Today, Prime Video opened the vault to the official trailer for the upcoming post-apocalyptic series Fallout, based on the immensely popular retro-futuristic video game franchise. The cinematic trailer, which maintains the game’s expansive world-building and signature dark humor, sees vault dweller Lucy (Ella Purnell) struggle to adapt to the twisted and dangerous world of the irradiated wasteland and offers the first glimpse of Moldaver (Sarita Choudhury) and Ma June (Dale Dickey). Prime Video’s Fallout series will premiere all eight episodes on April 11 on the streaming platform, one day sooner than previously announced.
Fallout is a post-apocalyptic role-playing video game series heavily influenced by 1950s post-war culture. Much of the franchise occurs hundreds of years after a great war over resources decimated the planet. The U.S. government set up a series of self-sufficient fallout shelters known as Vaults, but there wasn’t enough room for everyone, and those who survived the nuclear fallout became horribly mutated.
In the Fallout trailer, Ella Purnell is Lucy, “an optimistic Vault-dweller with an all-American can-do spirit. Her peaceful and idealistic nature is tested when she is forced to the surface to rescue her father. Aaron Moten is Maximus, a young soldier who rises to the rank of squire in the militaristic faction called Brotherhood of Steel. He will do anything to further the Brotherhood’s goals of bringing law and order to the wasteland. Walton Goggins is the Ghoul, a morally ambiguous bounty hunter who holds within him a 200-year history of the post-nuclear world.”
Jonathan Nolan directed the first three episodes of the Kilter Films series. Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner serve as executive producers, writers, and co-showrunners. The series comes from Kilter Films and executive producers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy. Athena Wickham of Kilter Films also executive produces, along with Todd Howard for Bethesda Game Studios and James Altman for Bethesda Softworks.
“Fallout is one of the greatest game series of all time,” said Nolan and Joy in 2021 when Prime Video announced the project. “Each chapter of this insanely imaginative story has cost us countless hours we could have spent with family and friends. So we’re incredibly excited to partner with Todd Howard and the rest of the brilliant lunatics at Bethesda to bring this massive, subversive, and darkly funny universe to life with Amazon Studios.”
Wow! Prime Video’s Fallout trailer is outstanding! This show resembles an honest-to-goodness adaptation of the video game franchise from people who genuinely care about the property and understand its dark humor and cast of bizarre characters. I was skeptical about this project, but now I’m counting the days until its release! Let’s go!
PLOT: Recently released from prison, former thief and drug addict Rob gets a job caring for Doctor Nina Jekyll, who’s recovering from a broken leg. But the more time Rob spends around Nina, the more it becomes clear there’s something strange going on in the Jekyll mansion.
REVIEW: Founded in 1934, the Hammer film production company became very popular when it started releasing horror films in the mid-1950s. From that point through the early ‘70s, Hammer was one of the biggest names in horror… but then they found it hard to compete with the big horror films of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, and things gradually fell apart for them. In 1979, the company went into liquidation. Attempts to revive the Hammer brand began in 2008, and we’ve seen some notable releases from the company in recent years: Let Me In, The Resident, The Woman in Black, and The Lodge among them. In 2021, the revived Hammer Films teamed with the UK’s Network Distributing to form a new company called Hammer Studios Ltd. In 2023, that company was acquired by the John Gore Organisation – and now, the first release from Hammer: A John Gore Company is director Joe Stephenson’s Doctor Jekyll, “a modern interpretation” of Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. This wasn’t a project that was developed by Hammer, it’s one that was already in the works when they picked it up, but it’s fitting that this new Hammer should get rolling with an update of a classic horror story. Especially since this is material the original Hammer dealt with in The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960) and Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971).
Films like those have helped ensure that most of us are quite familiar with the concept Stevenson came up with so long ago: London-based doctor Henry Jekyll, “a reputable gentleman,” finds a way to transform himself into a repugnant, evil fellow called Edward Hyde, and is then horrified by his alter ego’s violent behavior while his transformations into Hyde become more and more difficult to hold off. Scripted by Dan Kelly-Mulhern, this film’s take on the idea moves the setting into modern day and centers on Doctor Nina Jekyll, the granddaughter of Henry Jekyll who has inherited the family mansion – and has also taken up the research that caused her grandfather so much trouble. Just like the Jekyll of the source material, Grandpa Jekyll made a discovery that turned him into someone twisted and evil, with dimmed empathy receptors. So of course, why wouldn’t Nina want to dig into that same research?
