Penelope Misceo
Arts Editor
Failing to deliver in many aspects, “Gretel & Hansel” most importantly does not convey any successful elements of horror.
With a boring storyline and minimal dialogue, “Gretel & Hansel” fails to provide its audience with anything original. While the sound mixing is undeniably creative, the rest of the film proves to be lackluster.
Oz Perkins directed “Gretel & Hansel,” and it stars Sophia Lillis as Gretel and Sammy Leaky as Hansel. The score was composed by Robin Coudert, and the sound mixing was done by Matt Cavanaugh.
A dark twist on the classic tale of Hansel and Gretel, “Gretel & Hansel” follows a brother and sister as they venture through the woods in search of an escape from poverty and resources for their sick mother. When they come across a small house full of food and a seemingly generous woman, Gretel and Hansel soon learn the sinister, deadly truth of their situation.
The most clear weakness of the film is its overall lack of direction. The plot itself is monotonous, and even at its climax, it is a colorless experience for the audience. Additionally, the movie tries to tie everything up quickly at the end, causing the rest of the story to be slow and uneventful. Its take on the original story is not particularly unique and leaves viewers wondering if they are missing something.
Another aspect of “Gretel & Hansel” that makes it lackluster is its minimal dialogue. While a film can sometimes take this approach successfully, “Gretel & Hansel” could have benefited from more dialouge. When there are larger chunks of speaking interactions at once, they are awkward. The actors give it their all, but the overall lack of purpose within the dialogue makes the film hard to follow and pay attention to.
While the film was supposed to fall within the horror genre, it does not capitalize off the eerie nature of its source material, the original story of Hansel and Gretel. The overall tone of the movie suggests that it is attempting to provide a subtle, chilling experience to its audience, but fails to deliver on levels that would have supported those intentions.
The sole positive element of “Gretel & Hansel” is its score and sound mixing. While the music itself doesn’t help the film’s overall attempt at displaying features of horror, it did help it gain a definitive tone. The mix of an appropriately-timed score and dark cinematography allows the film to at least gain a consistency in tone. The visuals in the film are starkly dark and colorless, which fit its overall atmosphere.
“Gretel & Hansel” is an overall forgettable experience for its audience. With the lack of classic horror thrills and an irredeemably boring plot, the film does not provide anything special for its audience. Viewers looking for a thrilling, typical horror movie experience are best off looking elsewhere.
Actors Lillis and Leaky give strong and believable performances, but other aspects of the film make it hard to recognize this. There was minimal opportunity for the actors to showcase their skills, putting the film in a bad place from the beginning, as it does not take advantage of its strongest potential.
The overall entertainment value of “Gretel & Hansel” is primarily diminished by its lack of originality. The original story that it is based on is already a dark story on its own, making it difficult for the film to find its own qualities that make it unique from the original.
Released on Jan. 31, “Gretel and Hansel” is rated PG-13 and is playing in theaters nationwide.
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