This classic childhood story is grim indeed. Gretel & Hansel: A Grim Fairy Tale’s trailer just gave fans the first look into this disturbing breadcrumb adventure with a new twist. According to ScreenRant, the movie is slated for a January 31, 2020, release and stars Sophia Lillis as Gretel, a 16-year-old who heads into the woods with her younger brother Hansel (Sam Leakey) in search of food and work to support their struggling family.
As expected, they encounter a creepy witch (Alice Krige, Carnival Row) who takes them in with her own agenda in mind. Unlike its predecessors, Gretel & Hansel will take a look into the witch’s past to shed more light on how and why she’s kidnapping and hurting people.
The clip is a mix of expected story elements—like Gretel and Hansel wandering towards the witch’s home—and surprising updates of shoes hanging from trees, red smoke, and a line of very creepy looking village people. There’s a fine balance between giving enough info to entice viewers and revealing a little too much, and this trailer does a great job of walking that line.
Gretel and Hansel’s cinematography is reminiscent of The Witch, with a hazy, damp depiction of these woods of terror that plays with natural light and shadows. Lillis, a breakout actress in IT, is setting herself up to become a horror and thriller film mainstay and Krige’s long history in the genre in movies like Ghost Story and Silent Hill shine through in her sinister portrayal of the witch. Unfortunately, January is known as the “dump month” for movies, but perhaps Gretel & Hansel will buck this trend with a thrilling and interesting story.
How deep will this twisted adventure go? Fans will have to #FollowTheBreadcrumbs and find out if this new take will elevate its source material and kick off a new decade of supernatural horror greatness.