This version of Doctor Jekyll is getting a lot of attention due to the fact that the title character is a trans person played by gender fluid comedian/actor Eddie Izzard, who prefers the use of she/her pronouns. But Nina being trans has nothing to do with the overall story, and the fact that young Nina is played in a flashback by child actress Lettie De Beaujeu indicates she must have transitioned at a very young age. The mention of Nina being trans is really just a way to allow Izzard to play the character, which was a great choice, because Izzard has always been awesome, whether in (as she puts it) “boy mode” or “girl mode.” The only down side to this situation is the way Stephenson and Kelly-Mulhern chose to portray the Jekyll-to-Hyde transformations. Instead of there being a physical transformation to differentiate the Jekyll and Hyde characters, the switch between personalities in this film are imperceptible. Characters (and the audience) can never be sure exactly when Izzard is playing Jekyll and when she’s playing Hyde, because this Hyde is a schemer and a manipulator. It’s an interesting approach, but it means that Izzard isn’t able to really let loose in the Hyde persona until very late in the 89 minute running time.
For the most part, Doctor Jekyll plays as a drama rather than a horror film. We enter the world (or the mansion) of the reclusive doctor from the perception of a young man named Rob Stevenson, played Scott Chambers – who, under the name Scott Jeffrey, has produced nearly 100 low budget genre films over the last decade, including Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey. Rob is a former thief and drug addict who has just been released from prison and needs a job so he’ll be able to see his daughter, who was born while he was locked up. Although Jekyll’s assistant Sandra Poole (Lindsay Duncan) doesn’t believe Rob is right for the job, Jekyll is drawn to the young man and hires him to be her caretaker while she recovers from a broken leg. We’re then treated to a lot of scenes of Rob settling into his job at the Jekyll estate, interacting with Jekyll (or is it Hyde?), and just hoping to stay on the right path. Even though his ex Maeve (Robyn Cara) is trying to pull him back into a life of crime.
I didn’t expect Doctor Jekyll to be such a low-key drama when I started watching the movie, but it’s interesting enough as the dramatic scenes play out and really didn’t need the occasional attempt to create a jump scare by dropping loud noise on the soundtrack. How are we even expected to jump at a moment like the one where Jekyll finds Rob snooping around in a hallway when Rob has a goofy smile on his face as he turns to face his employer? Rob is a goofy, awkward fellow in general, which I assume was a choice made by Stephenson and Chambers. It makes this a unique performance to watch, as Chambers certainly wasn’t leaning into the ex-con stereotypes.
Hammer doesn’t have a new classic on their hands with this new take on Doctor Jekyll, and horror fans who check it out hoping to see some rampaging Hyde action are going to be disappointed, but it’s an okay drama that plays around with some familiar concepts. Then the horror kicks in, leading to an ending that I’m not quite sure about. I enjoyed watching the film overall, but I’m not going to feel compelled to have more viewings in the future. So I would recommend checking it out and giving it a try, but be aware that the pace, tone, and the presentation of Hyde are probably not what you were initially expecting.
Doctor Jekyll will be available for digital download as of March 11th.
A few weeks ago, we heard that the Nicolas Cage survival thriller Arcadian (formerly known as Sand and Stones) will be getting a theatrical release, courtesy of RLJE Films, on April 12th. With that release date just a month away, a trailer for the film has now arrived online and can be seen in the embed above.
Scripted by Michael Nilon (Braven), Arcadian has the following synopsis: In the future, in a sparsely populated world, normal life has been decimated. Paul and his twin teenage sons, Thomas and Joseph, have managed to claw out an existence in their remote farmhouse, yet they live in constant fear. When the sun sets, ferocious creatures of the night awaken to hunt and consume all living souls in their path. And when Thomas makes one small mistake, the nocturnal creatures gain the upper hand and come for them. In a race against time, Paul, Thomas and Joseph must execute a desperate plan for survival.
Jaeden Martell (Stephen King’s It), Maxwell Jenkins (Lost in Space) and Sadie Soverall (Fate: The Winx Saga) are also in the cast, with Martell and Jenkins playing the twin sons of Cage’s character. This project was a reunion for Cage and director Ben Brewer, as they previously worked together on the crime thriller The Trust.
