What We Learned from the Gretel and Hansel Trailer

I have to say that I agree with James Whitbrook of Gizmodo that it’s interesting how this movie seems to have placed Gretel in the driver’s seat for the story, while Hansel is kind of the tagalong that his older sister has to take with her. It’s kind of laughable to think that there’s no message there, but in the face of what the movie seems to offer it might be just fine to let it go and focus instead on the fact that a fairy tale that was so severely messed-up in the first place has taken on a new dimension of depravity as the trailer shows that things are only going to get worse for the two siblings. Sophia Lillis from IT is going to be playing Gretel as it’s seen while Sammy Leakey will play Hansel. So far as it’s been seen the movie will focus upon the manner in which the two children reach the witch’s domain and then the issue with actually getting out. But there seems to be more to it than that since as a lot of us should be able to remember the whole idea was that the witch’s house wasn’t so easy to escape and the two children had to toss her in the oven before they could make their getaway.

Bringing these old fables back to life is a tricky business sometimes since they tend to be quite rooted in the consciousness of so many across the world that making even a tiny mistake that some might miss could very easily be caught by someone that knows the tale forward and backwards. The fun part about fairy tales however is that they can be told in many different ways so long as the core of the story is held to in some way. After all, the movie Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, was something of a train wreck, but at the same time it still kept a few core ideas that made it seem at least worth watching. The upgraded technology and the fact that it advanced the two children in years, enough so that they were grown adults, was somewhat interesting, as was the onset of diabetes that Hansel suffered after being fed too many sweets. This movie took the old idea of the fable and tried to bring it into a slightly different era than many could envision and as a result it didn’t really do all the well or last that long. But it was a decent attempt and kind of entertaining throughout moments in the movie.

This movie coming up seems fit to scare the living daylights out of those that love a good fright, and it does seem as though it might deliver since it’s not bothering to do anything but stick to a time period when fear of the unknown and unnatural was still rampant and the idea of witches and curses and magic was still very prominent. There is a possibility of looking at the fable from a more realistic standpoint since like many legends and myths there is always some scrap of truth no matter how small or how hard to find. But the story of the two fated children that wandered through the woods only to find the witch’s home is one that can be firmly rooted in truth simply because the fantastical elements could be the imaginings of a child coupled with the fear of the unknown that could make something seem magical, dark in nature, or otherwise frightening. For the sake of the movie it would seem that this is too simple of an explanation, but it’s easy to assume that there will be some occult feeling in the movie and at least some unease that drives it.

This will no doubt be great for those that love horror, suspense, and a good thrill to go with it since the dark, ominous feel of it does seem to imply that things are are going to get very bad at some point, and very quickly. The story of Gretel and Hansel is one that a lot of people have heard as kids as a type of cautionary tale to warn them from wandering too far from home or from taking candy from strangers, but it’s also been a great fable throughout history that has captured the attention of many. To think that it’s still a great tale for those that love the stories of the dark and the things that dwell in it is strangely uplifting since it means that the old stories are still popular and are still given the proper respect they deserve. How this one will turn out is anyone’s guess since even if they follow the fable from front to back there’s bound to be enough of a difference to make it unique.