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Gretel & Hansel

Name: Gretel & Hansel
Genre: Thriller, Fantasy, Horror
Released: January 31, 2020
Duration: 87 min
Rating: 64
Cast: Abdul Alshareef, Alice Krige, Beatrix Perkins, Charles Babalola, Ian Kenny

2020

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 58 Ratings

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4.3

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4.3	Your Score
4.3	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 58 Ratings

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Gretel & Hansel

Movie Details & Credits

Orion Pictures | Release Date: January 31, 2020 | PG-13

Starring: Abdul Alshareef, Alice Krige, Beatrix Perkins, Charles Babalola, Ian Kenny, Jessica De Gouw, Loreece Harrison, Manuel Pombo, Samuel Leakey, Sophia Lillis

Summary: A long time ago in a distant fairytale countryside, a young girl (Sophia Lillis) leads her little brother (Sammy Leakey) into a dark wood in desperate search of food and work, only to stumble upon a nexus of terrifying evil.

Director: Oz Perkins

Genre(s): Thriller, Fantasy, Horror

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 87 min

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Awards & Rankings

38	#38 Best Movie of 2020
9	#9 Most Discussed Movie of 2020

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Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

Matthew Monagle

Jan 31, 2020

This is Young Adult horror at its finest. Read full review

Chandler Levack

Jan 29, 2020

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. Read full review

Katie Rife

Jan 31, 2020

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. Read full review

Frank Scheck

Jan 30, 2020

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. Read full review

Matt Donato

Jan 30, 2020

Gretel & Hansel is a full course meal when it comes to cinematography and production design, but the sleepy, hollow narrative pacing is just too stogy to overcome. Read full review

Andrew Barker

Jan 30, 2020

The problem is that so many of its virtues feel compromised. Read full review

Mark Kennedy

Jan 30, 2020

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. Read full review

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User Reviews

Lejonou

Feb 15, 2020

Like , its so goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood Omggggggggggggggggggggg

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

TheQuietGamer

Feb 3, 2020

The Suspiria of this generation. Oz Perkins' dark twist on the classic fairy tale showcases the same kind of slow burn, eerie horror his previous works are known for. Only now with a hallucinatory effect brought on by a use of vibrant colors, mind-bending camera angles, and an oppressiveThe Suspiria of this generation. Oz Perkins' dark twist on the classic fairy tale showcases the same kind of slow burn, eerie horror his previous works are known for. Only now with a hallucinatory effect brought on by a use of vibrant colors, mind-bending camera angles, and an oppressive soundtrack.

Gretel & Hansel doesn't just resemble Dario Argento's masterpiece stylistically however. As it too features a plot centered around magic, witches, and the manipulation of young women. It can also be just as difficult to figure out. It's easy to keep track of what's going on at the surface level, but Perkins and Hayes have loaded this with subtext that's more difficult to decipher. A few themes do stick out, but the deeper meaning of it all may have alluded me. I don't feel this is a fault of the writing despite some elements of the story coming off as jumbled or confusing. Instead just a lack of understanding on my part.

Rather than delivering big scares Perkins creates an anxiety inducing atmosphere and lets us writhe in agonized anticipation over that which which never actually arrives while tormenting us with surreal and disturbing imagery reminiscent of Silent Hill. For some this will feel like all foreplay and no orgasm. However, as a fan of this kind of paranoia creating, expectation subverting approach to horror I found the movie to be very effective at getting under my skin and sending spiders crawling up my spine.

An early contender for best horror movie of 2020.

9.9/10… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

OleGein

Feb 5, 2020

Good movie, great cinematography, audio, with some serious creepy vibes. The film was a pleasant surprise, as I had no real hype going into the theater for it. The audio and visuals are top notch, even if the audio could be a bit repetitive. I was a little worried it would follow the HanselGood movie, great cinematography, audio, with some serious creepy vibes. The film was a pleasant surprise, as I had no real hype going into the theater for it. The audio and visuals are top notch, even if the audio could be a bit repetitive. I was a little worried it would follow the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale to the tee, but was relieved when it was a twist of the classic (Who want's to watch a story that everyone already knows?). The main criticism I have is the dialogue, which is a bit clunky for my liking, but you get use to it after the first fifteen minutes of the film. I will say, it felt like the filmmakers watched Eggers' The Witch and thought Hansel & Gretel would fit well in that world. Overall a good watch!… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

