Gretel & Hansel

Orion Pictures | Release Date: January 31, 2020

4.9	USER SCORE Mixed or average reviews based on 137 Ratings

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aynksFeb 14, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gretel and Hansel provides a different thriller/horror experience that Robert Eggers would not be too fond of. Although its aspect ratio, cinematography, and acting contain noticeable accomplishments, its lackluster narrative can leave audience members wanting to take a nap halfway through the film.

I believe Gretel and Hansel's biggest accomplishments were through cinematography and acting. With Eggers being a prime influence, this was shot in an abnormal aspect ratio that was definitely unique to watch. The cinematography is great in my opinion. There were plenty of scenes that were shot to perfection and it kept the movies pace going even though it felt too long. The acting was great, I believe everyone killed it (specifically Sophia Lillis). Some areas of these had faults though... The CGI of the witch's younger form was really hard to watch coming out of the drain. I actually laughed out loud while watching. That whole scene was just rough... really rough...

That is the main issue. There was some good paces throughout the movie, but they always led to dull, uneventful, and mediocre moments that were not scary but just weird to view as an audience member. I mean, seriously, there are a few scenes in this movie that are absolutely awful and hard to watch. You almost think it is a different movie. Almost as if the writers ripped off part of the script and made up the missing pieces overnight.

The plot, screenplay, etc. that was the ultimate downfall. The movie was not even at 2 hours, but I felt like I was sitting there for at least 4. I just wanted it to be over. The plot was not progressing and it already seemed to be predictable beyond belief. I like the twist of enhancing Gretel's role, but it just led itself down some bad trails.

Overall, I may have talked about positives and negatives fairly equal here, but the negative took this one for me. The plot was bland and had no strength to run and achieve a better satisfaction for its audience. This hurts the most because I feel Gretel and Hansel had some potential with its story. Unfortunately, with its flat climax I find myself wanting to take a few naps pretty early in.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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theredskyFeb 4, 2020

Gretel and Hansel feels like Oz Perkins is trying to make his movie feel like a Robert Eggers film but it fails at that. The only aspects I really enjoyed were technical ones. The one element that I felt was great was the score by RobinGretel and Hansel feels like Oz Perkins is trying to make his movie feel like a Robert Eggers film but it fails at that. The only aspects I really enjoyed were technical ones. The one element that I felt was great was the score by Robin Coudert. It’s intense and is the only thing that causes some scenes to have some sort of tension. The cinematography was pretty good. It felt atmospheric and made some scenes look very visually interesting. The production design was pretty good also. The sets look interesting and unique. As much as I enjoy the technical aspects, the rest of the film falls below average. The performances range from good to bad. Alice Krige did a good job as the witch. She had her moments but there really wasn’t a whole lot to it. She was able to make her bad dialogue sound somewhat better. Sophia Lillis was decent as Gretel and Sam Leakey as Hansel was pretty bad. Their performances are made a little worse by the script. The script is pretty bad. The dialogue spoken between characters is extremely awkward and poor and can cause you to look at the screen and think, “what the hell?”. The characters were uninteresting to me. There wasn’t a lot to them that made me want to care about their struggles. The story and flow of events was very boring to me. Besides the visuals, there wasn’t anything that was getting me invested with what was going on. The good thing though is that the film isn’t even an hour and a half long so it isn’t a pain to sit through but it felt a little bit longer due to pacing issues. The first act of the film goes by very quickly but the rest of the film is very slow. It attempts to set up the characters and then drags out their encounter with the witch a little too much. Overall, Gretel and Hansel may have some great technical aspects but its performances, story, script, and pacing really drag the film down for me.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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JLuis_001Feb 11, 2020

Applause for the visual and the atmospheric, the rest doesn't make it
It's just an attempt to become something more captivating but the attempt becomes tedious after a while.

Horror? Forget about it.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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joeyabukiMar 5, 2020

It has good things but it also has slow parts. Everyone who was in the theater was bored and when it was over they said "what a bad movie" and they made fun of "in administration you can go to get the 50% refund of the ticket" hahaha. It doesIt has good things but it also has slow parts. Everyone who was in the theater was bored and when it was over they said "what a bad movie" and they made fun of "in administration you can go to get the 50% refund of the ticket" hahaha. It does have a somewhat strange ending. Obviously each person has their tastes, I liked that it is not the classic Disney story but terror, something different, I also liked that within the terror is different from today's genre, the gloomy atmosphere it has is great, the sounds, OST and the performances too.… Expand