Gretel & Hansel

Oz Perkins – son of Psycho alum Anthony Perkins – thrills once again with this short but chilling story of Gretel and her misadventures in the woods. In this film, scripted by Rob Hayes, he focuses almost exclusively on the female characters and the power struggle between Gretel (Sophia Lillis) and the witch (an intimidating Alice Krige). All the elements of a great film are here – the actors can clearly act, the scenery is gorgeous, the script is sharp, the cinematography eye-popping – but the overall effect is somehow underwhelming. The final sequence, involving extensive visual effects and narrative ellipses, especially contributes to this feeling of incompleteness. It’s almost as if Oz Perkins got too scared to finish his movie properly.

What he does to justice to, throughout, is bringing out the best performances from his actors. Alice Krige especially shines as a misunderstood old woman, and is given plenty to work with in this script. Sophia Lillis, of It and It: Chapter Two also excels, in her way, but with less marginally less poise than her counterpart. Both are fed a wealth of strong scenes by the very serviceable script. Where the film falls over, most obviously, is putting those strong performances onscreen. Stylistically beautiful, and overflowing with angst, the story risks drowning in its own neuroses.

The interesting and compelling aspect of the story is the tension of self-awareness – this is what gives it such enduring appeal. If the filmmakers could have maintained this tension just over the last few scenes, it would have lifted their work into genre-defining territory.