REVIEW: GRETEL AND HANSEL (2020)

GRETEL AND HANSEL (2020)

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Film starts off with a dark fairly tale within a dark fairy tale, as we are treated to the grim story of a little girl, rescued from death by an enchantress and thus imbued with dark and terrible powers. She is cast out by her mother after killing her own father and left to live in the woods alone. We then meet two children familiar with this tale, teen Gretel (Sophia Lillis from the recent IT films) and her younger brother Hansel (Sam Leakey) who are forced out into the wilderness when their widowed mother goes mad. Hungry and desperate, they come upon the house of an old woman (Alice Krige) filled with food and drink. The woman is a witch and the longer they stay with her, the more she tries to subvert Gretel to unleash her inner powers and fatten up Hansel for a far more sinister purpose.

Dark version of the classic fairly tale is directed by Osgood Perkins (The Blackcoat’s Daughter) from a spooky script by Rob Hayes based on the classic Brother’s Grimm tale. The film is loaded with thick atmosphere, from a man already becoming known for his atmospheric films, and every frame filled with gothic imagery conjured by Perkins and captured sumptuously by his cinematographer Galo Olivares. Let us also not forget an incredibly spooky and fitting electronic score by French musician and composer Robin Coudert, who simply goes by the name “Rob” (Revenge and the Maniac remake score). The film is moderately paced like Perkins’ previous films, but is chilling and effective from the first frame to the last. His imagery here surpasses anything he has done so far and the scenes with Alice Krige’s witch ooze with malice. This film proves without a doubt that a PG-13 rated film can be very creepy and effective, though this one does skate very close to crossing it’s rating’s borders. There is some feminist commentary, as Gretel is coming of age and her hostess tries to bring out her powers and hone her skills as a future witch, all the while getting her to cast aside her brother, who the witch has culinary plans for. It’s as much a horror as the story of a young girl becoming a woman and discovering her strengths and choosing who she is to become. On a technical side, Perkin’s makes great use of the Irish woodland locations and the sets and costumes are straight out of a child’s nightmare, fueled by a scary fairy tale such as the one this film is based. It can sit beside other dark fairy tales such as Pan’s Labyrinth, The Viy and Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil and Perkins continues to solidify his reputation as one of the newest and more unique voices in modern horror films.

The film has a small cast and all are fitting for their roles. Sophia Lillis is very good as Gretel. She is a girl coming of age and forced to be mother and guardian to her younger brother Hansel, with her father gone and her mother gone insane. The two are forced into the wilderness to find work, food and a home and once inside the witches cottage, Gretel becomes a girl being swayed to walk a dark path. Lillis portrays well the inner conflict, as well as, an intelligent young woman coming into her own and realizing her strengths. Gretel is opinionated and no fool. Alice Krige is absolutely chilling as the witch. She’s confident, powerful and yet wonderfully understated. She never goes over-the-top and avoids turning a character that drips with a smoldering malevolence into a clichéd, stereotypical movie witch. High marks for both actress and director for resisting the temptation to get too theatrical. Finally, young Sam Leakey is good as a young child being seduced with yummy food and a warm bed, though even the inquisitive Hansel comes to realize that there is something in this house he should be afraid of. Film also stars Charles Babalola as a huntsman and Jessica De Gouw as the witch in her younger form.

In conclusion, this is a very spooky and unsettlingly dark version of a classic fairy tale. Most such tales had subtle meanings and dark centers and here Perkins expertly brings them to the surface. It’s a bit more of an arthouse style horror and may not be for those who like their fright flicks more traditional, but the atmosphere Perkins creates and the visual storytelling make it very effective and worth watching. A chilling dark fairy tale from a director continuing to make his unique mark on modern horror cinema.

PERSONAL NOTE: I loved Rob’s score some much, I purchased it immediately upon returning home from seeing it.

-MonsterZero NJ

 

Rated 3 and 1/2 (out of 4) hairless cats.

 

 

 

 

 

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HORROR YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: IT CHAPTER TWO (2019)

IT: CHAPTER TWO (2019)

It: Chapter Two is an adaptation of the second half of Stephen King’s classic novel, focusing on the characters as adults, though we still visit them as kids in flashbacks. It’s been 27 years since we last saw the characters and something sinister is stirring in Derry once more. Only Mike Hanlon (Isaiah Mustafa) has remained and summons the other “Losers” Bill (James McAvoy), Bev (Jessica Chastain), Ben (Jay Ryan), Richie (Bill Hader), Eddie (James Ransone) and Stanley (Andy Bean) to return home to face Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård), hopefully for the last time. Stanley commits suicide, but the remaining members reluctantly return and must face some of their own personal demons before they can confront the demonic clown…who has been patiently waiting for them.

Second half is again well directed by Andy Muschietti from a script by Gary Dauberman, who co-wrote It: Chapter One. Like the first film, this flick has some wonderfully creepy visuals and some really cool monsters and ghouls, but is never really all that scary. There are some very effective moments and good jump scares, but, again, the movie never really gets under your skin or really grabs you. It’s quite entertaining, but there are also a few scenes, like Richie’s meeting with Pennywise in a park, that are a bit too over-the-top for their own good and come across as borderline silly. The film can be very gruesome and never feels nearly as long as it’s 169 minutes, though the inclusion of a sub-plot with grown-up bully Henry Bowers (Teach Grant) seemed like overkill and could have been removed with no harm to the story. The FX are top notch and we even get some background on Pennywise and what he really is and where he came from. To some this might remove some of his mystique, but it also moved this more into monster movie territory, which for others, is just fine. There was a great homage to John Carpenter’s The Thing and a very amusing cameo from a certain world famous author. As stated, it is more of a monster movie this time than supernatural thriller and that also made it a bit more fun and action oriented, though, again, never really as scary as it should have been.

