Hansel Vs. Gretel Review by Bobby LePire. Edited by Courtney McAllister.

 

This was intended to be my Asylum movie for last month, but it’s a sequel; thus, I reviewed "Hansel And Gretel" first. That was a creepy and atmospheric frightfest, with just a few, relatively small issues. This comes from the same screenwriter, Jose Prendes, but cinematographer Ben Demaree steps up as director this go-round, and while Brent Lydic returns as Hansel, Gretel is now played by Lili Baross. Do these changes negatively impact the movie? Is it as scary as the first?

 

Taking place a year later, the story is as strong and logical a follow up as one could hope for-

After the events of the first movie, Hansel goes on the road hunting witches; this has made him infamous within those circles. Gretel, as we last her, still runs the Gingerbread House, and has been dabbling in witchcraft. She’s now living with their Grandma (Christopher Callen), as their dad died (between movies). A coven of witches arrive in Candlewood, seeking revenge upon the two siblings for killing Lilith in the last movie. Gretel makes a deal with them to kill Hansel, whom has returned to find a missing friend he believes to have been kidnapped (possibly even killed) by a new witch attempting to take Lilith’s place. With the help of best friends Willy (Aqueela Zoll) and Jacob (Riley Murphy), Hansel investigates, while Gretel tries to hide her tracks. Does Gretel betray her brother? Can Hansel prevent all four witches- Cthonia (Jhey Castles), Morai (Adinett Nsabimana), Kikimora (Nanrisa Lee), and Circa (Elisha Kriis)- from resurrecting Lilith?

 

Good sequels don’t rehash the same thing over and over- lazy/ stupid sequels do- but use the first movie as a jumping off point to expand the world created, and how those new elements relate to/ affect our characters (largely ignoring the world built in the first movie to reestablish it because reasons is not how one goes about this, “The Dark Knight”!). Everything here fits nicely within the universe established by “Hansel And Gretel”, and with the heavy-lifting out of the way, we get to see a slew of pretty cool stuff. Aside from basic spells, each witch has her own unique power, and these get put to good use throughout “Hansel Vs. Gretel”. For example, Cthonia can detect magical spells and such by tasting objects (more on that in a bit), which comes into play more than you’d expect. This is how the coven tracks down Gretel, by following her magic scent, if you will. Morai summons massive blasts of winds as her attacks, and Gretel can magically compel any male* to bend to her will.

 

All that kind of stuff, and learning about the covens, ascending witches (gaining enough power, helped along by eating the essence of recently dead witches, to become the most powerful in the coven), who Lilith was answering to, etc., shows an impressive amount of thought, beyond just ‘that looks really cool’, to flesh out a mythology for these witches. It’s surprisingly engaging, and since the movie never slows down to just expo dump all of that onto the audience, it never feels forced or dull either.

 

Ben Demaree wasn’t just the director, he was also his own director of photography. As great as “Hansel And Gretel” does look, this handily beats it out. The scene where love interest Willy gets kidnapped as part of a convoluted plan to make Gretel seem innocent is amazing, from a lighting and shot composition standpoint (second favorite scene, in fact! Best looking scene overall though). After a crazy night of being attacked by old school teachers and learning that witches and magic are real, Willy is dropped off at home. Once inside safely, Jacob and Hansel leave to stake out a few probable witch hotspots. Willy senses something is off, and investigates, as she leaves the foyer, down the hall the moonlight sweeps in through the curtained windows, and the shadows create an ominous pattern, and the moonlight causes a soft glow, meaning that holy shit guys (!), there’s a night time sequence in a modern horror film that isn’t too dark to see what’s happening, while still being creepy! I didn’t know that was still possible. It is a gorgeously done scene, building up to Gretel bursting out of a wardrobe, and knocking Willy unconscious.

 

My favorite scene, that both times I watched it, made me jump off the couch (literally), involves a bathroom and Frank the bunny rabbit. I’d rather not spoil it, but the way it is edited, the camera angles, score, and practical effects (yay!) all merge gloriously together for a nice fright.

