3 Short Paragraphs: Gretel & Hansel

2020, Oz Perkins (I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives In the House) -- download

From meh to wow, with a liberal bit of huh? This art house take on the faery tale is mystifying and captivating and more than a little weird. It fits well into that sub-genre that includes The VVitch and It Comes At Night (post conveyed to The Void), atmospheric horror where often the environment is scarier than the events, that relies on that childhood level of fear of the unknown, when you would sleep in a tent and hear twigs scraping on trunks and envision anything could be coming to get you.

Rather than do the twins wandering into the wood, we have older Gretel (Sophia Lillis, It) and Hansel younger, who are turned out to the wood, after not securing a servant's job in the house of a lecherous old man. Assisted by a woodsman, they are directed to head to the other side of the forest where they will find refuge... as long as they don't stray from the path. Buuuut after an encounter with some hallucinogenic mushrooms, they stray, and end up at the lovely A-frame cottage of The Witch (Alice Krige, Children of Dune), which reminded me of the Stave Churches of the Scandinavian region. Inside, the children see a table overflowing with a feast but nobody about. And thus they get entwined in the Witch's legacy.

Where the rest of the movie has this otherworldly lost in time feel to it, Alice Krige plays the witch like some kooky old American widow. She has nefarious plans in mind for Gretel, connected to a local legendary witch called The Beautiful Girl. In classic arthouse style, styles juxtaposed with the mood, often jumping from horror to social commentary to eerie beauty. While a bit rough around the edges, I rather enjoyed its atmospheric intent. Lillis really proves she is going to be more than just the Girl Who Was In IT, with Gretel also proving she is not to be the pawn in anyone's game.