Cage is producing Arcadian through his company Saturn Films, alongside Nilon, Braxton Pope, David Wulf of Redline Entertainment, and Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier of Highland Film Group. Aperture’s Slava Vladimirov, Jared Underwood, and Andrew Robinson serve as executive producers. Highland Film Group is co-financing the project and handling the world rights. Fraser has previously described the film as a “thrilling, action packed ride.”
What did you think of the Arcadian trailer? Will you be checking this one out on the big screen next month? Let us know by leaving a comment below. Beyond the theatrical release, the movie will be going to the Shudder and AMC+ streaming services later in the year.
I’m a Nicolas Cage fan, and there’s no way I’m going to miss the chance to watch him take on “creatures of the night” in this survival thriller.
Game of Thrones TV series creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are now set to bring viewers an epic Netflix series called 3 Body Problem, an adaptation of a trilogy of sci-fi novels written by Chinese author Liu Cixin. The premiere date for this one is March 21st – and with that date just two weeks away, a final trailer for the show has made its way online. You can check it out in the embed above.
The 3 Body Problem was the title of the first novel in Cixin’s Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy. The second novel was titled The Dark Forest and the third Death’s End. The novels tell the story of what happens when humanity discovers that we are not alone in the universe and prepares for an alien force arriving from a distant and inhospitable world. The title refers to the aliens’ star system, which has three stars orbiting each other in such a way that an Earth-type planet between them keeps suffering extreme hot and cold temperatures, repeatedly wiping out its intelligent civilizations.
The first eight episodes of the Netflix adaptation have the following synopsis: A young woman’s fateful decision in 1960s China reverberates across space and time to a group of brilliant scientists in the present day. As the laws of nature unravel before their eyes, five former colleagues reunite to confront the greatest threat in humanity’s history. The series stars Eiza González (Baby Driver, From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series), Jovan Adepo (Overlord, The Stand), Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange, Gemini Man), John Bradley (Game of Thrones, Moonfall), Tsai Chin (Lucky Grandma, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones, Dog Soldiers), Jess Hong (Inked, The Brokenwood Mysteries), Marlo Kelly (Home and Away, Dare Me), Alex Sharp (How toTalk to Girls at Parties, The Trial of the Chicago 7), Sea Shimooka (Pink Skies Ahead, Arrow), Saamer Usmani (InventingAnna, Succession), and newcomer Zine Tseng.
Benioff, Weiss, and Alexander Woo (The Terror: Infamy) are co-creators, executive producers, and writers on 3 Body Problem. Bernadette Caulfield is also an executive producer, as are Rian Johnson, Ram Bergman, and Nena Rodrigue of T-Street; Lin Qi, the late former Chairman of Yoozoo Group, and Zhao Jilong, CEO of the rights-holder, The Three-Body Universe; Xiaosong Gao and Lauren Ma; Plan B Entertainment’s Brad Pitt, Jeremy Kleiner, and Dede Gardner; and Rosamund Pike and Robie Uniacke of Primitive Streak. Derek Tsang and Andrew Stanton direct and co-executive produce, with Jeremy Podeswa and Minkie Spiro also directing episodes.
What did you think of the final trailer for 3 Body Problem? Will you be watching this show when it starts streaming on Netflix? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
The Batman 2 comes out in October of 2025, and while the premise has been pretty hush-hush so far, the film will likely heavily feature Barry Keoghan’s Joker. His take on the Clown Prince of Crime was revealed towards the end of The Batman in a delicately shot conversation between his character and Paul Dano’s Riddler. Of course, there was also that famous deleted scene which featured Robert Pattinson’s Batman interrogating him at Arkham Asylum, but his presence in The Batman 2 is set to be more prominent.