The cast are again strong. McAvoy is very good as the adult Bill and seems to be the one most strongly onboard to confront Pennywise again. He is still tormented by guilt over Georgie. Chastain is a solid actress, no matter what the role and really gives Bev a strong emotional core. She’s still traumatized by her father and the choice of an abusive husband proves it. Pennywise isn’t the only demon she must face down. Hader is good as RIchie, who is now a stand-up comedian. He uses humor to hide his fear and still conveys much of his feelings in sarcasm. Hader shows some solid dramatic chops here. Isaiah Mustafa is noble as Mike, the only one to remain on watch in Derry. He also believes he knows how to stop the monstrous clown and uses that to convince the others to join him. Ryan is solid as the now skinny and sexy Ben. He still has a soft spot for Bev and is still in some ways insecure. Ransone is also good as the cowardly Eddie and makes his journey to overcome his fears work very well. Andy Bean has a brief few moments as Stanley, but makes them count to give his early death emotional resonance. All the young actors who portrayed the characters as kids also return in flashbacks. As for Pennywise, Bill Skarsgård has even more to do this half and it is in this second part that he really makes this incarnation of the character his own. The young actors who played the characters as kids, all return in flashbacks.

Overall, this second chapter was an entertaining flick, but still wasn’t all that scary. Andy Muschietti directs well and has a great visual eye, as well as, takes a few risks this time with the carnage. The cast all perform strongly and there are plenty of effective scenes to entertain. The film can also be a little too over-the-top at times for it’s own good, like a Chinese restaurant scene, and a few of these scenes do skirt a little close to being silly. It does keep one involved, despite being almost three hours long, though a few things here and there could have been trimmed with no harm to the proceedings. A solid mainstream horror and will most likely repeat the success of It: Chapter One.

-MonsterZero NJ

3 (out of 4) red balloons.

 

 

 

 

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HORROR YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: IT (2017)

IT (2017)

New adaptation of Stephen King’s classic novel basically covers the first half of his book by focusing on the characters as kids. The children of Derry, Maine have something to be afraid of as someone…or something…is stalking them and taking them, including Bill Denbrough’s little brother Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott). Bill (Jaeden Lieberher) gathers his band of misfit friends to investigate and finds that a number of children die or go missing in Derry every twenty-seven years. They also find that an evil entity is involved that takes the form of a clown named Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) and worst of all, the group of friends now have the fiendish clown’s attention.

New version of King’s best selling book is a well enough made film by Mama director Andy Muschietti from a script by Cary Fukunaga, Chase Palmer and Gary Dauberman. Like his first film this flick has some wonderfully creepy visuals, but isn’t really all that scary. There are certainly some effective moments in It, but the film never really gets intense or digs it’s nails in to really frighten you. It works and entertains, but is obviously a horror made to appeal to the mainstream audience who doesn’t venture too far from the generic PG-13 horror fair that is all too common lately. The film is R-rated and has a few gruesome moments, but never gets too intense or brutal, so it doesn’t alienate the average movie goer who is only going due to the Stephen King name being attached or having read the book. Folks who watch everything horror will probably find it entertaining enough, yet leave wishing it had really turned the screws instead of mildly twisting them. In It‘s favor, there are also some very well done coming of age story elements, such as dealing with bullies (Nicholas Hamilton), being perceived as different and first love, as between Bill and Bev (Sophia Lillis). They work well enough to endear us to the characters, so we do care when things start to really pick up. The film is moderately paced and takes time to tell it’s story…technically, it’s half of the story…and it’s only in the second act when the horror elements become steady and as such, it’s delivers some fun stuff, just nothing truly frightening. Much like with Mama, one leaves feeling it could have been more had Muschietti really went for the throat. He seems to be a director who likes to play it safe and when wanting to appeal to a mainstream audience with a horror…even an R-rated one…studios generally like to play it safe.

The cast are strong and that helps even if the horror elements felt like pulled punches at times. The young cast members are all good in their roles with Jaeden Lieberher and Sophia Lillis being standouts. Lieberher conveys well a boy not willing to give up hope that his lost little brother will someday come home and Lillis is very strong as a young girl becoming a young woman and catching her widowed father’s attention in the worst way. The rest of the kids play their fairly stereotypical roles well with the fat kid (Jeremy Ray Taylor), the Jewish kid (Wyatt Oleff ), the wise-ass (Finn Wolfhard), the black kid (Chosen Jacobs) and the sickly kid (Jack Dylan Grazer) all present and accounted for. As the main villain, Bill Skarsgård is certainly effective as Pennywise, but his performance is enhanced with a lot of state-of-the-art SPFX whereas Tim Curry achieved more with simply his performance in the modestly budgeted 1990 TV movie version. Curry was creepier without being surrounded by CGI, though Skarsgård certainly has his moments.

Overall, this was an entertaining flick, but clearly a horror flick made for mainstream audiences that don’t regularly choose horror. It’s made for the folks that flock to big name adaptations or the works of A-list directors, but avoid the more intense stuff that usually premiers on VOD or in limited runs. Mama director Andy Muschietti directs well and the film looks great, though plays it safe scare-wise with not getting too intense or brutal as to scare away the wider audience for which this was made. Either way, the success of It means studios will green-light more R-rated horror flicks, which isn’t a bad thing for a genre drowning in PG-13 teen-centric chillers as of late.

-MonsterZero NJ

3 (out of 4) red balloons.

 

 

 

 

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