Gretel & Hansel

"A grim fairy tale."

2020 1h 27m EN

😐

6.0

MID

🍅

63%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

5.5

IMDB

★6.0TMDB · 1,631🍅63%Rotten Tomatoes●64Metacritic★5.5IMDB · 37,638

HorrorFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A long time ago in a distant fairy tale countryside, a young girl leads her little brother into a dark wood in desperate search of food and work, only to stumble upon a nexus of terrifying evil.

“A grim fairy tale.”

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Cast

Sophia Lillis
Gretel
Samuel Leakey
Hansel
Alice Krige
Witch
Jessica De Gouw
Young Witch
Charles Babalola
The Hunter
Fiona O'Shaughnessy
Mother
Donncha Crowley
Master Stripp
Jonathan Gunning
Emaciated Man

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Osgood Perkins
Writers: Rob Hayes, Wilhelm Grimm, Jacob Grimm
Languages: English
Countries: Canada, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

87 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.5× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 6 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Osgood Perkins, shot by Galo Olivares. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Robin Coudert. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Josh Ethier shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Sophia Lillis and Samuel Leakey and Alice Krige carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Osgood Perkins directs. Galo Olivares behind the camera. Robin Coudert scores. Josh Ethier cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Canada, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

187 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Made its money back 4.5× over at the box office.
3Released 6 years ago.
4International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.
5Directed by Osgood Perkins, shot by Galo Olivares. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Robin Coudert. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Josh Ethier shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Sophia Lillis and Samuel Leakey and Alice Krige carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "A grim fairy tale.".
10IMDB entry: tt9086228 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 12 themes, including "witch", "fairy tale", "woods", "tale".
12Released under 13 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Galo Olivares
Original score: Robin Coudert
Editing: Josh Ethier
Production design: Jeremy Reed
Costume design: Leonie Prendergast
Makeup / hair: Amy Bell
VFX supervisor: Kev Cahill
Sound: Diego Perez
Runtime: 87 min · 1h 27m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $5,000,000
Box office: $22,304,357
Return: 446% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Gretel & Hansel (2020)
Rotten Tomatoes: 63% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 64/100
IMDB rating: 5.5/10 · 37,638 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

4 wins & 16 nominations total

Also by

Osgood Perkins

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Manuel São Bento2020-02-21
★ 5/10
If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog @ https://www.msbreviews.com As surprising (and shameful) as it might be, I didn't know the original tale of which the film is based on. Maybe I just couldn't remember because once I learned the story, it did seem familiar. Either way, not knowing anything before-hand is my favorite way of "preparing" myself to watch a movie. I was moderately interested in this horror take of Gretel & Hansel, and I was genuinely excited to see Sophia Lillis as the lead actress. I feel very divided about it. It's a super captivating film production-wise, but it lacks some emotionally compelling storytelling, especially in the last third of the narrative. First of all, Sophia Lillis is excellent as Gretel. I really enjoyed her performances in It and It: Chapter Two, and I knew she had something special. It was a matter of time until she got the right role at the right movie, and Oz Perkins can thank her for carrying most of the story on her shoulders. With a well-balanced display, Lillis beautifully incorporates Gretel's persona, offering a good range of emotions, and proving that she has a future under horror projects. Gretel's love for her brother is demonstrated both through affection and cold interactions, making their relationship feel less fairytale and more realistic. Sam Leakey is a pleasant surprise as Hansel, considering this is his acting debut. While it's noticeable that he's still green, he didn't annoy me at all, and he actually delivered a couple of great lines. Alice Krige offers a cliche yet weirdly captivating performance as the evil witch. Nevertheless, it's through its beautiful visuals and addictive original score (very 80s-like) that Gretel & Hansel got me invested until the end. Its production and set design create such an immersive environment, and its score (Robin Coudert) elevates basically every single scene. Galo Olivares' cinematography features an unusual style, but one that easily generates tension and suspense. Technically, it's honestly a fantastic surprise, I was not expecting such a high-level film in these regards. However, it all comes down to the two main components of every movie: screenplay and characters. Even if Gretel is well-developed, the other characters could have received a bit of more care. The screenplay is the main issue, though. It starts with narration and heavy exposition. Something that takes too much out of the runtime, and it seems partially unnecessary since some of the information is somewhat repeated later on. It also spoils (well, it heavily hints) the connecting dots to the second half's mystery, turning that half too predictable and, to be completely honest, a tad boring. The ending is also underwhelming. By not being able to properly close the narrative, the feeling of disappointment is tricky to avoid. It's one of those films that will definitely divide critics and audiences all around the world. The first group still has the technical aspects that can captivate anyone until the very end. However, audiences simply want to be entertained, and the purposefully slow pacing won't help, so I do understand if this group has an adverse reaction to this adaptation. All in all, Gretel & Hansel is a pretty uncommon horror flick. It possesses technical features worthy of the very best movies of the same genre, but its screenplay lacks creativity and overall quality. A predictable narrative with slow pacing is (almost?) never a good attribute. Nevertheless, Sophia Lillis is an outstanding lead, giving a great performance. Galo Olivares' cinematography is pretty unique, the production and set design make the whole environment very immersive, but it's the addictive score from Robin Coudert that steals the spotlight. Oz Perkins shows excellent directing skills, but a less appealing second half with a disappointing third act doesn't let this film reach its true potential. Rating: C+

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