Here’s the thing – we’ve had a whole lot of Jokers in movies. One could say the same thing about Batman, but at some point, isn’t it almost too much? Barry Keoghan is an amazing actor, fresh off his wild performance in Saltburn, and his touching role in The Banshees of Inisherin. He’ll certainly be good in the role, but do we really need a new Joker? To some extent, haven’t we had enough (excellent) takes on the role? Heath Ledger is arguably the most iconic from The Dark Knight, but Joaquin Phoenix is the most acclaimed, winning an Oscar. He’s got Joker: Folie a Deux out later this year, which may well be another major Oscar contender. Won’t any follow-up Joker be measured to his impossibly high standard? Remember what happened to Jared Leto in Suicide Squad? One could argue that his appearance as The Joker hurt his career more than it helped it. It seems like a risk for Keoghan to play The Joker if he’s going to be overshadowed by Phoenix this way.
In this video, our host, Kier Gomes, takes a look at both of Keoghan’s scenes in The Batman (including the deleted one) to judge whether or not he can bring something new to the table and really make his own impression as Batman’s greatest nemesis.
Jason Momoa may not be seen in the new entry in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune series, but the Aquaman star has taken the time to talk with The Hollywood Reporter on a number of new projects, including directing a Guinness commercial and filming the upcoming Minecraft movie. In the interview, Momoa professed how much of a dream it is for him to helm a commercial for the Guinness brand. While not his first time behind the camera, he would express, “What I love about being a director is that everything up on that picture, I’m going to be judged for. […] When you’re a director, I get to choose everything, everything in the frame, what people are wearing, who’s acting, everything is what I want.”
While speaking with THR, he also glows about the new Dune as well as his experience with Denis Villeneuve. When asked if he was able to see Dune: Part Two, Momoa stated, “F*ck yeah, I saw it, bro. I saw it a couple of times. I saw it a long time ago and then I saw it again before it came out. I love that movie. They killed it. God, I’m so proud. Speaking of being proud, Denis Villeneuve is my favorite director in the fucking world. Him and Julian Schnabel are my favorite. They’re the ones who signed my DGA card when I became a member of the Directors Guild of America. It was a massive honor. “
Momoa continues, “But Denis, I’m so proud of him. I worked with producer Cale Boyter [on Dune], and we started hanging out and he said, ‘Dude, I got to put you in a comedy.’ Fucking sure enough, I got Minecraft with Jack Black, and Cale is producing this one. I built a really good family of friends on Dune. Timmy just texted me the other day. Javier’s amazing. Josh Brolin is my older brother. I’m just so happy for everyone. That’s the cool thing. You build these relationships and then they just go out and they fucking kill it, man. Excited to see what the future holds and it’s beautiful. It’s a masterpiece, man.”
Universal Pictures and Peacock forked over an amount somewhere in the range of $400 million to acquire the rights to distribute a trilogy of sequels to the 1973 classic The Exorcist, which we’re going to another collaboration between Blumhouse Productions and directed David Gordon Green (who recently delivered a trilogy of Halloween sequels), they were definitely expecting the first entry in the new trilogy to go over better with audiences than The Exorcist: Believer did when it was released last October. (You can read our 4/10 review HERE.) The box office numbers were okay, the movie pulled in $137 million on a $30 million budget, but Universal was hoping for a lot better than “okay,” and the reactions were largely negative. Soon after the release of Believer, we heard that Universal and Blumhouse still intended to carry out the trilogy, but the follow-ups would be reworked. While speaking to The Direct this week, producer / Blumhouse founder Jason Blum confirmed that the next Exorcist movie (previously announced as The Exorcist: Deceiver) is being redeveloped – so, as of right now, not even he knows what it’s going to be.
At one point, The Exorcist: Deceiver was locked in for an April 18, 2025 release date, with Green expected to return to direct from a screenplay he had already worked out. But since the disappointment of Believer, Green has left the sequel and it was removed from the release schedule.
Blum told The Direct that the movie was pulled from its 2025 release date so it can be redeveloped. “We are definitely going to make another Exorcist movie, but I wanted more time to figure out what it would be. I have no idea what it’s going to be yet.“
Green crafted the story for The Exorcist: Believer with Danny McBride (who wrote all three of the new Halloweens with him) and their Halloween Kills co-writer Scott Teems, then wrote the screenplay with Peter Sattler (Broken Diamonds). Here’s the synopsis: Since the death of his pregnant wife in a Haitian earthquake 12 years ago, Victor Fielding has raised their daughter on his own. But when Angela and her friend Katherine, disappear in the woods, only to return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, it unleashes a chain of events that will force Victor to confront the nadir of evil and, in his terror and desperation, seek out the only person alive who has witnessed anything like it before: Chris MacNeil.