 

The ending fight between Hansel and Gretel is in a pet cemetary, at night. The spells being cast by Gretel (and eventually, some other witches) are purple, which adds a nice splash of color to the dark surroundings, and lends the battle a nice palette that gives it a different, fresh feel from other horror fights of its ilk.

 

As you can see, there are more action beats this time, but there’s plenty of brain splatter as well. Our introduction to Hansel sees him hunting down a cheerleader witch, and she pulls out a piece of bone from her spine, and uses that to cut through her ropes! Then there is the aforementioned rabbit scene, and when the witches kill, they have a tendency to eat their victims guts, raw. Jacob’s death is the craziest- Gretel is trying to compel him with her powers, and it isn’t working. *It doesn’t work on him because he is gay, and the compulsion acts as a form of seduction, and one can’t seduce that which doesn’t want you. Because of this, Gretel simply rips his face off, so we get a view of all the sinew, muscles, and such just underneath.

 

Brent Lydic sounded too whiny and bratty for me in the beginning of the first movie, but slowly improved throughout. Here, in a more traditional action hero role, he kicks all sorts of ass! His confidence oozes off the screen, and he’s quite believable as a man that has seen some twisted shit, and has decided to fight it the best way he knows how. His chemistry with his new co-stars is nice, especially with Ms. Zoll, as their romantic moments (or discussing former ones) help ground the movie and give it a heart. Aqueela Zoll is instantly likable and charming as Willy, and she exudes a girl-next-door vibe that suits Lydic’s more daring Hansel. This isn’t to imply Willy just has to stand there looking pretty- information she gathers after her kidnapping becomes vitally important. Stephanie Greco was “charming” and “played it very well”, in “Hansel And Gretel”, and I am sure she would have been good here. However, I don’t know if she would have been as good as Lili Baross, who damn near steals the show. She gets some nice one liners that spouted off with ease, and her crazier turns never dial it all the way up until the climax. That restraint makes watching her calmly manipulate so many, just that much better, as she’s clearly trying to use her brains first (credit for this should also go to the script).

 

Riley Murphy has fun as Jacob (and yes, the friends names are Willy and Jacob, and yes, I really enjoy that nod), and he does well in the action beats, but he’s out of the picture a little over halfway through. His death scene is pretty gruesome and fun though. I did miss Hansel and Gretel’s father some, especially considering how important he is to Hansel’s growth in the first movie, but Christopher Callen is sweetly naive and grandmotherly, in right measure. Her last scene is played expertly with a good amount of surprise and heartbreak. Of the witches, Jhey Castles has the biggest role, and is quite good. It is obvious why she’s the one commanding the other witches, and the character’s wiles are played with just the right amount of smugness.

 

Chris Ridenhour teamed up with Christopher Cano for the score this movie. The results are pretty good, especially during the opening title sequence (which employs fake grain and scratches, maybe as an homage to 1970s and ‘80s low budget horror flicks, but that could just be me reading way too much into things), and the big climactic fight. It’s rousing, but never overbearing, and sets the tone well.

 

Let’s get to the only negative I have with this movie- the tasting of objects for their magic essence. Cthonia walks up to the door of the Gingerbread House, licks it, and then says:

 

“It tastes like magic.”

 

Ugh! I get what they were going for, but man, is that line face-palm worthy. The whole scene is, really. As an introduction to the new witches, it’s a tad odd, and as a way of showing off their individual powers, it is a goofy way to start off. Given how much this movie gets right though, this doesn’t undermine the fun I have with the movie at all.

 

“Hansel Vs. Gretel” is the rare sequel that is better in almost every way than its predecessor. Creepy moments, gore aplenty, and dripping atmosphere combine with a captivating story, great action, beautiful cinematography/ lighting, and excellent acting for one helluva cool horror flick. Much like The Asylum’s “Mecha Shark Vs. Mega Shark” from 2014, “Hansel Vs. Gretel” is a highmark way to start off 2015. Here’s hoping the excellence continues!