theredsky

Feb 4, 2020

Gretel and Hansel feels like Oz Perkins is trying to make his movie feel like a Robert Eggers film but it fails at that. The only aspects I really enjoyed were technical ones. The one element that I felt was great was the score by Robin Coudert. It’s intense and is the only thing that causesGretel and Hansel feels like Oz Perkins is trying to make his movie feel like a Robert Eggers film but it fails at that. The only aspects I really enjoyed were technical ones. The one element that I felt was great was the score by Robin Coudert. It’s intense and is the only thing that causes some scenes to have some sort of tension. The cinematography was pretty good. It felt atmospheric and made some scenes look very visually interesting. The production design was pretty good also. The sets look interesting and unique. As much as I enjoy the technical aspects, the rest of the film falls below average. The performances range from good to bad. Alice Krige did a good job as the witch. She had her moments but there really wasn’t a whole lot to it. She was able to make her bad dialogue sound somewhat better. Sophia Lillis was decent as Gretel and Sam Leakey as Hansel was pretty bad. Their performances are made a little worse by the script. The script is pretty bad. The dialogue spoken between characters is extremely awkward and poor and can cause you to look at the screen and think, “what the hell?”. The characters were uninteresting to me. There wasn’t a lot to them that made me want to care about their struggles. The story and flow of events was very boring to me. Besides the visuals, there wasn’t anything that was getting me invested with what was going on. The good thing though is that the film isn’t even an hour and a half long so it isn’t a pain to sit through but it felt a little bit longer due to pacing issues. The first act of the film goes by very quickly but the rest of the film is very slow. It attempts to set up the characters and then drags out their encounter with the witch a little too much. Overall, Gretel and Hansel may have some great technical aspects but its performances, story, script, and pacing really drag the film down for me.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

aynks

Feb 14, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gretel and Hansel provides a different thriller/horror experience that Robert Eggers would not be too fond of. Although its aspect ratio, cinematography, and acting contain noticeable accomplishments, its lackluster narrative can leave audience members wanting to take a nap halfway through the film.

I believe Gretel and Hansel's biggest accomplishments were through cinematography and acting. With Eggers being a prime influence, this was shot in an abnormal aspect ratio that was definitely unique to watch. The cinematography is great in my opinion. There were plenty of scenes that were shot to perfection and it kept the movies pace going even though it felt too long. The acting was great, I believe everyone killed it (specifically Sophia Lillis). Some areas of these had faults though... The CGI of the witch's younger form was really hard to watch coming out of the drain. I actually laughed out loud while watching. That whole scene was just rough... really rough...

That is the main issue. There was some good paces throughout the movie, but they always led to dull, uneventful, and mediocre moments that were not scary but just weird to view as an audience member. I mean, seriously, there are a few scenes in this movie that are absolutely awful and hard to watch. You almost think it is a different movie. Almost as if the writers ripped off part of the script and made up the missing pieces overnight.

The plot, screenplay, etc. that was the ultimate downfall. The movie was not even at 2 hours, but I felt like I was sitting there for at least 4. I just wanted it to be over. The plot was not progressing and it already seemed to be predictable beyond belief. I like the twist of enhancing Gretel's role, but it just led itself down some bad trails.

Overall, I may have talked about positives and negatives fairly equal here, but the negative took this one for me. The plot was bland and had no strength to run and achieve a better satisfaction for its audience. This hurts the most because I feel Gretel and Hansel had some potential with its story. Unfortunately, with its flat climax I find myself wanting to take a few naps pretty early in.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Olddad

Feb 4, 2020

PC, intersectional bastardized fairy tale. Acting is fine, sets are fine, story that the world is driven by magic woman’s decisions and not faith family fidelity is social justice swill. Glad I did matinee with senior discount.

3 of 5 users found this helpful32

StormSorceress

Feb 9, 2020

Sooo Bad. Not scary, not a rich story, boring, one of the worst movies I spent money on and I really wanted to walk out of the movie because it was that disinteresting but I was out with my Mom on a daytrip in a new town so we sat through and endured it. We left both feeling like we wastedSooo Bad. Not scary, not a rich story, boring, one of the worst movies I spent money on and I really wanted to walk out of the movie because it was that disinteresting but I was out with my Mom on a daytrip in a new town so we sat through and endured it. We left both feeling like we wasted our time. It doesn't have appeal in any way- Do not waste your time.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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