Ellen Burstyn reprised the role of Chris MacNeil, the character she played in the 1973 classic The Exorcist, “an actress who has been forever altered by what happened to her daughter Regan five decades before.” She was joined in the cast by Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton) as Victor, Lidya Jewett (Nightbooks) as Angela, and newcomer Olivia O’Neill as Angela’s friend Katherine. Ann Dowd (The Handmaid’s Tale) played Victor and Angela’s neighbor, and Jennifer Nettles (The Righteous Gemstones) and Norbert Leo Butz (Fosse/Verdon) played Katherine’s parents. Original The Exorcist star Linda Blair was in there as well, reprising the role of Chris MacNeil’s daughter Regan. Okwui Okpokwasili (Master) was in the cast as Doctor Beehibe, and Raphael Sbarge (Carnosaur) played a pastor.
The Exorcist: Believer was produced by Jason Blum, David Robinson, and James Robinson. Green, McBride, Stephanie Allain, and Couper Samuelson serve as executive producers. Ryan Turek oversaw the project for Blumhouse.
If Jason Blum doesn’t know what The Exorcist: Deceiver (or whatever ends up being called) is yet, it’s probably going to be quite a while before the rest of us will find out what it’s going to be about. Are you interested in seeing more Exorcist movies? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
We’ve known for a while that one of the new ghosts that will be featured in the Ghostbusters: Afterlife (watch it HERE) sequel Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (which, of course, also serves as a sequel to the original Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II) would be a giant creature known as the Sewer Dragon. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is set to reach theatres on March 22nd, and with just a couple weeks to go until we reach that date, a clip from the film has arrived online to give us a preview of a chase sequence that involves the Sewer Dragon. You can check it out in the embed above.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife stars Finn Wolfhard and Mckenna Grace are back for the sequel, reprising the roles of Trevor and Phoebe. They’re joined in the cast by Carrie Coon, playing Trevor and Phoebe’s mom Callie; Paul Rudd, back as his Afterlife character Gary Grooberson; William Atherton as Walter Peck, the antagonistic EPA inspector from the first Ghostbusters film; Celeste O’Connor as Trevor’s friend Lucky Domingo; Logan Kim as Phoebe’s friend Podcast; Annie Potts as Janine Melnitz; and new additions Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick), Patton Oswalt (The King of Queens), James Acaster (Hypothetical), and Emily Alyn Lind (Doctor Sleep). And yes, original Ghostbusters Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson are in the film as well, and it looks like they have more prominent roles than they had in the previous movie – in fact, the director has said they’re “actual characters” in this one.
At first, Afterlife director Jason Reitman was expected to take the helm of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, once again directing from a screenplay he was writing with Gil Kenan – but then it was revealed that Kenan would actually be directing the new film. He previously directed the animated movie Monster House, the live-action films City of Ember, A Boy Called Christmas, and the remake of Poltergeist, and an episode of the Scream TV series. Kenan has said that he drew inspiration from the Real Ghostbusters animated series and its willingness to be weird and wild when they were coming up with the ghostly threats in this film.
Are you looking forward to Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire? What did you think of the Sewer Dragon chase clip? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Netflix is now getting into the ring with ESPN, DAZN and Showtime in an effort to offer content on combat sports. After the streaming giant signed a monumental deal with the WWE to have the streaming rights to WWE Raw, the entertainment platform is also now making a move to add boxing to their slate as The Hollywood Reporter reveals the streaming service is holding a “boxing mega-event” with two marquee names in the sport.
Netflix’s inaugural boxing event will feature a main bout with the former Heavyweight Champion of the World, Mike Tyson, and YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul. Paul has spent his recent years crossing over into boxing and MMA, taking on other YouTube celebrities as well as pro-fighters who have long since been retired. The YouTube star’s Most Valuable Promotions will be partnering with Netflix on the boxing event, which is set to stream live on the service from AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas on July 20. The event will be made available to all Netflix subscribers as opposed to the Pay-Per-View model that sports streaming services currently employ.
Gabe Spitzer, the VP of nonfiction sports for Netflix, has released a statement on the event that says, “Mike Tyson is one of the biggest icons in boxing history and Jake Paul is one of the biggest disruptors in boxing history. Saturday, July 20 will be pure drama in the ring in Texas. We are thrilled to partner with Most Valuable Promotions for this historic event and we can’t wait for these two to face off for fans all across the world on Netflix.”
