her in a smaller cast setting, and her Gretel faces decisions of genuine gravity when she struggles with choosing to watch over her brother or explore the alluring powers of witchcraft activating within her. Gretel and Hansel is first and foremost Lillis's movie. Her stellar performance is also met with similarly excellent performances from Sam Leakey, whose role as Hansel is his first documented acting credit, and Alice Krige, who must convey both malevolence and subtlety as the witch.
Story
Some spoilers are below.
A girl born during a famine receives the title "Beautiful Child," but she is expected to die of sickness, so her father brings her to an enchantress who cured her but granted hee the "Second Sight," a precognition. The child also develops other abilities as she grows. She is eventually exiled as a young girl because of the danger she poses to nearby people. Years later, a girl named Gretel cares for her younger brother after her mom forces them out into a life of starvation amidst poverty and cruelty. The two stumble upon a house full of food as they experience severe hunger, with a witch residing there while showing herself as a kind person. The strange woman quickly starts grooming Gretel groomed to be a witch as she espouses sexist ideas about men and attempts to turn Gretel against her brother Hansel.
Intellectual Content
The blatantly asinine epistemological statements made all throughout by Gretel and the witch contain pathetic phrases like "Think less, know more" and an assertion by Gretel that she doesn't exist if a gate she is looking at is not real. These comments do not reflect any overarching theme of Gretel and Hansel, but there is a more direct look into whether the powers of witchcraft can be used in a morally positive way. Witches are often portrayed as abusive, unjustly violent, hostile women willing to kidnap and murder in addition to casting spells. The basic concept of a witch does not entail this, of course.
Having powers of sorcery does not automatically make one malevolent. However, moral emotions (conscience) and social norms have no epistemological validity, so someone being comfortable with a non-malevolent witch would not make sorcery amoral. Interestingly, Exodus 22:18 says to kill witches (on the testimony of two or three witnesses as other passages clarify) regardless of whether they have kidnapped or murdered anyone, with those deeds receiving capital penalties as separate crimes. There is clearly not a Biblical exemption for witches (male or female) who use sorcery without using it specifically for malevolent ends.
Conclusion
Gretel and Hansel's reconstruction of a tale likely familiar to many people of diverse ages is a triumph on practically every level. The lack of empty jumpscares, use of color contrasts and contrasts of light and darkness, superb acting, and unflinching focus on its lead youths all help guide it into excellence from start to finish. Director Oz Perkins (who also directed A24's The Blackcoat's Daughter) helms a movie that intentionally or unintentionally shows that fairy tales have much more to offer than Disney adaptions and lighthearted stories aimed at children suggest. The PG-13 rating does not clash with the macabre vision behind his movie whatsoever and only exemplifies how accessible horror can be.
Content:
1. Violence: An arrow is shot through the forehead of an assailant early on. Closer to the end, a bucket of human body parts is poured onto a table and a character is burned and decapitated onscreen.
--Holda, Gretel and Hansel
Many of the best horror films have an R rating. Not all of them do. Gretel and Hansel gives a dark PG-13 take on the already grim (get it?) source material without forgoing a somewhat optimistic ending. Its small cast frees it to explore a handful of characters, a welcome thing to any horror viewer who would like to see Sophia Lillis handle a more directly primary role than that of Beverly in the It movies, both of which featured an ensemble cast. In this retelling of the Grimm fairy tale, the cannibalistic witch actually lets Gretel and Hansel stay with her for multiple days before her sinister nature is revealed to them, and she also tries to train Gretel as a witch herself.
Production Values
One of the best opening narrations of the past decade immediately foreshadows the darkness and high production quality of Gretel and Hansel, with everything from the contrast of blues and reds with duller colors to the unique soundtrack giving the film details that stand out from many PG-13 horror efforts--not that an arbitrary MPAA rating has anything to do with quality. It is just that the PG-13 rating can so easily be used as a way to get wider age demographics to watch a horror movie with no substance. Thankfully, there is plenty of substance to this cinematic feast. Sophia Lilis finally gets a horror film that focuses mostly on her in a smaller cast setting, and her Gretel faces decisions of genuine gravity when she struggles with choosing to watch over her brother or explore the alluring powers of witchcraft activating within her. Gretel and Hansel is first and foremost Lillis's movie. Her stellar performance is also met with similarly excellent performances from Sam Leakey, whose role as Hansel is his first documented acting credit, and Alice Krige, who must convey both malevolence and subtlety as the witch.
Story
Some spoilers are below.
A girl born during a famine receives the title "Beautiful Child," but she is expected to die of sickness, so her father brings her to an enchantress who cured her but granted hee the "Second Sight," a precognition. The child also develops other abilities as she grows. She is eventually exiled as a young girl because of the danger she poses to nearby people. Years later, a girl named Gretel cares for her younger brother after her mom forces them out into a life of starvation amidst poverty and cruelty. The two stumble upon a house full of food as they experience severe hunger, with a witch residing there while showing herself as a kind person. The strange woman quickly starts grooming Gretel groomed to be a witch as she espouses sexist ideas about men and attempts to turn Gretel against her brother Hansel.
Intellectual Content
The blatantly asinine epistemological statements made all throughout by Gretel and the witch contain pathetic phrases like "Think less, know more" and an assertion by Gretel that she doesn't exist if a gate she is looking at is not real. These comments do not reflect any overarching theme of Gretel and Hansel, but there is a more direct look into whether the powers of witchcraft can be used in a morally positive way. Witches are often portrayed as abusive, unjustly violent, hostile women willing to kidnap and murder in addition to casting spells. The basic concept of a witch does not entail this, of course.
Having powers of sorcery does not automatically make one malevolent. However, moral emotions (conscience) and social norms have no epistemological validity, so someone being comfortable with a non-malevolent witch would not make sorcery amoral. Interestingly, Exodus 22:18 says to kill witches (on the testimony of two or three witnesses as other passages clarify) regardless of whether they have kidnapped or murdered anyone, with those deeds receiving capital penalties as separate crimes. There is clearly not a Biblical exemption for witches (male or female) who use sorcery without using it specifically for malevolent ends.
Conclusion
Gretel and Hansel's reconstruction of a tale likely familiar to many people of diverse ages is a triumph on practically every level. The lack of empty jumpscares, use of color contrasts and contrasts of light and darkness, superb acting, and unflinching focus on its lead youths all help guide it into excellence from start to finish. Director Oz Perkins (who also directed A24's The Blackcoat's Daughter) helms a movie that intentionally or unintentionally shows that fairy tales have much more to offer than Disney adaptions and lighthearted stories aimed at children suggest. The PG-13 rating does not clash with the macabre vision behind his movie whatsoever and only exemplifies how accessible horror can be.
Content:
1. Violence: An arrow is shot through the forehead of an assailant early on. Closer to the end, a bucket of human body parts is poured onto a table and a character is burned and decapitated onscreen.
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