Gretel & Hansel (2020)
a review by Evan Landon
I haven't done an article in a while, but since my 31 nights of Halloween movie cuts had such a great reception, I figured Fuck It! Let's roll with a weekly version of it. That being said, I would love any and all recommendations any of you guys have in the comments section below.
Let's start off with a movie I missed last year called, Gretel & Hansel”, which sounds like “Hansel & Gretel” in which it is, but isn't. Let m explain... or not. I think it is inherent in the title how this one works, but it does it incredibly well. I don't think twisting the narrative to make a story work is conducive to trying to make a protagonist out of a rival, but this actually speaks to the witch's dark past.
Q: Was she burnt up because she ate children?
A: Well, yes.
Q: Was she a witch that ate children?
A: Duhr.
I don't know if'n they'll ever make a costume for “Holda the Witch” next year at your faves Halloween store, but I doubt they'll ever get the Alice Krige version which is insanely cool! I saw some witch gear this year that looked like complete shit and I doubt anybody could actually pull it off the way she did, but I will give a lot of credit to the special & visual effects artists that made this bad boy happen, not to mention the cinematography by Galo Olivares that wins the pony on this one.
Here is a quick synopsis: Gretel has a brother named Hansel and are deemed a nuisance by town folk, then run into the forests are led to a witch lodged deepened into the wilderness because she was, yes, in fact, a witch. She deliberately eats children. There is a subplot to where Gretel is, in fact, the rightful heir to her throne, but she denounces it and saves her brother. I mean, it is okay because it takes a new light on many things that we could not have been privy to, but really just tells the same story. It's a short game for anyone who wanted Gretel to be before Hansel, but it's a little more than that.
This is a movie that reminds us that these are “Fairy Tales” and they do not need a woke concept. It's a movie coming from a different perspective that we can all wrap our head around, even if it is something we have heard over and over and over again because, believe it or not, this story has been around a long ass time & it has no merits for exclusivity, unless you account for that old witch soliciting candy for children to eat, unsuspectingly. Yeah, THEN SHE EATS THEM! Take note of that.
Great special effects & cinematography! Shout out to Fred Berger and the rest of the writers on this because it is awesomeness. Loved this.
3.5 out of 5