This boxing stream, which will also feature undercard matches as well as a co-main event, joins Netflix’s broadcast of tennis match with Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal facing off in Las Vegas for The Netflix Slam, as well as a live stream of a golf event featuring PGA Tour stars pairing with Formula 1 drivers for The Netflix Cup.
Paul would release a statement that said, “It’s crazy to think that in my second pro fight, I went viral for knocking out Nate Robinson on Mike Tyson’s undercard. Now, less than four years later, I’m stepping up to face Tyson myself to see if I have what it takes to beat one of boxing’s most notorious fighters and biggest icons.” And Tyson would state, “He’s grown significantly as a boxer over the years, so it will be a lot of fun to see what the will and ambition of a ‘kid’ can do with the experience and aptitude of a GOAT.”
Whenever I get asked to recommend a good horror movie- I immediately take into consideration who I’m recommending it to. The key to a good movie recommendation is to compliment the other person’s tastes and suggest something that will comfortably expand their horizons. It also helps if the movie you’re recommending is criminally underseen for how incredibly well-made it is. Here’s what I mean- In 2020- yes, THAT 2020- the entire world was affected by unprecedented events that caused the everyday lives of everyday people to dramatically change. One of the many industries that suffered during this time was the Movie Theater industry. It was rough. It was stale. It was fucking Groundhog Day. At first, there were delays- movies just weren’t coming out at all. Then, some that were meant for theaters and Imax ended up going straight to streaming, delays, delays, more delays. And before you knew it, the days of limited theatrical releases were starting to come back. Movies were starting to exist outside of our living rooms again and for the everyday JoBlo- that meant new stories and adventures awaited us at the happiest place on earth, the movies. Only… Now people weren’t going. Listen, I have a movie recommendation that I simply cannot sit on any longer- You need to watch Gretel & Hansel. Yes, I know that the cult classic Jeremy Renner-led Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters is going to spammed in the comments of this video, and yes, it is an underrated and fun gem that deserves more respect but no- I’m not talking about that one. Although… Comment below if you’d want to see that. Instead, today I’m going to tell you why I think Gretel & Hansel (watch it HERE) is a forgotten masterpiece and why you should revisit it- after this video.
Gretel & Hansel is the 2020 horror fairytale starring Sophia Lillis as Gretel and Samuel Leaky as Hansel. The film was written by Rob Hayes and directed by Oz Perkins, who happens to be the son of iconic Psycho actor- Anthony Perkins- although, he is a talented filmmaker in his own right with film’s like The Blackcoat’s Daughter and I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House. I know for sure that Tyler is going to notice that I once again found a way to talk about Hitchcock movies on this channel so, leave a like on this video so I don’t get sent off into the woods.
Gretel & Hansel is a similar take on the familiar fairytale but this time told with cold and sadistic intent. It mainly focuses on the character of Gretel who, after refusing to sell herself to a wealthy businessman, is forced by her extremely scary Mother to take Hansel and journey deep into the forest to find themselves new lives. This movie doesn’t waste any time sending these kids off either. The movie’s plot is fairly simple, and I’d argue that it’s not exactly the most important thing to the viewing experience for this particular film. While venturing through the cold and foggy woods, Gretel and Hansel will encounter the dangers of being young and vulnerable in a very evil place. I’ve heard some criticism that the movie is boring and to that I say- What in the hell are you talking about? As if this movie’s gorgeous and rich cinematography wasn’t enough (which it is- and we WILL be covering that later), the movie drops two kids off in the middle of nowhere 5 minutes in and they’re immediately in danger with scary monsters, suspicious strangers, and some very questionable mushrooms being the least of their worries.
After some close encounters with the threats that lurk in the forest, Gretel begins experiencing hallucinations that guide her and Hansel to a cozy cottage in the middle of nowhere. The kids are starving and whoever lives in the house seems to have prepared enough food to feed a giant family. Now, if you think you know what happens next, don’t you dare be so sure. See, this is where the real darkness of the movie ensues. Inside this home is an old and mysterious witch with black fingertips and a sinister grin- and while Hansel quickly trusts her, Gretel isn’t so quick to succumb to the temptations and hunger that motivate the siblings.
You may be thinking that the witch fattens up the kids and eats them and that’s the movie- but buddy, you’re wrong again. Instead, this film takes the approach of having Gretel’s arrival at the witch’s cottage be a place where she can learn more about her hallucinations and why she has them. Would it surprise you to learn that Gretel herself is a witch? While staying at the old woman’s home, Gretel will learn things she never expected or knew she was capable of and when the time comes, she’ll have to use those talents to defeat her own mentor and save her brother from a horrific death. Does that sound boring to you?!
This movie establishes at the beginning what seems to be an origin story for the witch in the film- but instead it turns out that Holda, the witch, was actually the mother of the little girl from the story, and she killed and ate her own daughter before continuing the same ritual for many years. Until now. Gretel not only learns about her supernatural abilities, but she also learns from Holda herself about the internal power that exists inside of her as a person, and as a woman.
Now, why should you watch it if you haven’t seen it? And why should you watch it AGAIN if you have? This movie offers you all the slow burn intensity that you want from a folklore period piece fairytale, but it also gives you the creatures, frightening moments, and adventure that keep you invested. And because I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it enough- this movie’s visual style is a fucking treat. It’s shot in the very vintage looking 1:55:1 aspect ratio which usually I can kind of give or take but in this case, it just HAD to be done like this. The use of wide-angle lenses and distorting fisheye clashing with the tight aspect ratio give a liberating yet claustrophobic look that really connect you to these characters and how they’re feeling being both free to roam the world and trapped in the woods of never-ending trees. The color grading, the wardrobe, the composition, it’s all stunning. If Wes Anderson shot a horror movie, I think some of it would look a lot like this.
I also need to talk about this movie’s score. I’m in the process of listening to it on loop for like the millionth time this month and I’m still in love with it. Robin or “Rob” Coudert did the musical tracks for this movie and the use of retro synth risers and youthful and somehow whimsical orchestral themes are brilliant and I’d love to hear what you guys who are into movie scores think about it. It makes the slow moments of the film that don’t feature much dialogue still very stimulating to watch. And that’s the word for the viewing experience of this movie- stimulating. We of course can’t forget Sophia Lillis’ excellent performance as she carries much of the film on her shoulders and does so with grace and subtlety. I always look forward to seeing this actress in any project and this one is well-suited to her and her acting sensibilities. Of course, Alice Krige does a wonderful job as the oddly charming yet still horrifying witch. I loved her in this movie, and I think she gave a perfectly committed and weird performance that stands out among witches in movies.
Oz Perkins is a name that I’d like to see attached to more movies in general. I mean, the guy was in Legally Blonde for like 2 minutes and has made some of my favorite horror films in the last decade, but this movie shows me that he’s a creative mind that we should definitely be on the lookout for. In fact, if you’re still not convinced about this movie- look at some of the names attached to this thing and tell me you’re not curious:
Rob Hayes co-wrote the film and you’d know him as the writer of popular TV series, Chewing Gum. It was produced by Brian Kavanaugh-Jones who was behind Sinister, and also produced by Autopsy of Jane Doe producer, Fred Berger. You know what’s consistent across all of these people? They make REALLY good shit. Director Oz Perkins had this to say about the film: “It’s awfully faithful to the original story. It’s got really only three principal characters: Hansel, Gretel, and the Witch. We tried to find a way to make it more of a coming of age story. I wanted Gretel to be somewhat older than Hansel, so it didn’t feel like two 12-year-olds – rather a 16-year-old and an 8-year-old. There was more of a feeling like Gretel having to take Hansel around everywhere she goes, and how that can impede one’s own evolution, how our attachments and the things that we love can sometimes get in the way of our growth.”
Gretel & Hansel hits you in the senses from the very opening all the way through to the time the credits roll. You’ll be looking at beautifully composed images with top-tier acting from the brilliant Sophia Lillis and a musical score that will chill you to the core- all while maintaining a sense of child-like adventure that weaves a crafty, beautifully twisted, and unnervingly forgotten masterpiece. If you’re in the mood for a dreamy fairytale with dark and twisted scares, beautiful music and even more beautiful visuals- revisit this one for yourself, and maybe consider sleeping with the light on.
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